As a child I was always more fascinated with the beautiful idea of mermaids in my back yard stream, fairies in the swamp, and Indians in the ferns. Bare foot and unbrushed hair coupled with blue shorts and a yellowed flowered shirt, I was an explosion of color with endless imagination. I was convinced I was born with dirty feet and even the hardest of scrubbing wouldn’t undo what would only be in vain the next day.

Most children my age were much more infatuated with Disney princesses while I wanted only to be Peter Pan. Lip stick and their mother's high healed shoes paired with tea parties from miniature china sets instead of calloused feet, mud face paint and acorn cap tea cups was the difference between girly girls and me. Hours of after school cartoons was restricted in my childhood by only a few shows Saturday morning. My childhood was dominated by books and the ability to understand that not all of life's wonders are seen with the eye, but with the mind. I was in a world of couch potatoes and books worms, and with all honesty, I would pick worms over potatoes any day.