My First True Love

Books: Number the Stars. I think it was the first young adult novel that I read. It was scary and beautiful and daring and real, and it introduced me to the world.

Babies: My brother, Mikel. When he was born and my grandma told me that I finally had a brother, I cried. I wanted them to take him back. I wanted a sister. But then my parents brought him home from the hospital, and I got to hold him first. He was so tiny and brownish-red and had these adorable chubby cheeks and tiny hands. So I figured brothers might not be all that bad.

Movies: Space Camp. It taught me to dream.

Boys: Robert. I can't remember his last name. I was in kindergarten. He was mean, so I'm not sure why I liked him. That's how kindergartners flirt, right?

Nature: The tree in our front yard. I couldn't begin to even guess how many hours I spent up there playing, reading, sleeping, and dreaming.

The Earth: La Jolla Cove. I learned to snorkel there, and when I figured out what was underneath the surface of the ocean, I never really came back to dry land.

Popular Music: "Running just as fast as we can," by Tiffany. Hey, I was in third grade.

Classical Music: Mozarts' 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman." It's the tune that "Twinkle, twinkle little star" is based on. In master class one week when I was 10 or 11, Patrick D. played this piece, and I was entranced. I have the sheet music, and someday when I have my own piano and a lot of time on my hands, I'm going to learn how to play it. Here's a link if you want to listen to it.

Movement: Ballet. I still love to do ballet, even though I am chubby. I just do it in the privacy of my own home. Besides, aren't ballet slippers adorable? They just make your feet look great.

Musicals: The Music Man. A close second is The Sound of Music, but we watched the Music Man ALL the time growing up. I loved every song, every hint of quaint small-town Iowa life, that Marian was a librarian ("Marian"), and it was so funny too!

Science Fiction/Fantasy: Star Wars, hands down. The originals (4-6). I want to live with the E-woks.

Art: Ceramics. Squishy clay!

Stuffed Animals: Muncheechee. Thanks to my siblings that scoured the garage not too long ago, I have him once again. He's a stuffed monkey that I got from my grandpa. David cut his hair, so he has a little bald patch on top. It adds character, I think.

Dessert: Anything strawberry. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry and rhubarb pie, strawberry short-cake.

That's all I can think of. Try it, it's fun!