An Open Letter To Myself.

Dear Melissa:
Oh, Melissa, you're a good girl, remember? You're the sort of girl a guy's parents would love and welcome into the family with open arms. You're the sort of girl who is at once too innocent to even realize she's innocent. You do what's right. All the time.

But at night, when you're lying in bed and drifting off to sleep, I know that you sometimes find yourself dreaming about Sandy, Olivia Newton-John's character in Grease. By the end of the film, she went from being a straight-laced, Little Miss Perfect to a leather-clad, puffy-haired, wild-child-in-training with spunk the size of that loud hair. You've always had a secret yearning to be her. You marvel at how someone could be so comfortable with going from the seemingly good girl to the bad girl. And then, the inevitable question comes up: When will it be your time to rebel?
The truth is, I know that you wish you could be impulsive sometimes. Not the sort of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, always-throwing-caution-to-the-wind impulsive girl. But maybe just doing something because not doing it would leave you with more regret, because you got so caught up in the moment that you just let your heart take over, because for the first time in your life, you just let go.

Do you ever get tired of all the thinking, analyzing, calculating, constantly worrying about the fall-out, the consequences. Don't you sometimes just want to say, "Who cares"?

Remember that one time when you found yourself folding laundry, something that is decisively good-two-shoes-y? What song should show up on SIRIUS? The '90's classic by Wilson-Phillips.

I don't wanna think about it
Don't wanna think clear
Don't analyze
What I'm doing here
Wanna be impulsive
Reckless
And lose myself in your kiss

You're giving me a feeling
It's a sudden rush
Acting on the moment
Spontaneous, woh
Ooh this is not like me
To follow my heart so easily

I know, I know; it's a little slice of '90s cheese, but you can't deny that these are some very wise women. For some reason, that song always struck a chord with you as a child. Were there actually people in the world like that? It all just seemed like a foreign, scary land - someplace your straight-laced, buttoned-up self would never, ever enter. Nope. No way. You must never enter. After all, it's a slippery slope. One day you're harmlessly living it up rebel-style by drinking regular instead of diet Barq's and the next, you find yourself standing in front of an Elvis impersonator/minister in Las Vegas pledging your undying love to someone you met at the casino lunch buffet.
There's a fine line between experiencing life and being stupid. I know you're smart enough to know the difference. And maybe all these wanting-to-be-impulsive fantasies are overrated, anyway. After all, I'm sure that kind of lifestyle gets old after awhile. But in the meantime, who says you have to fold your laundry...? :)

[Photos via We Heart It]