As young children, most of us aren’t able to grasp the idea that we can be anything other than ourselves. Parents and teachers are always reminding us to “just be yourself.” Well, who else are we supposed to be? Until I was around thirteen years old, I knew exactly who I was and I didn’t see how I could possibly be anyone else. Then came high school.
I had a tough few years trying to find my way in high school, and for the first little while, I just tried to blend in. I attempted taking on the personalities of the people around me. I put my head down and walked in time with the shiny, sparkling people around me who I thought were so much better than I could ever be.
When I finally came to my senses and moved on from that miserable existence it was the summer after my grade eleven year. I was searching idly for something to read during those long, hot months and my fingers happened to graze the cover of my mother’s copy of Bossypants. Having nothing better to do, I picked up the book and started reading. My eyeballs were glued to those pages for the next three days. I tore through that book and soaked in each word written by the queen of comedy herself, Tina Fey. With titles like “Amazing, Gorgeous, Not Like That,” her chapters made me feel like I wasn’t alone—that there were other girls out there with geeky souls just like mine and not only were these other girls doing just fine, some of them were even brilliant, happy, rich and famous like Tina herself or her buddy Amy Poehler.
This book inspired me to be the person I was so sure I could never lose sight of as a child. It allowed me to giggle and occasionally snort my way back to who I really was. I’m finally spending my time with people who appreciate my freak flag, and I’ve even found people who help me hoist it. By letting her own unique brand of nerd take center stage in the hilarious Bossypants, Tina Fey has become one of those people.