on nostalgia

When I was about ten years old, I was living in San Diego. As a half-Turkish kid in such a sunny city, my skin was ten shades darker than usual and my hair was bright blonde. I was what my family affectionately dubbed a "towhead." I've never looked up that term before today. Turns out it's a term from the 1800s that likens light hair to a type of flax.

I…