Am I a Barbie doll? No.

I’ve realized this when I discovered the power of my Nikes. Barbie is engineered by marketing professionals to wear high heels every day of her life; this means it would be impossible for her to wear a pair of Nike shoes. I have molded my Nikes to my feet. To be able to put my feet in a pair of high heels would be intimidating. Have you ever heard of Barbie going on missionary trips to help other in foreign countries? Or spending her Saturday advocating to rights of women and minorities? As far as I know, this has not happened.

I never had a Barbie doll as a young child, instead my mother made sure I had a nice pair of shoes or a book in my hand. There was just something about Barbie that did not interest me at all. Growing up I remember getting CD’s or books for Christmas, not some plastic doll with long, luxurious blonde hair, and perfect measurements. Yes, Barbie is an inspiration to most of us. She teaches a lot of individuals great marketing skills, and stands for the capitalism America is known for, whether this is a good thing is up to you. I was disappointed when I dissected Barbie one day and discovered that there was absolutely nothing inside. Barbie was empty, uninteresting, and I automatically lost interest.

I mentioned that Barbie does not wear Nike shoes. How would this fact help you learn more about me? When I lace up my Nike running shoes, I feel invincible, or as if I could concur the world instantly. I think it has to do with the stories my mother told me as a child. Saving lives every day of her life at a major hospital in our small town; she wears scrubs and comfortable sneakers, and putting everyone else before herself. The stories told to me have been a great inspiration to me. She made me think about all of the things that really I am capable of doing. She was the one who gave me my first pair of Nike running shoes and planted in them was the power of invincibility. To this day I wear my Nike running shoes everywhere except to anything non-conventional. I like to look outside of the box when observing things. Barbie’s existence and imagination depends on the plastic box that surrounds her. This is very boring. Life is to be experienced from all perspectives. Live outside of the box, because you only have one life to live, why not make the best out of it.

Never once in my life did I expect to run in a 5K marathon. Through tenancy, faith, and perseverance, I was not only able to fulfill this dream, but also do more in my life. Due to success in some athletics such as track, I began to sense that my team mates were not motivated like they had been at the beginning of the year. I knew I’d had Jesus in my life to help motivate me and help me keep confidence in myself for anything I do or have done. This motivated me to start an Fellowship of Christian Athletes team at my school early in the morning, hoping would help them and myself become closer to Jesus Christ and the other team mates also. The goal with starting this organization was to help motivate athletes to come closer to Jesus, and build confidence in themselves and help their team mates stay motivated, positive, and become closer to Jesus. Having this organization at my school became a huge impact on many athletes. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is still running strong and many non-athletes became closer to Jesus through FCA. Just the other day I had one of my female team mates come up to me and said, “I don’t know if I believe in God.” I have helped someone overcome their fear of not having faith in God and what he is powerful of doing. It’s amazing what one simple book can do. Jesus is always there, no matter how you may think of Him, and He is always willing for you to come into His life and praise Him.

When I look around at the girls at my school, I wonder which girls spent a lot of time with Barbie growing up. These may be the girls who are always concerned about what they look like on the outside and not about what’s inside. The ones who worry about what dress they’re going to wear than whether they will graduate from high school. The ones who worry about dating the guy with the newest car, when right down the street guys are worrying about where they are going to get their next meal. Don’t get me wrong, I am not bitter, or even envious. I am proud of who I am, I am proud to be a girl who always wears those original Nike running shoes. I am proud to try to be that invincible, revolutionary girl who wears her Nike running shoes.