I have no idea why I was so compelled to watch her. She was only about six inches tall and had no color to her.
In fact, she was black and white.
Looking back, I realize that watching this little black and white girl navigate the challenges of living in a big city taught me a lot about my own life.
That Girl I was watching was in her twenties. Me?
Well, I was eleven years old.
After five seasons of captivation, here are the lessons that I learned from Ann Marie.
- Always be curious and fascinated with life. You get one shot at it, so lean into it. The network could cancel you at any time.
- Let life touch you. Don’t let it crush you. Take it all in and then bounce back right away after you get knocked down. (After all, each episode is only 25 minutes, so troubles typically won’t last forever.)
- Find someone special that you adore and let them spoil and revere you too. The journey is much sweeter when you share it with a beautiful person who cares very much about your happiness and success, even though their name might be the same as a famous duck.
- Give people a good name to live up to. Start there and you’ll be surprised how often people will rise to meet your expectations even though they originally were acting like an obnoxious man from the mid-1960s.
- Respect your parents. They brought you here and though they might f*@k things up a lot, it’s OK to love them and forgive them. You may, however, need to keep them at a respectable distance and make them guest stars in your life.
- Never give up. Keep auditioning for things. There are circumstances and situations that will conspire to meet you face to face, if you prepare for them in advance and continue to take action. Good things will often happen when you least expect it. Something extraordinary might happen to you, as if written in a script.
- Take a break every so often. It’s OK to breathe for a couple of moments. Meditate, walk, reflect and think. Sometimes a commercial break can allow you to collect your thoughts and prepare for the next scene.
- Hug a lot. Before people leave the show, you want them to know you cared very much for what they brought to this situation comedy we call LIFE.
- Let other people have a little limelight. You don’t always have to be the star. It feels good to let the heat of the follow spot embrace others. Giving feels great and gifting others with an opportunity to shine downstage is a win-win situation.
- Look after your financial affairs in a way that is best for you, even if you get great advice that makes sense but doesn’t quite match your goals. Parental ideas are usually well-intentioned but just may need a little tweaking. It’s very gratifying doing it on your own and in your own way.
- Leave a legacy that goes on forever if you can manage it. Create and maintain something that continues to serve others for a long, long time after you’re gone.
- Know when to bring a story chapter to its conclusion and leave at the top. Sometimes things may be going well but you need new challenges and new peaks to scale to make your life complete. Change is very often a good thing.
- Don’t let anybody change who you really are. Run your own race. If you’re a thoroughbred just put the blinders on and don’t look at the other horses. Just run.
- Do what’s right when no one else is looking because somebody is usually looking.
The eleven-year-old boy in me who wrote this was certainly watching that little black and white girl. I learned a lot.
Thousands of young girls were also watching closely and the incredible lessons we all learned together from Ann, taught us that everybody can do just about anything with their lives.
Thank you Ann Marie. Sometimes you were corny but you were one inspiring teacher.
