Invisible Magic

I came across something and just wanted to share whether any of you care or not.  

You may think I am a little weird, but I like to do things I used to do when I was a kid because these things made me happy.  It was during this time that I had the happiest memories, so of course doing these same things brings back the same happy feeling and leaving me inspired.  

Let me ask this first, how many of you remember sitcoms like The Wonder Years, Full House, Step by Step, or even just the TGIF series period?  One show my mom and I used to watch was Growing Pains.  By the time the series hit season six the theme song became a cappella and if you know my family you would know that my mother and I love tight harmony even though I favor a minor cord.

So go ahead and laugh, but I have been watching every season lately.  I came across the one titled Carol's Carnival.  Please go ahead and laugh again because I have now watched this specific episode three times. (Ok, even I laughed at this one).  I like carnivals, fairs, amusement parks, etc.  I love the magic within these places.  Do me a favor if you do not believe there is magic there, sit on a bench and watch.  I want you to watch the parents, the employees, and more specifically watch the children.  Look at their eyes as they sparkle.  Listen to the laughter that comes barreling out because nothing is holding it back.  Observe the childish innocence, that we as adults, may have lost due to obligation and responsibility of the real world.  I want you for once to sit back and pretend to be a kid again, but do it without caring what the other adults around you will think.

I watched Carol's Carnival and observing the scene with the magic mirrors.  You all know the kind; one mirror makes you look tall like a giant, another as small as a midget with a big butt, fat as pig, and even as skinny as an unlikely model.  Not only did I connect with this moment, but I held on to it until the end of the show.  Carol and Jake stand in front of a fat mirror where Carol informs him that she used to be that and this is how she sees herself.  Then in front of the skinny mirror she wishes she was what she saw even though Jake tried to convince her otherwise.  

By the end of the show, the audience realizes that Jake had alternate intentions for Carol that night even though he was able to realize there was more to her.  Carol on the other hand was instructed to declare she was beautiful even after a student from Yale turned her down and Jack sent her home. Carol apologized to Jake before leaving basically for being herself.  This was when Jake made her realize that she was beautiful by no one else's standards but her own.

I am sure we have all been there in the land of insecurities and to a degree I do not believe we ever leave.  If there is one thing this episode has strengthened it is the fact that, for me, I do not care what anyone thinks.  I will not be brought down by drama if only to please another person and make that person feel better and I will not be ashamed for doing all the same childish twerks now that I used to do as a kid.  I am VERY proud to be young at heart, to hope Santa exists, and pray Peter Pan takes me to Neverland because somewhere in there lies a little bit of magic and who better to spread it......than me. :)