I have been troubled recently by some comments from friends and coworkers regarding my vocabulary. Apparently they think I’m highfalutin because I toss around words like wretched and horrid instead of bad, but all that proves is I adore thesauraus.com. I’m not even that great of a speller (I had to look up thesaurus). Speaking of spelling, one of the kiddies at the after school program my department runs fell in love with the word pulchritude after hearing it in Akeelah and the Bee. When it was her turn to sprinkle the other kids with a thoughtful wish, she wished them all pulchritude…in short she wished them all great beauty.
Another consensus among my peers is that I’m wise, but I’m here to tell you that I’ve been watching Oprah since I was 9 and I’m a quote-hound. I’m not really that smart or knowledgeable, but I am a good listener and sometimes I get on my high horse and condescend to give advice. The other day Nancy K. cried because of her jackass of a boyfriend’s inability to be emotionally available. I pointed out the correlation between his remote mountain location and his fickle demeanor. It struck a chord with her and it seemed to put things into perspective. She went on to explain that she’d asked him repeatedly to open up and even after he promised to change, he never followed through. I channeled Dr. Phil and told her that, “When someone shows you who they are–believe them.”
It’s hard to deal with the image I’ve created in my likeness–one of confidence and empathy, and superiority of mind. In essence I’m just me…Girl Friday, Superheroine of Small Offices Everywhere…I’m just a girl trying to live. I haven’t had great adventures or experienced trials and tribulations. Who am I to be a sage?
In my heart I’m just a small town girl who likes to read, dream, and write. In my imagination I’ve walked fields of heather in the English countryside, I’m a space cowgirl, I’ve danced a pas de deux, I’m a romantic/tragic/comedic heroine, I’m the lead, I’m the star. I have lived several lives vicariously and I’ve stolen the best bits. I keep them in my pocket like great one-liners and pull them out as needed in front of tough crowds. It’s all just smoke and lights.