The Personality Makeover Story

The makeover story is as old as time. I grew up on these kinds of stories--Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and so on. If you think about it, they are kind of opposite. Cinderella gets a makeover, but her inherent personality is the same. The Little Mermaid (Ariel) wants to change who she is (a mermaid) into someone she isn’t (a person with legs).. ultimately to get a boy. Ariel gives up a part of herself (her voice) in order to experience this.

Does anyone ever get mad when a character changes who they are in order to experience a new situation? Don’t get me wrong, change is good... but sometimes I think that characters experience a complete change in personality. I’m not talking about growing up. Growing up is a natural process and obviously people change. 

What I am referring to is when someone changes their personality in order to fit in with the popular crowd or to get a boyfriend or a number of different reasons. Teenagers do this and I suppose that’s why this is present in YA, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’m the person that cringes when I see a girl change who she is because of a boyfriend. I cringe when it happens in real life and I cringe when it happens in books. How many times can I say cringe in a post? Cringe! Cringe! Cringe! It looks like such a funny word now.

I really wish this habit wasn’t so present in the media. People should really embrace who they are. If they want to make changes about themselves, do it for themselves! We shouldn’t be telling teenagers that it is okay to change who they are in order to snag the boy (or girl). If someone is only willing to be with you because a part of you is being stifled, then they are not the person for you. This post is getting a little rant-y, but I have just seen this happen so many times and it makes me sad.   

I like being me and I wish more YA characters liked being themselves as well. But, if I had to change myself into someone else, I would totally choose Hermione Granger. Hello! She ends up with Ron Weasley. What a glorious ginger. (I put on my sarcastic tone here, but I do love me some Ron Weasley). 

Do you like these personality makeover stories? Am I being too cynical? If you could makeover yourself in order to explore new situations, who would you make yourself into and where would you explore?

The television show “Supernatural” has just been re-imagined as an anime series. In order for the creators of the show to develop a new animated world, some characters had to go through a makeover to fit the feel of the new environments. You can order your copy of Supernatural: The Anime Series on DVD or Blu-Ray here today:  http://bit.ly/p0WOMq!

I have been hired by Warner Bros. WBWord division to promote Supernatural: The Anime Series on DVD/Blu-Ray.