Understanding Imagination

Weekly Prompt: Image the Possibilities

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a movie star. I spent most of my days pretending to be Olivia Newton John in Grease, “tell me about it, stud.” Dressing in a black, make-shift catsuit, cigarette butts I found on the ground, hanging seductively from my lip. Jumping off the swings in an effort to reenact the final scene where Sandy and Danny finally get their shit together, just in time for the whole gang to graduate and face the real world.

As I worked my way into junior high, my aspirations didn’t change much. But now instead of an actress, I wanted to be just like Madonna or Debbie Gibson. Hair wrapped haphazardly into a headband and wrists stacked with pastel gummy bracelets - I looked the part other than the fact I can’t sing. By the time I reached high school I was concerned with what other people would think of me and my dreams of stardom. I didn’t give up on my dreams but I began keeping my aspirations to myself.

I now realize my dreams of fame came from my need for attention, not a genuine desire to be famous. Thank God for unanswered prayers. Given my proclivity to substance abuse, I’m pretty sure a career in Hollywood would have meant you would be reading about my tragic death in the tabloids rather than you reading my intellectually stimulating articles.

Yours truly, Kindergarten 1978