My grandma looked fabulous well into her 80s. She taught me how important it is to be a little selfish.

"Whenever I think of my YiaYia Harriet Patras, I see her with neatly styled hair, wearing a perfectly polished outfit, and decked to the nines in fairly heirlooms and conversation-starting rings. My grandmother had a life filled with challenges and loss, though you'd never know it by looking at her. When I learned about some of her personal struggles later in my adulthood, I was shocked."

"My grandmother and I spent every Saturday together until I was 10 years old. During these cherished afternoons, I would accompany her to her hair appointments and marvel at how punctual she was with her self-care routines. She taught me from a young age that putting effort into your appearance isn't such a bad thing, and she made it seem like second nature. I never saw her with a rip in her nylons or a stain on her shirt."

YiaYia Harriet Patras maintained an impeccably polished appearance and used heirlooms and jewelry as conversation pieces. She faced major life challenges—immigration, single parenthood, kidney cancer, and later Alzheimer's—yet kept meticulous grooming and punctual self-care routines. Weekly hair appointments created bonding rituals and taught that putting effort into appearance can improve mood. The granddaughter adopted these lessons, using dressing up as a tool to handle sadness and prioritize personal care. Even in difficult moments, a deliberate outfit and beauty routine became a means to feel better and assert self-worth.

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