Baby Rocket

Tomorrow is the summer solstice, which means it is the longest day of the year. In Oxford, that means it will probably be bright and sunny until around 10PM. In many cultures, this day marks an important change of seasons.

I see this day as a chance for reinvention. If I haven’t already told you, (which would be pretty weird because I pretty much told everyone I’ve ever met) I recently went with my friend Vicky and saw the movie Rocketman about Elton John’s life, and it kind of rocked my world. The idea of self-reinvention took root and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what it means to take a few new outfits, maybe a new haircut, or a new nail polish color, and totally change your outlook on life and who you are. I’m not planning to change my name (though for the record, if I did have a stage name I think it would be Baby Rocket… to honor Rocketman himself but also because baby rocket here is the name for arugula which is hilarious) but I am planning to change how I look at the world and how I act. I know I’ve said it numerous times before, but this time I think it will really stick. I’ve grown tired of trying to fit into any type or mold that I think should suit me. As Whitman said, “I contain multitudes” — and I’m tired of denying myself the joy of these contradictions. I don’t have to assign fun characteristics, jobs, and hobbies to my characters in fiction. I can literally go out and embrace those characteristics, apply to those jobs, and learn those hobbies. C’mon, it’s 2019. YouTube has tutorials on how to do pretty much everything!

My dear friend Julianna heard I was planning on embarking on this journey and was immediately in it to win it. If any of you want to join us as we re-imagine ourselves as who we want to be, feel welcome! I, for one, am off to write some rock’n’roll tunes and shop for some feather boas. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.