I Have to Tie My Hair Back. That's the Rule

I want to tell you about a lot of things. I went to the Senate to sing the Italian national anthem with my choir, the White Hands of Testaccio. We're from the School of Popular Music. The people in my choir do sign language, and we all wear white gloves so the signs show up better. I'm the only one who sings too. Because I can sing really well. So I always stand in front because I do the signs and I sing. I sing the national anthem too. I get everyone to sing it whenever we go to the pizzeria in a big group, before we eat. Like they do at soccer matches. And I teach everyone how to do the signs. I like doing signs in songs. I taught myself to do signs for songs by Umberto Tozzi. I love them so much. There's Gloria. Stella stai, Tu, Io camminerò. But I'm really good at school too. The teachers told my parents. "Benedetta has improved so much and she works hard." I love going to school. All my classmates are nice. I laugh with them. They always help me. And when I do something well and answer questions right, they clap their hands and come around me to compliment me. We even did a collective class, which is when the teachers can't come in. I feel a little bad that the teachers can't come in because they're all great with me. But I'm also happy we're just the class on our own because we laugh more. My best grade is in reception work. I answer the phone and I have to look at the computer to see what the hotel guests are doing—when they arrive, when they leave, and when they pay the bill. On the phone I have to be polite and explain everything. To learn, they do practice phone calls with me. The teacher and a classmate call me and I have to act like I'm a guest who wants to book a room. It's really fun. I do it willingly. I have to wear a uniform that has to be clean and neat. I have to tie my hair back. I don't want to tie my hair back, but it's the rule. There's nothing I can do about it.