When I was young, I always needed intellectual stimulation. Staring mindlessly at the television just didn’t do it for me.
So, if nothing interesting was happening, I would make something happen by creating it with my ever-active imagination.
Thus, my imaginary friends Seena and Gogo were born. They were my two alter egos. Seena was perfect - the angelic blonde little girl whom everyone loved. Gogo was horrid - the naughty little boy modeled after a cousin who always teased me.
Seena, of course, was the ideal child that I yearned to be. Gogo was my personality at its worst. And when we drove in the car, Gogo rode in the trunk.
Imaginary friends are often useful for more than companionship, and I’m not the only one who will admit it.
Zoology junior Hillary Noyes said she has a very active imagination and once had an imaginary ghost named Barney.
“I was really afraid of ghosts,” she said. “He would make sure all the other ghosts knew to stay out of my bedroom.”
I didn’t have imaginary friends because I lacked real ones. I like to think it was because of my preference for the creative world offered by these characters over the sometimes bland personalities of real people - particularly adults.
Even now there are times when I prefer the companionship of imagination to that of the human race, especially now that many of my friends are “grown-ups” with real jobs, engagement rings and bills to pay.
“I’m very attached to my friends,” Noyes said. “Being close to them is super important to me. But if I don’t get much reciprocity back from them, I start to think they are boring.”
People are restricted by their experiences but imaginary friends can do anything, go anywhere and be anyone.
Noyes said a friend of hers even had 26 imaginary horses, with names from A to Z.
In my case, that made the flexibility of my friends almost unlimited. The scope of my world knew no boundaries.
Recently my mom asked me if Gogo still rode in the trunk. Well of course, I replied. That’s where he sits. Where else would he be?
Maybe I’m silly, but I still have my imaginary friends. Noyes said although she knew Barney wasn’t real, he was a comforting idea that made it easier to sleep. To me, imaginary friends (or ghosts or horses) are a way of keeping my imagination alive - not permitting growing up to steal the joys of childhood.
I may have lost some innocence in the last 19 years, but I haven’t lost the idealism that makes children so refreshing.
In a few weeks, thousands of Spartans will be graduating, leaving a part of their youth behind as they enter the adult world. But that doesn’t mean they have to abandon their imaginary friends, those carefree partners-in-crime of years gone by.
You might have to act like an adult at work, but don’t worry. Nobody can stop you from painting your toenails hot Barbie pink and using fruity lip balm. And go ahead and wear Batman Underoos and eat Count Chocula for breakfast.
The best thing is, now nobody’s going to try to stop you. When you’re a grownup, you can do whatever you want.
Moreover, now that you actually are an adult, you don’t have to try so hard to prove you are one. You can stop pretending you’re too cool for words and stop carrying on with the mindset that your thoughts must be unoriginal and superficial.
Embrace your inner child, the one that isn’t mortified to be seen in public with mom and dad. It’s that little voice inside you that says it’s OK to play on the swings - imagine doing that at 13.
When you’re an adult, you set your own rules, and you can follow them or break them as your fancy guides you.
You can enjoy a trip to the museum or the zoo, without complaining about how dumb or boring or smelly it is. You can be friends with somebody without being their carbon copy.
And maybe, just maybe, you can let your imaginary friends come out of hiding.
Heidi Jury, a free-lancer for The State News, plans to buy a truck after she graduates, but isn’t sure where Gogo will sit if she doesn’t have a trunk. Anyone looking to adopt an imaginary friend can e-mail her at juryheid@msu.edu.
