Top 5 [Fictional] Role Models

“People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher and better than themselves.” [Tyron Edwards]

I am a creature that is incredibly shaped by my surroundings.  Everything I read, watched, or listened to as a child formed an image in my mind of the person that I wanted to become.  The amazing part is, looking back on these influences, I find that I have in fact created my persona around my favorite characters, some from very early childhood, others from more recent years.  So, just for fun, here are my top five fictional influences who have made me who I am.

1. Dawn Schafer of The Baby-Sitters Club series

Perhaps the single most influential character of my life, Dawn Schafer is almost entirely responsible for the person I am today.  From the ages of 11-14, the BSC was my world and Dawn was my alter ego.

There were similarities from the start: She was blonde, I was blonde.  She liked ghost stories, I liked ghost stories. I even owned an ugly faux-blue jean button down [see photo above], but that wasn’t enough.  I gave up red meat, traded chocolate for carob, and joined the middle school recycling club.  It’s a bit embarrassing how much I changed to be like Dawn, but many of the alterations stuck and actually define my life to this day.

Here is Wikipedia’s character description of Dawn:

Dawn is an environmentalist, which causes problems in the club in book #57, Dawn Saves the Planet. Dawn is mostly a vegetarian, although she eats fish, and on rare occasion, eats non-red meat. She mainly eats healthy food, and is a strong opponent of guns and violence. She hardly ever takes the candy Claudia offers. Dawn loves ghost stories, and enjoys taping movies from television. She has her own unique style which the club nicknames California Casual because of the California style clothing she wears. She also has two piercings in each ear.

Seriously, we could replace every ‘Dawn’ in this paragraph with ‘Michelle’ and my friends and family would be none the wiser.  [The only exception being the refusal of candy, but even there I have my moments.]

2. Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables

Perhaps even further back than the BSC, I was infatuated with Anne of Green Gables.  My mother’s love of period pieces had clearly rubbed off on me and I devoured the entire series.  [This would eventually tie into a mother/daughter tradition of watching Avonlea, but that’s another subject.]  I loved the Green Gables books so much that I named two of our cats Anne Shirley.  Obsessions that still linger on: a love for red hair [and the occasional whim to dye my own], an obsession with learning and books that never fades [even when I forget to pick up a book for months at a time], and an infatuation with Canada.

3. Buffy Summers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In high school, as the BSC and Anne faded into my childhood, Buffy picked up the slack.  From season 1, I was hooked.  Week after week, I was engrossed in the Hellmouth world of my favorite ass-kicking girly girl.  I wanted to fix my hair like her, dress like her, and talk like her [aka with lots of slang and a biting wit].  To this very day, I still maintain a deep-seeded obsession with knee high boots and mini dresses, all thanks to Buffy’s slayer style.

4. Holly Golightly of Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Oh, Holly! I hate to admit this one because I feel like every fashionista on the planet sources Miss Golightly as their style icon.  I’ve been an Audrey fan for years, but only recently confessed to this film being my favorite.  I feel like you almost have to have a few years of life experience under your little black belt before you can truly understand it’s emotional depth.  But depth aside, Holly’s lifestyle has been a huge influence on my current surroundings.  Heck, I’d even have a bathtub sofa if I thought it would be at all comfortable to lounge on.

The smallest things make me feel very Golightly: the decorative lattice over my heater that matches the pattern in her living room, wearing earplugs to drown out the sound as I sleep, and coming home to my little city apartment and my one lonely cat.  If only I could figure out how to get $50 for the powder room, I’d be a happy girl.

5. Cindy Lou Who of How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This last one’s actually more by referral than by actual influence.  Ever since I was little, my favorite Christmas show has been How the Grinch Stole Christmas [I still watch it to this day]. And ever since I was little, family members have pointed out my resemblance to Cindy Lou Who.  As a kid, you’re just excited to look like anyone, so I always loved the comparison. And frankly, I’ll never mind being associated with a petite blonde with big, blue doe eyes…even if she does have wires coming out of her head.

[This post was inspired by Mermaid in a Manhole.]