bye there's no way-
it's my one year anniversary on agdn. time really flies, doesn't it?
i remember i was so excited my mom was going to let me join this site. we had been following it for american girl news for a while then and i just really wanted to talk about dolls with other girls who loved dolls. i remember the first thing i did was comment on @CourtneysBiggestFan 's post about how many dolls you have. she liked my comment and i literally almost fainted, i think, because i was squealing so much. this blog had brought me so much happiness. back then i was MyAGLife.
i was 11 then. now i'm almost 13.
i've packed up all my dolls except three. i don't play with them anymore. but i miss them. i really do. i'm just... i'm really scared of what people will think. sure, they knew last year that i played with them but this year i'm in the seventh grade and that's like... the hardest year. people at school like me this year and that's never happened before...i'm just- i can't risk it.
but then i remember how happy american girl made me feel. i remember how i never came home and cried. how i never had to fake a smile at school. because i had real friends. i had them and they were always there for me when no one else was. because they don't ask questions. they just like you for you and i miss when i was myself. i miss when i didn't care. i miss my dolls.
because they gave me joy. and i don't feel much joy anymore.
so i want to thank @Sydney for inspiring me to always play with my dolls no matter what anyone else thinks. i want to thank @CapeCardamDolls and @Is@bellaThePhotographer for when we used to talk on all-nighters. because i remember when my dad would be like "bailey, what are you doing?" at 10:30 on a school night and i would reply "i'm talking to ivy on agdn!!!" because i loved those things so much. i want to thank @Potato and the doll for just being a really cool person. you joined my google classroom, you commented on my old blog and your just really cool. and everyone else on this blog i would like to thank because y'all are all awesome and i love you all. thanks for helping me survive this past year.
-bailey
I will miss you so much, and i hope that one day you will face another time when we were happy and didn’t know it, like on the all nighters. Wishing you lots of love and hope for the future, because you have to get through the tornado before the ground is still.
Love,
Isabella
Bailey, Bailey, Bailey…
sometimes being a doll person is hard. Trust me, I know. But honestly, it’s no different from liking hot wheels or LEGO because its something that some might see as babyish but deep down, you know that’s who you are and you need to accept that. If you don’t, you wont be happy. I know that sometimes social image is the most important thing in a middle/high schooler’s eyes, but you don’t need to erase a passion of yours for people to like you. you can someone with a shared interest of yours with anything, not just dolls. these kids might seem “popular” now, but when we’re older, the misfits are the ones that’ll make a difference in this great big world of ours. I don’t even know how many people think of me as ”weird” or “strange” because of my height or friends that I have.
Do I care? No. I just continue my life as my weird little self because that’s what makes me happy. Once you find the right people for you, you’ll be friends for life and nobody’s in your way to tell you otherwise.
now get out there and find your people :)
Sadie
we'll miss you so much !! i'm so glad i got to know you, and you've been such an amazing and supportive friend ! remember that no one is rushing you to grow up, and you're only a 7th grader for one more semester. i hope you can find friends who truly love and value you regardless of your hobbies. remember that we'll always be here for you !!
ps. i was starting to wonder if anyone even remembered friday all-nighters, the golden years of agdn :)
Well, here's one grown up in the room with a little perspective. I got Felicity in 8th grade when she first came out. I was so excited about it that one of my other middle school friends ended up getting her as well, and we loved our dolls all through high school. You will probably go through a period where yo do put them away - more for space sake than anything else. I still have my 4 originals - Kirsten, Sam, Molly, and Felicity. They have traveled across the country with me 4 or 5 times.
My advice is to keep out the things that make you happy. If you put your dolls away because of peer pressure, you are not being true to yourself. If you put them away because you have new interests for a while, by all means, keep them in their boxes safely tucked away for you to rediscover in a year or 2 or 3.
On a personal note - I was always the kid that never fit in. I was "history bounding" before it was a thing. In 4th grade my entire wardrobe was 19th century (it spanned from Kirsten to Samantha). Yeah, I was a kid... but I still dressed that way in middle school and high school..... and I still do. I found my own personal style (Somewhere between Caroline and Kirsten :) ) When I graduated from high school and was finally in the real world working real jobs none of my co workers ever said anything negative about my style, mostly just positive. I was even working in one of my long dresses one day and a little girl about 4 years old quietly asked her mommy if I was a princess... The story unfolded that she eventually came over to ask me, and I told her yes. And when she grew up she could be too. Adults aren't nearly as mean and snarky as being with 100 kids your own age. It's hard to change your perspective when you are stuck with the same age group all day every day.
So, keep your dolls out and play with them and love them as long as you want. This 42 year old gives you permission :)
Wow! This is really inspiring! Personally, even though I don’t care what people think, I was running out of room in my room, and so since I have a big closet, I set up a big doll world, with my entire collection! :) Of course, if I don’t want anyone to see it, I could always close my door…
no problem. thx for the support Bailey! Wednesday is EIGHT YEARS OF AGDN OMG