An Old-Fashioned Girl

I was thinking last night about some of my favorite books and I remembered An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. I have read it three or four times, and I've read the last chapter even more than that. It's just so happy, I used to read it some times when I was feeling down.

Thinking about the book made me remember when I got it. One year in high school I was very sick over Christmas break. All my friends were sick, too. We figured since we already had the bug no one needed to worry about catching it and we had a Christmas party anyway. My best friend's mom was nice enough to let all these sick teenage girls come over to her house.

It was at that party that my best friend, Melissa, gave me An Old-Fashioned Girl. I had never read it before, but she thought I would like it.  I loved it. I think she knew I would enjoy it because she and I could both identify with the main character.

I'm not saying we were 'old-fashioned' exactly, but we didn't quite fit in with the cool girls at our school. However, much like Polly, we really didn't care. We weren't concerned with what was 'cool' at the time. We liked what we liked, and if that made us dorks (which it did) then so be it.

I see that same attitude now in my seven-year-old daughter and it thrills me. Her tastes seem young compared to some girls her age, who have already started trying to be older and cooler. While I know it won't last forever, I hope she stays young as long as possible. And I really hope she is always willing to do what she wants whether it's the cool thing or not.