By MARISSA ANGUIANO
Staff Writer
The song by Janis Ian “At seventeen” touches on the subject of society’s beauty standards and what we decide is worthy of being gawked at or not. Those that deserve the “easy life” based on looks and those who will never know anything more than the “valentines that never came.” Her own pain is portrayed through the song as she grew up a woman of color in a society that promotes beauty through white women. Her opening line “ I learned the truth at seventeen that love was meant for beauty queens and high school girls with clear skin smiles who marry young and then retire” makes those who listen truly understand the pain she has been through in the first 5 seconds of the song.