I See My True Colors

My friend Kim gets told she looks like Renee Zellweger. Mike Tirres gets Benjamin Bratt or Lou Diamond Phillips. When people ask me who I get, I used to always joke and say, “Claudia Schiffer.” Then I met a girl who seriously said she gets Claudia Schiffer. And she actually did look like her; she wasn’t just bragging. So I can’t use that one anymore.

So who do I really get? Cyndi Lauper. What’s that about? I mean, that’s a pretty broad statement. Do they mean when she looks like this?

Or like this?

There's a big difference. You don’t just go around telling someone they look like an always-changing person like CL and not clarify which look you’re referring to.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big Lauper lover. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is a total classic. In fact, I first learned about our resemblance because of that song. My musical theater teacher in high school assigned me to sing the song for a show. I thought it was because I was a fun-loving girl but he set me straight.

Of course I love “Time after Time” (even though the video came out during that era when I was grossed out by MTV and Cyndi had half her head shaved like a checker board and it made me nauseous). I also love “True Colors” and “She Bop.” I just found one of my all-time fave Cyndi songs on iTunes the other day—“Goonies are Good Enough.” Do you remember that one? It’s when the Goonies are heading to the caves on their bikes and the song comes on and it’s so exciting...’member? Well, anyway, I incorporated it into one of my spin routines and I always ask people if they know what movie it’s from. They never know! But then when I tell them they’re like, “Oh, yeah. You probably picked that because you look like her.” Ah!

But seriously, I can’t decide if this is a compliment or not. I don’t mind being blonde, toned-down Cyndi but I don’t really want to be checker board head Cyndi.

But you know what? Cyndi is a successful singer/songwriter whose music has spanned decades. Plus, she seems like she would be fun to hang out with. I may even ask her to go on a Carnival cruise with me. She probably gets free trips since they use her song in the commercials. And when we’re laying out on the sundeck, I’m gonna be so glad I’m next to her in a bikini instead of Claudia Schiffer.

Which one's Elsa? Which one's Cyndi? You just can't tell, can you?