Out of all of the story books which I have written, this one makes me cry.
Which is kind of strange, considering it is a little kids book about a princess summer camp.
Why I Love This Story
This story is strangely reflective to the way that I felt growing up.
No, I don’t have wings, a beautiful fox tail, or bunk with royalty, but I do know how it feels like to be the odd one out.
Sometimes it felt that I was being judged by everyone around me all of the time.
I was overly self-conscious over the tiniest of flaws.
That self-conscious grew to a paralyzing fear, a fear of looking at others, of attracting attention, or even trying to make new friends.
For some reason, I felt that I was always subpar to everyone around me.
My face…imperfect (puberty was not kind to my complexion).
My clothes…imperfect.
My voice…imperfect.
My opinions…imperfect.
Although I was surrounded by tons of wonderful people who were never critical of me, or did or said anything to hurt me, I was haunted by the looks and opinions of the seldom few who were.
Some were good intentioned, wanting to elevate me to their sense of what was best, while others compensated for their lack of self-worth by tearing down others.
Thankfully, when I left home and went to college, I realized that what other people thought about me didn’t determine my value and that I was as good as everyone else.
Now, I speak my opinions.
I approach people and make new friends.
I make my own goals and dreams and not wait for someone to tell me what they should be.
Sometimes, I might sink back into old mentalities, but now I know that my sense of self shouldn’t be determined by others.
The world is full of Princess Charlottes, but “It’s better to be you than a Princess Charlotte two.”
The Imperfect Book
As you read Imperfectly Me, you may notice some mistakes.
There are several reasons for that.
First off, the flash drive with the only copy of the book file got lost somewhere at the Seattle/Tacoma airport.
Once I discovered that the flash drive was missing, I contemplated taking the book off line since it was…imperfect.
Forget the fact that it had taken me months to put together, had wonderful illustrations, memorable characters, and an amazing message.
It wasn’t good enough because of a few overlooked typos.
It wasn’t good enough because a few people would focus on a misplaced ‘s’ or two.
Forget all of the good and focus and the tiny imperfections.
Taking the story to heart, I decided to leave Imperfectly Me, imperfect.
That’s not to say that one day I might revisit it and reillustrate it, or that I won’t learn from my mistakes and make multiple backup copies.
It means I’m going to acknowledge the good in it, because a mistake or two doesn’t make something or someone worthless.
If you read and notice a error or two, let it serve as a reminder that:
Even though I may try hard, I know that I’m not always perfect, and I don’t expect or pretend to be. And even though I may be imperfect, I’m perfectly me.
Princess Pricilla Piccadilly-Imperfectly Me
