When I Was A Beautiful Little Fool

"That's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

-Daisy, The Great Gatsby

That's me. Little three-year-old Chelsea.
A beautiful little fool.
I love this picture for several reasons.
I don't know why, but I've always viewed this picture as an outsider.
Like I'm just looking at a picture of a happy, little girl.

I see a sprightly, loving, cuddly brunette girl.
Soaking up the sun with a tender heart.
Finding happiness in something so simple.
With her mom just behind her, guiding her, caring for her.

I see myself as the girl before life hit.
The girl who knew how to express herself with only a few words and by dancing through the salt water.
The girl who didn't have to worry or plan or fear.
She just lived.

So, looking back, knowing that is me in the picture, it reminds me...
Reminds me that I was once a beautiful little fool.
But that even if I didn't know it at the time, I was a dreamer and a doer.
A girl who would later face reality head-on.
And that girl would become a woman who'd look back at that picture and smile.
Because, in the end,
life grew her and shaped her and built her.
She'd smile at that picture because, in the end,
I am her and she is I :)