Finding Utopia
How do you know that you are heading down the right career path?
For the past year or so, going back to Elkhart, Indiana to visit my parents has been feeling less like going home, and more like going on vacation– vacation to a largely barren territory inhabited mostly by a rather simple, if not uncouth, indigenous people. It’s relaxing, actually. When I climb down from the train platform, hop into Dad’s little Ford truck, and demand to be taken to the nearest Taco Bell, I can feel the pressure of my “pre-graduate stress disorder” slightly lessen.
Here, my ever-wandering eyes needn’t bother searching the sidewalks for stylish pedestrians. I can go for days without so much as glancing at a Women’s Wear Daily, and no one would know or care. No one in Elkhart talks about resumes, portfolios, or internships. Even my parents’ number one concern, in regards to me. is whether or not I am getting enough to eat.
Still, in the back of my mind, is the one gnawing question that can keep me awake at night when I’m lying on the pathetic little cot that replaced my bed after my room became Dad’s home office: As I near college graduation, how do I know if I am heading down the right path?
My most recent trip to Elkhart provided a bit of insight into my future from a most unexpected source– the past. Sitting around the dinner table, as my parents heaped mountains of food onto my plate, apparently under the impression that I am wasting away, they asked me how my long-time friend Ariel was doing in her Political Science classes. I told them how much she seems to enjoy this major– quite a relief for them to hear, since the girl, their unofficial third daughter, has changed her concentration four times. I was chewing and musing on Ariel’s final choice when I suddenly remembered Utopia.
When we were quite young, my best friend and I didn’t play “house” or “doctor”. We made believe that we were mermaids, diving into her pool with scrunchies around our ankles, or ancient Egyptians, performing exotic burial rituals, or our beloved “Greek gods and goddesses”, reenacting the ancient myths that we knew by heart. At the height of our imaginative years, we made our greatest departure from the stereotypical game of “house”. We started playing “country” and called it Utopia.
We didn’t carelessly dive into our little game. Oh no! Before we could scamper about the yard with floral bedsheets tied around our waists, we sat in the tree fort, colored pencils in hand, huddled over The Book.
As I watched, Ariel drew the outline of the imaginary land into the first crisp page of our brand new sketchbook, coloring the flatland green, the mountain ranges brown, and the rivers and lakes in blue. She marked the borders of the three kingdoms that made up Utopia: one for her, one for me, and one for my little sister. (Naturally, my sister had to have her own region to rule, but, as she was only five, she wasn’t allow to contribute much to The Book.) Before Ariel was satisfied with her part in the creation of Utopia, she would also write out the country’s population, give it’s size in kilometers, name and pinpoint the three capitol cities as well as the other cities of importance, describe the political climate of each region, describe the atmospheric climates, and list all the major imports and exports. Might I inform you that at that time, we were only in 2nd grade, and in school, were just beginning to learn the locations of the continents.
The Book was then handed to me. As the best artist of the bunch, (though little sister would eclipse me in that talent just a few years down the road) my first duty was to sketch portraits of each of us– the imaginary us, that is. Ariel was blue eyed and buxom, with blonde hair down to her outrageously curvaceous hips, while I was long and lean, with loads of crimson ringlets and emerald eyes.
Then came my favorite part. I would fill page after page with fashion illustrations. I drew elaborate Elizabethan court gowns for each princess, according to her personal style preferences: flirty and provocative for Princess Ariel, sporty and unfussy for Princess Anna, and cute and playful for Princess Elizabeth. I also drew three dinner dresses, three day dresses, three morning robes, three nightgowns, three lingerie ensembles (no joke), three swimsuits, three business suits, three riding habits, three sporting ensembles, three winter coats, three autumn outfits, three summer playsuits, and three spring numbers.
Only then were we ready to start playing, that is, after we took a moment to establish amongst ourselves which outfits we were going to “wear” first. Unfortunately, we spent so much time in the planning phase, that we didn’t even get to play that first day; Ariel’s dad made us come in and wash up for dinner. We didn’t mind, we could return to Utopia the next day. And, as it turns out, we returned, in spirit, 14 years later, too.
A map of Utopia by Ariel
Dresses by me
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