let's hear it for...

BARBIE!

So, I am sure you've all heard how awful Barbie is. She will destroy your self-esteem and ultimately you will develop an eating disorder if you play with her. Well, sorry, but I have played with many a Barbie in my lifetime and I have never had an eating disorder. Besides eating disorders are a whole different ball game. I personally feel like Barbie is getting a bad rep so here is my defense.

Ever heard the Barbie slogan? "Be who you wanna be... B-A-R-B-I-E". For me at least, this is the perfect Barbie saying! My Barbies were whoever I wanted them to be. Since my sisters and I had a ridiculous amount of them, each one had their own personality, talents, background. It was a veritable universe. It was all about the character.

I have so many great memories of different games! Sometimes we chose a time period: medieval, Edwardian, civil war, futuristic. Other times we copied a t.v. series: E.R., the bachelor, project runway. We formatted a situation and used their permanent personalities to fill the characters. Other times, they had families and their children had personalities as well. There were sweet romances that we squealed over, bitter enemies we hated, and always hilarious moments where we couldn't stop laughing.

The clothes were the best. They had to fit their character, and where they were going. The civil war dresses made us get creative. Kathleen had the real talent at building a dress from scratch. Some of the greatest moments were when all three of us would sit in a circle with a box of fabric and clothes in front of us, and the radio playing.

Don't forget Ken! Don't worry, I didn't:) All of our guys had great personalities as well. Some were smart, others not so much... They had insecurities and interests and fears. Although there were definitely an overwhelming amount of girls compared to guys, we always made it work.

Basically, I think it is a shame people don't appreciate Barbie. Probably they never got to play with the three of us:) But still. Barbie isn't just a pretty face, she is whoever you want her to be, a friend, a professional, or maybe just a doll. Barbie will always be dear to my heart.