Blog Post 1- "I Once Was Miss America"

“I Once Was Miss America” by Roxanne Gay encapsulates the hopes and dreams of every teen girl. From the first paragraph to the last, I could not help reminiscing in my own memories of divulging in books as an escape to a perfect fantasy from an imperfect reality. They were my own Sweet Valley High. Although I have never felt a love or need to be among the popular kids in school, it is a situation that is not uncommon for teenagers. When the narrator depicts herself in Sweet Valley High, among the group of popular kids, or even as Miss America, not only could I visualize the narrator as a young and awkward black girl trying to fit in and be what she deemed as perfect, but it allowed me to reminisce in the fantasy worlds where I would imagine myself living in a perfect life along with the characters in a book I happened to get my hands on. Everyone at some point has let themselves escape from their imperfect realities and let themselves indulge in their perfect fantasies they imagine themselves living in. Even after the narrator reads Sweet Valley Confidential and the older Sweet Valley High series after a decade, she realizes how flawed the books are, but the nostalgia she experiences reminds her of how the books created a world where she was who she wanted to be. I believe this text serves as reminder of our youth, as we are able to reminisce with the narrator about fantasies we conjured up as teenagers of our perfect selves.