Reclaiming: Part 1

I've decided I have the following goals for this year:

1. Get a job
2. Lose 15 pounds
3. Get my license
4. Write, edit, & ready a story for publishing
5. Get involved in the Columbia community - by volunteering or taking classes (dance/acting)

Since I can check off my first goal (I found a job! That I like!), I decided I needed a reward. And since I'm reclaiming my childhood, the first thing I thought of was toys.

When I was younger, I was crazy about horses. I lived on a ranch in Wyoming for a summer. I loved Belle's horse in Beauty & the Beast. I collected all sorts of horses, read every horse book I could get my hands on, and memorized horse breeds. I even thought about being a jockey for a while (I'm short enough, but too stocky). I even took horseback riding lessons and got a blue ribbon for our jumping routine.

One of my favorite things was My Little Pony. They were beautiful. I loved their eyes, the variation of colors, and the beauty marks. I had a pink one with white hair that I named Cody (because we lived in Cody, Wyoming on the ranch - I named everything Cody for a while, regardless of gender), a baby pegasus (her real name was Buzzer but I can't remember what I called her), and probably a dozen more.

But of course, in the 80's and 90's, New Age was what fundamentalist Christians were in an uproar about. I don't know how the rumor got started, but My Little Pony became a target for reasons I still don't understand.

Apparently the My Little Pony show had magic in it and unicorns are a symbol of the Anti-Christ? The only information I can find online now about the link between New Age and My Little Pony are a bunch of cult-like Christian websites that are honestly terrifying and clearly not accurate in their research.

My mom got rid of all my ponies except my two favorites (I don't even know where they are now). I was crushed.

So, since getting a job is crucial but not a huge step forward for me, I decided I could spend a little money and buy myself a My Little Pony.

There's a shop called Ponyology that specializes in selling slightly used My Little Ponies of all generations (I prefer generations 1-3, I don't like the new designs).

I found this one and fell in love:

Isn't she beautiful? She's named "Tuneful" and she's a rockstar. Also she has orange hair. AND she's a unicorn.

She's being shipped to me and hopefully will arrive next week. I'm so excited. I keep prancing around the mailbox, asking, "Did my pony get here yet?"

Some friends are a little concerned that I might be regressing.

I think instead this will help me put some old emotions and thoughts to rest.

You know what else I want?

-My Little Pet Shop (specific sets like Perky Puppy): I might have some of these in storage
-Calico Critters (specific sets, available on Amazon): These were gotten rid of for reasons unknown
-Playmobil Pirate Island (one very specific set): My mom said it wasn't ladylike for me to have it so she bought it for my brother. I still don't understand.
-My Little Ponies (specific ones like Boysenberry Pie)
-Candyland (the original one I grew up with, not the new redesign): fell apart from me playing it all the time
-Guess Who (the original one, or one I can change out with TV characters): fell apart
-My Little Pony look-alike Dog (specific one): lost in an unknown location
-Paper dolls (non-specific): My mom threw away a bunch I had cut out and put in a box under the bed
-Coloring books (non-specific)
-Picture books (specific titles, like Where The Wild Things Are): I just love them

Looks like I've got a lot of childhood to reclaim.

I'm also toying with the idea of writing a bunch of essays about childhood, trying to process through everything, both the good and the bad. I've written one essay (on the meaning and importance of toys and the effect of loss of toys), and I have about 35 more topics to write about - it all came together rather quickly. My hypnotherapist encouraged me to write them and keep in mind that if I'm writing a memoir, I could potentially seek out at least self-publishing if I felt like that was something I wanted to do.

So...yeah. Reclaiming. It's a start.