The Top 3 Ways Toys Inspire YOUR Story
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| Photo by Khanh Steven on Unsplash |
Please note: I will be focusing on dolls, but this relates to any type of toy you own or have owned.
I grew up with a Barbie collection, a Bratz collection and one My Scene doll (Barbie, naturally). Looking back, they were more than just dolls, more than fashion icons. They allowed me to express myself before I realized that I had a passion for writing. I honestly still have "a passion for fashion" and love online fashion games and looking through magazines. But the dolls did more for me than I knew.
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| Barbie dolls |
1) Dolls Develop Imagination
Yep, storytelling! (Didn't see that coming, I'll bet). My dolls let me create stories or re-enact the ones I saw on television. Kidnappings, evil step-sisters, saving friends from near-death experiences, meeting Prince Charming, I had a million of 'em. I also had about 26 Barbies at one point, all with different themes. One was Rapunzel, another was an aerobics instructor name Theresa, another one was a 60s school teacher who I called Jaime after the classic Bionic Woman TV show.
Guess what? Loving Barbie dolls made a relative buy me a Barbie Detective computer game (#2 The Beach Vacation, which I played over and over for years). And then, I was eventually introduced to the classic Nancy Drew book series. A few years later, another relative discovered Nancy Drew computer games when they were still sold in-store.
The point is, Barbie has had so many themes and careers over the decades, that there is a Barbie doll for everyone, whether it's Barbie, Ken, Stacey or one of the many others.
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| From Left to Right: Dana (Bratz), Barbie (My Scene), Chloe (Bratz) |
2) Dolls Help Us Realize Our Passions
I found Bratz after I had donated most of my Barbie collection around my tween years. They helped me realize that, as much as I don't follow it, I love fashion. I found their Tokyo collection was so cool because they were the first ones I saw to wear a skirt over pants. The originality was what impressed me. Like Barbie, they have dozens of themes, but never stray from emphasizing fashion.
Around that time, I started drawing and used my Bratz dolls and Archie comics to practice drawing models and creating my own outfits. There were a few other girls at school that also got into that, so it was a fun group activity that I cherished.
I never saw any of the Bratz movies and was never keen on the Barbie ones, but I came across the Rock Angelz music and fell in love with their song "So Good" and recently unearthed it again. It's such a powerful song and speaks more than about fashion. Bratz, in general, is about giving girls the hope that they can do what they love and achieve great things. I had received a Rock Angels coloring pack where I could color the four characters and their backgrounds. I taped them together, folded them up and would one day hang it in my room on the wall. I have moved a few times since my tween years and recently discovered that I can't find them anywhere.
Though not the first time, losing childhood items cuts me deep.
In my high school years, I saw a few episodes of a Bratz television show where they ran a fashion magazine while going to school. I recently started watching them all in order and was reminded that Bratz were more of a role model for me than Barbie because I felt like I could relate more to them. Barbie always seemed to be perfect and therefore, unreal. But Bratz made me believe I was capable and were there for me when I was depressed. Their show gave them a Nancy Drew-esque quality where writing for their fashion magazine was the main plot, other things happened, like kidnappings, spying, sabotage and competitions.
The Bratz and My Scene websites had fun games that let me experience fashion through a different medium and let me create without having to draw or sew anything. I wasn't drawn to the My Scene dolls, mainly because they were too similar to Barbie dolls and they had Barbie as their pack leader as well. But I do love their webisodes.
Similarly, I loved the DivaStarz games and webisodes, but I was introduced to them late, so about a year later, their website disappeared. I liked them because they were similar to Bratz, but still seem to have their own style.
3) Dolls Let Us Discover Who We Are
While Barbie stands out more than other Barbie dolls, such as Stacey and Theresa, Bratz and My Scene are a group of girls, so kids have more opportunity to find a doll they can relate to personality-wise.
The main My Scene group is made up of Barbie (who was eventually replaced by a near look-alike Kennedy), Chelsea, Madison, and Nolee (but her doll was discontinued later on). There are also My Scene guys to go with the girls. The webisodes showed River, Hudson, Sutton, and Bryant who were the girls' dates and/or boyfriends. Like the Bratz, there were other dolls that were introduced, such as Delancey, Kenzie and Ellis.
In terms of relating to the main My Scene girls, they were all given zodiac signs and personality traits. I relate the most to Nolee because she does yoga, believes in karma and has an easy-going attitude. I would have been in her shoes in the Tis the Season webisode telling the girls to break up the outfit amongst each other. Barbie is a Libra, like me. I connect with Madison and Chelsea because they both have artistic interests: writing songs and designing clothes.
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| Jade from Bratz |
According to the Bratz television show, Yasmin is an aspiring writer, loves yoga and has a soft spot for animals in general. I would probably be drawn more to her personality (although I also lean towards Jade because she was the first Bratz doll I got). And with Bratz, there are even more dolls beyond the four in the TV show. There's Meygan, Dana, Roxxi, Fianna, Cameron, Dylan, Eitan as well as a long list of others. They all have unique nicknames and personalities.
Dolls, and any toy for that matter, fuel our curiosity and imagination, shaping us into the people we are and will be. They are role models who are there for us during the dark days.
No one is too old for their toys!
So, tell me: do you have any favorite childhood toys or items that shaped your life? Any that you lost and miss? Or do you have some that are now heirlooms passed to other relatives or friends? Feel free to leave a comment below!
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