Project of Influence Album 8

The Album: Rio Duran Duran

The Story: During the summer between my 4th and 5th year of school, we moved to Durant so my mother's bastard husband could fail at going to college. Going to a college town had a lot of advantages for me. First of all, there was a college radio station playing good music. Second, and more importantly to our story, Durant had cable and I got MTV.

The first time I saw Simon LeBon (singing "The Reflex" and looking like a god), I fell in love in that hardcore way you can only fall in love with the projected image of someone instead of that person themselves. I didn't know that at the time, of course.

People knock being a devoted fan of something, but it has its advantages, especially when the situation you're in is pretty horrible. While my mother and her husband fought, mismanaged everything, and he tried his best to destroy us, I could ignore all of it and just be utterly delighted by Duran Duran. I mean, even to this day, if I'm sad, I can summon the memory if the day I found holographic Duran Duran stickers in a gumball machine and be just as thrilled as I was in that moment.

This was my second time to start a new school. I was determined to be more than the 'smart weird poor fat girl' and deal with all the hell that could bring. I acquired the tools I needed (a backpack, makeup, hairspray, boots) and began a quest to reinvention. There were six blocks between my house and the elementary school. I would leave looking one way, by the time I got there, I would be the invention.

Miniskirt, oversized shirts, purple earrings shaped like boomerangs with pink swishes on them, eyeliner, purple eyeshadow, too much foundation, cherry red lipstick, sprayed out hair......this is what would usually arrive at school. And from day one, I'd told them to call me Rio.

We can all pause to laugh here, because yeah, I was a 5th grader doing this. I was probably one hot mess, strutting around like that. Fortunately, everyone else was a kid too, so it somehow worked. Outside of my house, my life was great that year. Friends, invitations, slumber parties, boys (never as good as Simon, but eh), and even a level of social power.

I also had an amazing teacher that year, Ms. Julian. She was that encouraging and outstanding teacher that kids really do need to thrive.

Example: I'd had this one friend I would talk with Duran Duran about but then one weekend she found Jesus and showed up to school on Monday to tell on me for being 'dirty-minded.' When Ms. Julian and I were talking to the principal about it, Ms. Julian's first comment was 'Well, Lilly is very creative' and while she may have been just trying to ease into something else, the fact that she started with a positive was enough for me to be happy about the experience.

Thank you to: every poor adult who had to listen to endless hours of me quoting things from Tiger Beat at them. I promise I will honor your sacrifice and listen to other exited kid talk about the stuff they like.

The Lesson Learned: BOOOOYYYYYZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Also, we ALL invent ourselves. And no, not everyone buys into what we present, but those people are clearly lacking in vision. No one will a lack of vision needed to be part of the RIO SHOW.