Pop-Diva Mariah Carey's High School Yearbook Photo via Buzzfeed.

A woman who works at this place I frequent has hair like Mariah Carey. Not Mariah's long, luscious locks trademarked in People Magazine these days — more like the pre-diva style from her Long Island yearbook circa the late 1980's.

Her name is Eva.

Eva stands out among her peers because her infectious laugh and sharp sense of humor get attention. In fact, she's one of those people so full of life, the last thing I noticed about her was her hair.

When I did notice, a nano-second after my first impression, I thought: Now, here's a woman who does not like change. She willfully rebels against it and works extra hard to keep things the same. See, like pre-diva Mariah and her high school classmates, I once wore a teased and frosted poodle perm too. The past is so embarrassing, but it gives me a frame of reference: It takes a whole lot of labor effort to maintain that do.


It never occurred to me that Eva might not have plugged in a curling iron every morning for the last 21 years... Not until the other day when I noticed a detail I find most curious. Eva wears an employee badge that identifies her with a photo. In the picture, she has hair like Mariah Carey... in a style that could have been snapped by the paparazzi yesterday.

I made no editorial comment about the pre-Eva look pictured — just told her sincerely that I thought it was a nice shot. She made a face and adjusted her lanyard to let me know she doesn't like to talk about her flair. Then she explained what was so embarrassing... "yeah, well... that picture's almost 10-years old."

I let that soak in a minute...

Holy head trip! Her hair is aging backwards! What a curious case.

I don't know what the future holds, but I'm pretty sure that in ten years Eva will still have hair like Mariah Carey. It will be styled just like she wore it in Glitter. You know, Mariah's critically-acclaimed film, set in the days just after the disco era.