A Book For the Ages (All of Them!)

        This is so broad of a topic that I can't even begin to consider narrowing it down. I mean, there are just so many favorites out there to consider! You've got TV shows, movies, novels and so forth. And within those categories, there are even more sub-divisions: Romance, Comedy, Horror, Suspense, Thriller. I could just keep going forever. And for that matter, so can my list of all-time favorite fictional characters. When I was little, without a doubt my favorite character was Pippi Longstockings - I actually had my mom read me the book almost every single night (basically until I could read it myself.) Pippi was strong, and fearless, and brave. She was confident, joyous, and carefree. She never hesitated, whether it was to pull a prank on two stupid cops or just speak her mind when the pharmacist offered her a cream to get rid of her freckles - unabashed, she exclaimed that anyone who wanted to get rid of their freckles was crazy. She, in fact, wanted even more! Reading the book, I much more related to Annika, the reserved sister and next-door neighbor, but Annika was always the one worrying that something would go wrong, that their parents would get mad at them, that they were breaking the rules -  but, I didn't want to be Annika, I wanted to be free-spirit Pippi who didnt have any parents telling her what to do! From the top of her flaming red braids all the down down to her mismatched outfit, knee-high socks, and shoes several sizes too big, Pippi was pretty much my role model. As a little girl, I was incredibly shy (more so than now, if possible) and I guess reading about all of the fabulous adventures Pippi went on gave me some courage. Not buy the entire supply of a candy store, but maybe just step out of my comfort zone and actually smile at someone next time they greeted me instead of hide behind my mothers' legs. (But, I won't lie and say that after reading Pippi could lift her horse and carry him around the house, I didn't try to lift my grandpa's donkey on the farm. It was a valid assumption at the time...perhaps not a well thought out one, but a valid one all the same. Plus, donkey's are lighter than horses...and it's all we had.)
        Having grown up now, I don't read Pippi every night anymore. In fact, I probably haven't read the book in a year or two. But, the mere fact that when asked what fictional character I would be, my mind immediately jumps to Pippi should demonstrate just how great of an impact she had on me. Even today, I probably still don't have half of the strength Pippi has in accomplishing things. Anything she set her mind too, even if it seemed impossible, she always managed to find a way to do it and always do it better than anticipated. I guess what I'm attempting to say, the bigger picture out of all of this, is that even though I read that books so long ago, it still manages to inspire me to be just as fearless, and well, outrageous and non-conforming (!) as Pippi was.

Spoiler Alert: Because I was that obsessed, I read all of the sequels and I just wanted to calm everyone down and say that yes, Pippi does find her shipwrecked father at last. Ye needn't fret any longer.

*Paula, I commend you on your choice of fictional character. Had you not beaten me to posting 2 hours earlier, I might have just stolen Rose from you :) *