I woke up this morning with a headache, my eyes crusty and heavy, and I just wanted to go back to sleep forever. Instead, I looked at what time it was, rubbed my eyes clean, and pulled out my new book Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack to read.
The Sammy Keyes series is one that I am embarrassed to tell people I read because it's aimed toward girls 10 years younger than I am. It's not a big deal, except the writing and plots are obviously aimed for preteens, the protagonist is in 7th grade, and the whole thing is just really cheesy.
A good cheesy, but most people wouldn't really understand.
I started reading Sammy Keyes when I was in 8th grade and fell in love with her almost immediately. I have been faithfully following her since then, buying every single book as they came out. Sammy Keyes is everything I want to be: smart, kind, spunky, funny, brave, and an all-around good person. She's just a fictional character, but I've always read her books and imagined myself in her shoes, doing what she does, and I always finish the book wishing I were really her.
Don't get me wrong, Sammy Keyes isn't perfect. She secretly lives in her grandmother's government paid senior apartment where kids aren't supposed to really even step foot in because her mother decided she would rather be a movie star than a mother, and her father is completely absent and has been for all of Sammy's life. Since Sammy isn't supposed to be living with her grandmother, everything she owns fits in one drawer and she only owns 2 pairs of jeans, 3 t-shirts, and a pair of high tops. She unwittingly gained an archenemy on the first day of 7th grade who's made it her life's goal to destroy Sammy's. She doesn't have the best grades at school, never has any money to play at the arcade with her rich best friend (and refuses to take money from anyone) and almost every adult, including her grandmother, thinks she's just another delinquent trying to get into trouble, even though that's exactly what she's trying to avoid!
But, of course, trouble is exactly where she always seems to find herself.
So why would I want Sammy's life? Because despite all of this, she has good friends who would do anything for her, a grandmother that adores her so much that she's willing to be kicked out of her home for her, a 75 year old grandfather-like man who makes the best hot-cocoa and gives the best advice, and most of all, she has adventure.
It also doesn't hurt that Sammy is the greatest person alive without even caring or trying. Well... she's not alive, but I sure wish she was.
Usually when I'm done reading a Sammy Keyes book, I'm jealous and envious and I wish that I could trade my comfy house and loving parents for Sammy's senior apartment with her grandmother. I wish that my brothers would become Sammy's best friends Marrissa, Holly, and Dot. I wish I could trade my serene little neighborhood for crazy Santa Martina. I wish that I could be brave and cool and take down gangbangers, thieves, and drug dealers.
This time, however, things changed. When I was finished reading the newest adventure of Sammy's, I found myself thinking about how far Sammy's come in 15 books and a whole year and how I can't wait to see what happens next. I thought about how fun it would be fun if I had the same kind of adventures with my friends as Sammy did with hers.
And then I walked into the living room and saw the mess it's in and realized that I did have adventures, they just weren't as scary and crazy as Sammy's were. And why would they be? This is real life. Having a 20 hour Harry Potter movie marathon is an adventure. Going swimming in a swimming pool that we're technically not supposed to swim in is an adventure. Playing night games in the bushiest part of the park until midnight is an adventure.
Once upon a time, I didn't have friends like Sammy and her friends and didn't go on adventures every other day. But that changed and I do have friends who I can do things with and go out and just live life, real life. I've always known that my life has changed since I became a part of my little brother's group of friends, but this realization I had today sort of puts it in sharper focus, makes me appreciate what we do more, and reminds me that it's not going to last forever.
To me, it's interesting that I'm not starting to like Sammy Keyes less now that I don't want to be her anymore. I do, in fact, like her stories so much more because I now I can relate to her and I can picture my real life being just as great as hers, which is much more achievable.
