For One Lifelong Fan, ‘Barbie’ Had an Incredible, Unexpected Emotional Power
Growing up feeling displaced takes a toll. Despite their age, the child may never feel good enough to be an adult and may never feel righteous enough to have any commonality with peers. The child may think they’re a burden to their parents, like a pariah who needs extra effort and resources to be taken care of. Then, the kid moves forward in life, compromising their emotional comfort just to make it easier for others around them.
Throughout that entire journey, it’s as if they’re trying to find their true self.
At 35 years old, I still feel like that same outcast searching for acceptance, and seeing Barbie opening day gave me a reality check of who I am, where I came from, and who I still dream of becoming. As a first-generation Black woman college graduate, I know I have made strides other women in my family haven’t. But there’s still something within me that keeps me starving to want more in life, to expect the same things I wanted as a kid when I first discovered Barbie and before Pandora’s Box of life tainted my optimism.