Learning to Be Cool

A while back, my Cool Aunt sent materials in the mail for this cool crafts project she thought would be cool to do with some of the teens I work with.  Cool, huh?  Given that the group of teenagers had somewhat splintered in April with the start of school and their varying schedules, we decided to meet during the weekends when everyone was available.  Not all the girls I'd worked with had met each other.  So, in an effort to make our class seem, like, so cool, I invited them all to my house for our first meeting.  Ten people confirmed their attendance with me the day prior.  Three people arrived on the day of.  Sigh.  Even after two years here...some things never change. 

Undeterred by this development, those of us who were present carried forward with the day's activity.  Our materials: strips of fabric and a hot glue gun.

The results:

Bee-yoo-tee-ful flowers.

Much candy was consumed in the process of making these, by the way. 

The evidence lies outside the frame of the camera lens.

Candy is cool, but what about headbands?

The girls seemed to be okay with the whole idea.

During our craft session, the girls told me the secret to being cool: Pizza.  Haven't you known that in the back of your mind for all these years?  You did!  You knew it all along!  Why did you doubt yourself?  Next week, because we need more people to come and because it is my birthday, we will be eating pizza.  Did it just get chilly in here?  Because the coolness factor went up by 100%!  (Okay so maybe I'm still working on the whole "being cool" thing.  Story of my life.)

Thankfully there are many cool people in my life, such as aunts who send packages and teenagers who hang out with me at my house.

And then there's this joke: Why did the hipster burn his tongue on the pizza? 

*For the elder generations who may not know what a hipster is, I can only hope to explain when I next see you face to face.  For now, I refer you to any young person wearing plaid, glasses with thick plastic frames, and an iPod and who looks generally disheveled.

Answer is in the Comments section.