Lake Michigan and South Eastern Wisconsin

Growing up in southeastern Wisconsin, Michaela and I found that though we live an hour away, Michaela in Milwaukee and I in the small town of Plymouth, both traveled to a lot of the same places and had similar experiences. Both of us grew up only minutes away from Lake Michigan. Being young, we both grew up watching animated movies and movies. Overtime, they became the leading influence in our lives. They governed the culture we followed. The main source of hegemony. The characters. Their actions. Their lifestyles.

Lake Michigan from Milwaukee

Kimberly:

I grew up in a town with a population of under 9000, only a 12 minute drive from Lake Michigan. Growing up so close to Lake I have so many memories playing in the sand and wading in the cool water. Lake Michigan is never warm, even in August the water only becomes just slightly more bearable than usual. But as a kid, I seemed to convince my babysitter every day to drive me to the chilly lake and let me go swimming.

My fondest memory happened early in my childhood. As a young girl, I became obsessed with the movie “The Little Mermaid”, I would watch it every day, sing the songs where ever I went, and one year I even dressed up as Ariel for Halloween. But my obsession reached an all-time high the summer of my fourth birthday, when I decided I was going to become a mermaid. This was a commit I intended to follow through on no matter how tough the obstacles were.

The first obstacles, my legs. Now as naive child, I thought I could simply grow my legs into a mermaid tail. How hard could that be? I figured if I only used my legs for swimming they would just change themselves into a mermaid tail. I would practice swimming like a mermaid, and lye around on the beach and sing each song from The Little Mermaid.

I even tied my feet together in hopes that they would somehow just combine. Now, my parents weren’t too keen on this idea, because for the entire extent of this obsession I refused to walk. I would just roll around and beg to be carried. My father refused to carry me and yelled at me for not using my feet. My mother at least humored me for a little while and let me carry on.

In addition I pretended to have Sebastian and Flounder as friends. I would “talk” to them and show them my collection of “gagets and gizmos” and sing the song Arial sang about her “gagets and gizmos”. And I would tell about how evil Ursula was and how much I hated her.

After several of weeks of trying to turn into a mermaid, I finally gave up on my dream and started my new obsession. But I will never forget the hours I spent on the swimming in the lake and dreaming of life as mermaid.

Now, I remember this event lasting an entire month, but being the fact that I was only 4 years old, my memories and what actually happened could be increasily different. Maybe this phase only lasted a week, perhaps I only actually went to the beach once or twice a week. But I have kind of shaped and molded this memory into being exactly how I wish it was. You know how when you tell a story, each time it gets a little more different than the last time it was told, that’s exactly how this memory is for me. I’ve shared it so many times, that I’m sure it has increased in grandness.

The Little Mermaid

Michaela:

Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a journey unlike any other. Lake Michigan was the basis for many of them. Unlike others, I didn't come into the world alone. I was accompanied by another, a twin. We were always close , but one day, our bond was put to the ultimate test. One morning, as we played on the rocks by lake, my sister fell in. Panic came across me. She yelled my name and I looked around for help. My initial reaction was to scream, as it had been a reaction I'd known all too well. Watching my mom in an emergency, my body remembered everything she had done and at that instance, it became me. I panicked. The habitus of my mom were a part of me. I screamed for help. Realizing her life was in my hands, I thought of other options. Moments later, I became like my favorite superhero, Superwoman. I had learned from her movies that in moments like this, she would spring into action. Those characters were my heroes at the time and their actions influenced everything I did. They'd gained hegemony over what I did. I wanted to courageous. I wanted to be heroic. I jumped into the water and lead her to shore. She had adopted the habits of my mom too, and panicked while in the water. The experience changed my life and the memory makes me the person I am today. A real-life Superwoman,  I became valiant. I became fearless.

                           Superwoman                                                     My Twin and I