The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

I was five when it dawned on me - presumably over a coloring book or a carton of animal crackers - that my lifelong ambition of becoming a princess would probably never be fulfilled.

It was a disheartening revelation; I reacted by wailing deep, animalistic sobs and flinging crayons at a wall with an iron resolve. Iron, that is, until my mom intervened with the promise of ice cream, and I promptly forgot all about my shattered dreams. I blame Disney - it instilled me with delusions of yellow taffeta ball gowns and unattainably handsome princes.

Anyway, upon realizing my prospects of  a royal lineage were decidedly scant, I harbored many aspirations, all in quick succession of each other:  to be a scientist, a film director, a zookeeper, before lingering permanently on the most improbable one of all -  a writer.

Ever since, I’ve regarded the world with a sense of possibility. Heck, I can be a royal, scientific, film-directing, zoo-keeping writer. I can be anything.

All I have to do is kiss a few frogs.  

My Bookshelf is a Time Machine

My bookshelf is a melting pot of memorabilia. From my beloved Harry Potter books, to the softball trophies I received in second grade, it's the glue that's holding parts of my childhood together.

Looking at the snow globes I've collected (on the second to top shelf) reminds me of the places I've visited with my family over the years, from Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West to the Grand Canyon.

I have quite a few books on these shelves, which I've gathered through out my life. A lot of them, sadly, I haven't read. Others I've read countless times, like The Chocolate War. I spotted books that make me smile, like my Lizzie McGuire collection, and my Kim Possible books.

On the very top is my old magic kit, which entertained me for hours. Next to it is my Rose from Titanic collectible Barbie doll, which is still fresh in the box.

Everything on my bookshelf has meaning to me, whether it be my first Vogue magazine to the gold necklace my parents gave me.

I know I should of cleaned my bookshelf out long ago, but I don't think I ever will.