body

A list of body parts:
toenails, toes, ball of my foot, arch of my foot, heel, ankles, calf, knee, thigh, legs, pelvis, vagina, hips, butt, torso, waist, belly button, ribcage, breasts, collarbone, neck, shoulders, armpits, elbows, arms, forearms, wrists, hands, palms, fingers, fingertips, fingernails, knuckles, back, skull, hair, face, forehead, temples, cheeks, eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes, nose, mouth, chin, lips, tongue, teeth, ears, esophagus, trachea, lungs, sternum, heart, stomach, brain, muscles, bones, skin, freckles, moles, birth mark, blood

Word association:
thigh - tree trunks
pelvis - wide
hips - move
butt - big
breasts - smooth
forearms - fish
back - arch
hair - pepsi cola
eyes - plain
teeth - trauma
sternum - push
heart - pain
skin - sheath

Brief memory
thigh - riding my bike, muscles flexing as I race up a hill
hating myself in swimsuits
wondering why mitch put his hand there, i'm not julia
painting designs on my legs
pulling my school skirt down in the wind

hips/pelvis - getting x-rayed for arthritis
standing at recess swaying and hitting hips with my friends as we talk
dancing with Erin at Christmas dance
dancing with Bri in La Guacamaya
bruising my pelvis when falling downstairs
belts never working
mom designing dresses to fit over my hips
learning that biologically, wide hips are actually supposed to be attractive
being told my hips were beautiful, made me a real woman

butt - not being able to fit into jeans, on most occasions
constant self-scrutiny
underwear lines
being sexually harassed

breasts - getting my first sports bra at age 11
spilling water on my white shirt
not finding my size in victoria's secret
being taught how to do a cancer screening
never wearing bikinis for fear of them falling off
telling the boy from camp "i'm up here"

forearms - scratching
fishing with my dad and he explains the belly of a catfish
shaving my legs for the first time and then freaking out because my arms looked disgusting

back - learning to do a bridge
being told my back was beautiful, muscular
4 years of abuse from my backpack
scoliosis
showing off the matrix thing
bending back from alex until he gave me my first kiss

hair - getting it cut from my waist to my chin
being told I had the hairstyle of my boyfriend's dad when he was young
getting rats' nests brushed out by my babysitter
getting my haircut for senior pictures and freaking out
cutting my own bangs
dying my hair at home with kaley
constant struggle to make a color decision
doing my hair for prom
throwing my braid over my shoulder and my dog chasing it

eyes - almost losing my vision
seeing trees for the first time after getting glasses
spotting animals no one else can see
scratching my cornea and wearing an eye patch
not being able to read the board in my biology class
getting glasses on the last day of school and telling ms. ford
wearing sunglasses at night and being treated like I was blind
laying in my backyard and closing my eyes for a long time so when I'd open them everything would be blue
seeing the scary green tornado
crying - many reasons
learning how to change the emotions in my eyes to fit acting
learning how to apply eyeliner for the plays

teeth - gap
braces
tooth fairy
"saving teeth" in blue clay
forgetting retainers when I went to Detroit
thinking I had double sets of teeth
learning my mother has similar teeth
being so proud of no cavities
pain from trying to whiten
biting alex when he wouldn't believe me
biting abby when i was young and she wanted to drown the ants
chewy sushi experience

sternum - squeezing a stuffed animal to my sternum after my parents fought
being hit in the sternum with a book

heart - having a panic attack about stu, feeling like a heart attack
different memories associated with love
different memories associated with loss
putting my cell phone on my stomach and watching it move with my heart beat after coming up the stairs
lou listening to my heart and tapping out the rhythm

skin - accidentally cutting myself with scissors, having the wound glued back together
being told someone missed my skin
fishing with dad and he explained the underbelly of a catfish
laying skin to skin to feel close
hands cracking and bleeding
getting a huge cut falling out of a wagon
finding random bruises in the shower and not knowing where they came from

Emotion association:
thigh - depending - self-loathing due to feeling fat or disgusting
happy due to a sense of womanhood and healthy robustness

pelvis - pride due to "excellent child-bearing skills"

hips - depending - insecurity due to feeling fat or not being able to find clothes that fit
happy due to a sense of womanhood, sensuality, and self expression with dancing

butt - depending - shame due to feeling fat
pride in being a woman who actually has a backside

breasts - shame due to a sense of modesty
anger because sometimes it seems to be all people care about
pride because it's a part of my womanhood

forearms - sad because of their history
happy because they are smooth and happy and pale like the belly of a fish

back - pride because I'm flexible and strong

hair - frustration because I don't know if I want to change it
happy because it's one of my favorite features

eyes - disappointed because they're boring
frustrated because they ache a lot
apprehensive because you never know when they will cry

teeth - dissatisfaction because they are not perfect
happy because my smile is inviting
mad because I didn't take care of them

sternum - apprehensive and worrying

heart - sad about loss and missing
nervous about panic attacks
happy about emotional bonds

skin - dissatisfaction because it's not perfect
happy because it holds me together, is smooth, and healthy