American Girl

I got into the American Girl collection a year before I was too old to really enjoy playing with dolls... so, about 20, right? Actually, I think I was around 11 or 12, and I liked the Addy collection the best. My mother didn't really want me to get the slave girl, but I was insistent. Over time I ended up getting Felicity (1774), Kirsten (1854), Addy (1864), Samantha (1904) and a few of their belongings. My parents and grandparents were very generous with me!

I don't know if it's the baby or finding out through a babysitting charge that they no longer sell the dolls I assumed I would continue collecting when I had my own daughter(s), but I've become re-interested. Mind you, this consists of looking at their collections online, not buying them. I've managed to have some self control since this obsession has overtaken me. But I have been rereading the books that tell the stories of each character. You know, to see if they're acceptable for my own children to read in that distant future when I only allow them books and toys that educate them as well as entertain...

I've found that indeed, they are good books. For a young adult reader, they explain some historical moments with a candid (albeit short) nature. As a history graduate, I appreciate that. It's not overwhelming, but it's an opening into some good discussions about where our country came from. It's the thing I most love about history: to learn about the past while delving in as if it's a storybook. For without the past, how can we possibly know where we are going?

One reason I am avoiding facebook these days is that I was tired of the political nature of its content. Now, I had mostly used it as a way to spread political ideas and articles (much to my chagrin that it seemed none of my friends were interested), but... maybe I just got tired of trying to talk to what seemed like a wall. Every person has his or her own version of politics. We all come from different backgrounds, have different histories, and we all want different things out of life. Some of us don't even know what exactly we want out of life! But we live each day, each minute, no matter what, until that day we don't get that chance anymore.

Every moment is our chance to shine, to enjoy, and to show what type of American Girl (or Guy) we are... Unless, of course, you're from a different country...