Characters that Raise You

Anne the newly adopted orphan.

What is that movie or book that you always ran to?  The one that made you laugh and made you cry.  The one whose glory never faded, even as you grew older.

It was the one you had to buy multiple copies of, because you wore it out.  It was the one that taught you about life, love, loss and who you wanted to be.  It was the one that inspired you and encouraged you.

For me, it was the movies: Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea.  Each is nearly four hours long, and ever since I was about 4 years old, I sat through those movies with a rapt attention that I didn't realize was unusual.  I didn't know half the words they used (being set in the late 1800s), but something about them touched me so deeply I couldn't be pulled away.

Anne with kindred spirit Diana.

In Anne I found a kindred spirit (a phrase I learned from those movies).  We saw the world in the same way (despite the fact that she was from 1800s coastal Canada, lived miles away from other homes, and was, in fact, not real).  She also talked too much, letting her mouth get her in trouble.  She was completely misunderstood by most of her peers, but when she made a true friend, it was a friend for life.  Anne was true to her mores, almost to a fault - and it took growing up to realize some ideals and axioms had to be re-evaluated.  Sometimes it took a while for her to learn a lesson, but her heart was always in the right place.
She could be terribly stubborn, rash and pig-headed, but when her temper cooled, she would own up to her mistakes.

Most importantly, Anne was passionate and driven, but she put family first.  And - she was a writer.  So now, the question begs, did she shape who I am?  Or did I just recognize my likeness in her? 

Anne the writer and teacher.

I frequently finding myself actually saying lines she said (and in 8 hours of a movie about a talkative girl, she has a lot of lines).  When I meet a new guy, I can't help but think, if just for a moment, "Is this my Gilbert?" (The love of her life that she doesn't realize until the last 3 minutes of the 8 hour saga).  When I was a kid, I prayed that my hair would turn red so we could really look like sisters (she too was very pale).  Unfortunately, hair as dark as mine doesn't just "turn" red and I was never allowed to dye it.  For years, I wanted dresses with "puffed sleeves" just like Anne had in the dress Matthew buys her for her birthday.  (P.S. - I'm pretty sure dresses with puffed sleeves haven't been around since the 1800s).

These days, I still watch Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea with as much love as I did at age 4.  It still makes me laugh and cry.  It feels like I am spending time with a best friend.  As a kid, my favorite of the two movies was the first - where Anne was younger.  As an adult, my favorite is the second - it is where I most see myself.  Even my mother admits that Anne helped raise me.  Is this weird?  Is this attachment to a fictional character unusual?

Anne with her Gilbert.

Call me crazy, but I'm glad I had Anne growing up.  In my mind, she always understood.  She experienced the same things I experienced; because even in 100 years, people and experiences don't change that much - just the machinery.