• I was born Spiderman, a Power Ranger, and my favorite Beastie from Beast Wars. Before that, I was a balloon with big eyes and a big mouth.

    I dreamed of climbing across massive mountain tops. I dreamed of swimming across the ocean, and back again. I dreamed of running across China's great wall, and I wanted to pull myself up Mount Everest. I wanted to break all the rules, cross all the lines and make up my own. I wanted to be the best, beat my brother, and grin at him knowing I always could.

    I wanted to live in the world flat broke in a Gypsy caravan with my pet lion and vampire best friend. I wanted to have a Spiderman costume that had real webbing and give my other friend the Rhino costume that could break down walls. I didn't want to catch footballs with my face, and I wanted to be like Mrs-too-pretty-to-be-nice, but instead I was the girl on the back of the milk carton that wanted to be one of the boys.

    I escorted the spiders outside and never screamed and I let them free because they had kids, too. I protected the bat huddled in the corner of the school when snot-nosed kids threw their rocks. I had a crush on a boy who almost made me burn down my house from leaving my Mr. Noodles on the stove. I wanted to be like a flower, but I was kind of like a weed, or those dandelions no one really liked but attracted all the bees. Maybe I was kind of like an exotic cactus needing water. In middle school, I was voted most likely to let them all down, because I couldn't buy the s**t they advertised and I always asked why why why.

    Curiosity always killed the cat but I left my fingerprints on everything and everyone'll always remember me leaving my mark.