Do you remember any of the thoughts you had as a kid? I know that kid me and grown up me are the same person, but they are also significantly different people. 

Today, I definitely don’t find as many things surprising – I’ve seen too much. I’m more willing to stand up for myself, and others, because I know what’s at stake if I don’t. And I’ve learned that fame is not really a worthwhile goal. Granted I have never been more than minor-league local famous, but: ask my husband about how fun it is to go out on a date with your partner, knowing that some random person you don’t know is going to come up to you both at the theater/restaurant/fair/whatever and insist your date give THEM attention instead of you. I really have a lot of sympathy for those famous people who are always nice to their fans. I can’t imagine a bunch of people rushing me, cell phone first, asking to take my picture. I would not do well. 

Back to the question at hand. There are a lot of little glimmers about Kid Me that I can remember that show me Grown Me was there all along. 

I know I was a tiny feminist, and that I always saw my religion through a lens that worked for me. 

In the Catholic church there is this prayer, the Nicene Creed, that you repeat at each mass, stating everything you, as a Catholic believe.  It was burned into my memory from a young age. 

In one line, the prayer states that Jesus, “for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven.” As a 5-year old, I was CERTAIN that “salvation” meant “women.” Because why would Jesus have done what he did just for men? Clearly, he did it for men AND women. Thinking about this still makes me smile, because I know those principles of equity were always there, even before I realized it. 

Little Me could read for days. My mom has photos of me, toddler size, sitting with giant Sears catalogs or other book type things, just flipping through the pages. She told me this was one of my beloved activities. And that love of books – whatever type of books – persists. 

She was convinced she had something to say. When I got a little older, able to read and write, Little Me was always writing something, publishing independent newspapers, or putting on plays for whoever would watch me, preparing for my big shot. It translated into years of writing, making videos, producing radio broadcasts, teaching others how to tell stories, and public speaking. 

And maybe most laughably, she was also passionate about her celebrity crushes. I remember thinking Luke Skywalker was the cutest boy in the…not world, but universe? 

Anyways, he’s not exactly my cup of tea anymore, but he did a really good job in Life of Chuck. 

And I’m still delighted by the fact that when I saw him on Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I recognized Skellig Michael immediately from my trip to Ireland in the early 2000s and was like “Oh, me and Luke Skywalker definitely share the same taste in vacation destinations.” 

These days I have a short list of male celebrities who (in my mind) are obviously my best friends. No big deal. It’s not weird. 

Today I have a real-life Little Me in my house, and I can see some of these things reflected in her: her stacks of Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club books, her endless choreographed dance performances, her passion for the Ninja Kids (I don’t know, friends, they are just some annoying YouTuber children, but she’s really into one of them. Paxton or something.). 

But I can also see the pieces that are just her: her passion for planning everything from her playdates to her blueprints for Magna Tile towers; her cartoon drawings of adorable animals; her ability to completely lose track of time when she’s doing something she loves; and her obsession with magicians. 

Being a parent has made me realize how much of someone’s personality really is there from the start, and how intelligent and unique and special every person’s point of view is. 

I’m so grateful for the things we have in common, but even more I’m excited that she has her own interests and passions. And I can’t wait to see how they change, and shape her view of the world as she moves from Little to Grown.