you do you / body image

Madame Langford was the most delightfully kooky French professor I had in college. In truth, she rarely taught us French, but she did teach me more about Frenchness (and living in general) than any other teacher in my life.

“In France, an affair is called une aventure, because that’s all it is: a quick adventure.”

“Le professeur n’est jamais en retard.” The professor is never late. (It’s worth noting that Madame Langford strolled into class fifteen minutes late almost every day.)

“Women are so powerful, we only have to puff our lips, expel a bit of air, and walk away to end an argument, taking all the power from a man.”

My favorite story was about when Madame Langford was a young model in France. Hungry for lunch after finishing a job, she found a row of delicious, perfectly cooked shrimp tarts just waiting to be enjoyed. “Mademoiselle, perhaps you should eat une petite salade. You are getting a bit too big,” the modeling director told her as she reached for one.

“I quit,” Madame Langford pointedly replied. “Life is too short not to eat tart.”

Sure, she was a little bit eccentric, but perhaps she was a genius as well.