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How I Learned
Roxanne and a Writing Prompt
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Roxanne and a Writing Prompt

The kind of girl who has dirt between her toes.

Blaise Allysen Kearsley's avatar
Blaise Allysen Kearsley
Jun 30, 2025
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How I Learned
How I Learned
Roxanne and a Writing Prompt
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SONG #1:

Roxanne Roxanne by UTFO

My 7th grade boyfriend listened to “Roxanne Roxanne” constantly (and also — I just remembered this — RUN DMC’s “King of Rock” record). Everyone loved “Roxanne Roxanne,” the rap song that spawned answer tracks like “Roxanne’s Revenge” and “The Real Roxanne.” There was some other about-Roxanne-song in which the scorned rapper calls Roxanne the kind of girl who has dirt between her toes. That’s the one thing I remember about it because I was the kind of girl who had dirt between her toes.

That boyfriend was my first boyfriend and he was the only white kid in 7th grade who knew how to pop-and-lock. After a month I unceremoniously dumped him. I don’t think I gave him a reason. Secretly, I was scared to make out with him. Everyone at school gossiped about who “went in the bushes” with who(m). I didn’t know what that meant. What even happens in the bushes? So you can understand why I broke up with him. I broke up with him before he broke up with me.


The Prompt:

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