I am preadolescent and hobbling, foot to foot from my aching legs in the lingerie section of Primark. Last night, present day, Netflix and I watched blonde bombshell, Scarlett Johansson, supposedly unlock 100% of her brain’s capacity. “Learning is always a painful process,” she says. I should know. Twice a week, preadolescent me rubs ointment on my legs for the growing pains. It is jelly, cool ...

Long, youthful  My hair used to be thick with ringlet curls falling down to just below my waist. My mother would sit me between her legs to keep from wriggling free as she brushed out tangle after tangle before bed. At school, I would flip my hair upside down and tie it up in a high ponytail like the other girls, but it was always too loose and heavy with the weight of the waves. I never minded...