When I was a little kid I had this incredible ability to take a lifeless doll and invent the most fascinating scenarios, intertwine relationships and create an entire world inside my bedroom. I would spread out clothes and houses and accessories and have the 'main' Barbie live her life, all the while interacting with other Barbies, fall in love with Ken and then have to overcome the scheming of the manipulative Barbie who was trying to steal Ken from my Barbie. I would spend hours upon hours playing with these dolls and I was never bored. I could think of endless plots and conversations and happenstances to amuse myself.
Then over the years I got busier and had less time for my Barbies. And suddenly, one day I went to play with them again and the magic had just... gone. I couldn't think of a single conversation and the plotlines were boring and unimaginative. It was like the light switch in my mind had just been turned off, or maybe the bulb had blown. I just couldn't get the magic back. And eventually I got too old to keep pretending I was having fun with the dolls and went to Ikea with my mum to buy big plastic boxes, packed Barbie and her accessories and clothes and houses away, snapped the lid on and put the boxes at the back of my cupboard.
Playdates became parties and Barbie became boys. I didn't have time for anything except homework, and on the occasions that I went out for fun, we didn't play Pass the Parcel and eat cake; we played Truth or Dare and drank Smirnoff. The scenarios of cheating boyfriends, backstabbing 'friends', and the sudden realization of SEX, that I had once played out with my dolls, began playing out in my own life. I became Barbie. Suddenly I was the one who was having boy trouble; I was the one who would have to figure out who was manipulating me to get their own way.
Gradually over the years, the magic of Barbie became the trials and tribulations of adolescence.
Thinking back on it now, my years of playing with dolls set me up to understand how to handle the situations being thrown at me now. Having played them out already in my head, now I know that no matter how hard or difficult or impossible it may seem, you can hold your head up and deal with the situation with pride and dignity. It isn't the end of the world. Whatever you are facing, you will eventually get over it and have to deal with something else. Don't get stuck on something for too long; all too soon there will be other shit to deal with.
Keep calm and stay classy: a lesson Barbie taught me and something I won't forget.
Then over the years I got busier and had less time for my Barbies. And suddenly, one day I went to play with them again and the magic had just... gone. I couldn't think of a single conversation and the plotlines were boring and unimaginative. It was like the light switch in my mind had just been turned off, or maybe the bulb had blown. I just couldn't get the magic back. And eventually I got too old to keep pretending I was having fun with the dolls and went to Ikea with my mum to buy big plastic boxes, packed Barbie and her accessories and clothes and houses away, snapped the lid on and put the boxes at the back of my cupboard.
Playdates became parties and Barbie became boys. I didn't have time for anything except homework, and on the occasions that I went out for fun, we didn't play Pass the Parcel and eat cake; we played Truth or Dare and drank Smirnoff. The scenarios of cheating boyfriends, backstabbing 'friends', and the sudden realization of SEX, that I had once played out with my dolls, began playing out in my own life. I became Barbie. Suddenly I was the one who was having boy trouble; I was the one who would have to figure out who was manipulating me to get their own way.
Gradually over the years, the magic of Barbie became the trials and tribulations of adolescence.
Thinking back on it now, my years of playing with dolls set me up to understand how to handle the situations being thrown at me now. Having played them out already in my head, now I know that no matter how hard or difficult or impossible it may seem, you can hold your head up and deal with the situation with pride and dignity. It isn't the end of the world. Whatever you are facing, you will eventually get over it and have to deal with something else. Don't get stuck on something for too long; all too soon there will be other shit to deal with.
Keep calm and stay classy: a lesson Barbie taught me and something I won't forget.
hahahahaha such nostalgia :D
ReplyDeleteThose were the days ;D
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