My cups runneth over

by Amanda Stutevoss
Editorial Director

I realized that I was different at an early age. I believe that it was the fourth grade when I discovered this.

While most 9-year-olds are worrying about crayons and Jell-O, I was worried about the mountains that were growing on my chest.

Ever since I can remember, I have been well endowed in the chest region.

I was the first one of my friends to wear a training bra, the first to have boys notice that I was wearing a training bra and the first to grow out of a training bra.

Sure, I know what all you small-chested women are probably saying:

"Well, at least you have some."

But I never thought of it that way.

It is true that people always want what they cannot have.

Girls with curly hair want straight hair.

Girls who are tall want to be short and girls who are short want to be tall.

And girls with boobs don't want them, while girls without them would have surgery to get them.

It's Murphy's Law.

The other day I went bra shopping, which I have always dreaded.

This time was no exception.

I left the dorm determined to find a bra under $20 that would fit and support me.

I entered the store (which shall remain nameless) and headed straight toward the back to the lingerie section.

I spent 30 minutes of rummaging through racks.

And I pulled out three bras that looked as if they might work.

I strutted toward the dressing rooms with the cool confidence of a woman on a mission.

Fifteen minutes later I wandered out, defeated once again.

Every bra I tried on was too small.

I left the store feeling deflated, no pun intended, with tears welling up in my eyes.

On my way back to the dorms, I started to think, do all big-chested girls have this problem?

Or is it just me?

Then I realized I am not a freak or a mutant, rather a girl who got some lovin' from God in the breast department.

In the past, I have been successful at Victoria's Secret.

I have always been able to find at least one bra that would work.

However, that bra has usually cost me nearly $40.

For a college girl on a budget, that is a lot of money.

So my main question is, why don't they make more bras for larger breasted women?

It costs most women with large boobs two-to-three times as much for one bra.

That, my friends, is a problem that this girl does not particularly want to put up with.

I will admit that I have entertained the thought of breast reduction surgery for a number of reasons, the first of which is men talking to my chest rather than my face, not to mention being unable to find cute sexy shirts that can be worn with a bra and the the always-fun chronic backaches.

However, I have come to realize that my boobs, as obnoxiously large as they are, are mine, and they are not going anywhere.

So until the day of $20 bras for women with larger than normal breasts, I have decided ­ since my latest bra-shopping nightmare ­ that I will continue to use duct tape.

Amanda Stutevoss, a senior broadcasting and journalism major, is editorial director of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at astute4@aol.com.