Inspired

This is a great little meme from the mind of Zoe Connolly, and since I have nothing else to talk about today, and I'm waiting for laundry to finish, I thought I'd get it done. :)

So who inspired my avatar?

I didn't really have an idea in my head of what I wanted to look like when I started on my shape tweaking. I wanted to be beautiful, I knew that much. I wanted to be somewhat petite [although I am taller than I was for months], and I wanted to be slender but still with some curves. Basically, I wanted to be what I have never been in my real world.

My face came about after many careful tweakings. I have never wanted the little pucker mouth that is so popular, although in doing that, I've given up the right to wear probably 75% of the skins out there because they are more designed for that mouth. When I put them on, I have huge Bratz lips and that's never good.

The funny part is that a few people who have seen my RL photo say that my avatar's face looks like me. I know they're being polite in not adding "if you lost 300 pounds," but it makes me laugh because in certain skins, my face looks like a much younger version of my mother. So I guess in a way, my avatar has been inspired by my desire to look more like the majority of the women in my family. Small, beautiful, delicate.

The clothing I dress my avatar in are much like I would [and sometimes do] dress like in my real world. The cute skirts, great jeans, t-shirts and halter tops, flip flops, etc. Although my avatar wears heels that I would certainly break my ankles in, and lingerie that I would be embarrassed to death to wear in front of anyone, the style really is my own. I prefer my Second Life to be better than my first, but still close to it, with bits of fantasy thrown in here and there. Unlike those who consistently are able to pull off the better fantasy look, I feel more comfortable simply being me, but a prettier me.

So I guess the real answer to the question is just that: The me I feel I am inside, the one that isn't easily seen in the real world, that is my inspiration. I'm not perfect, and neither is my avatar. There are times when I'm having body issues in the real world that I project upon her [usually seen through my "My avatar is fat" comments], but I'm able to work through them that way. I use her to do things, to speak my mind, to remember that I'm competent and intelligent. Through her, I have grown and become a better person.

Hmm...so really, who is the inspiration? Me, or her? I guess we're both just inspiring each other.