Interview #7 – Jill aka Mystique
Every time I’m cast in a play I look forward to the new friendships I hope to make. This summer my goal was to catapult Jill from vague acquaintance to good friend. During the 2-3 weeks in between auditions and the start of rehearsals I had three dreams about Jill. In all of them she and I teamed up to fight bad guys! Once we were Charlie’s Angels and twice we were ourselves with Jill protecting me and leading the way to justice. I never mentioned all of these dreams to her because I was pretty sure it would weird her out and quite frankly I had no clue why she was starring in my subconscious mind but I was determined to find out!
Our friendship has grown and I was so excited to meet with her that I forfeited sleeping in on a weekend. That’s true friendship!
In A.M. zombie mode I wandered into the coffee shop. There she was; new haircut, new hair color and ready for a new cup of coffee.
We said our hellos, caught up a bit on life, gossiped about our boyfriends and then it was time to start the interview.
“When you hear the word ‘Courage’ what do you think of?” I asked as I sipped on my toffee spiked Americano.
“Taking risks without being reckless. Knowing the consequences and choosing to do difficult things.”
When I think of Jill I see a talented, witty, strong yet vulnerable young woman who doesn’t always see in the mirror what the rest of us see so clearly. As many of us know, life events and unplanned experiences can break our spirits.
Years ago she was a victim of date rape. Sadly, hearing that didn’t surprise me too much because it’s a horribly common epidemic, especially in Alaska. What did surprise me was hearing her say that she felt partly to blame. I know that many girls feel guilt and I’ve heard a lot of reasons: “I accepted a drink from a stranger.” “I was drunk/high.” “I liked him and said I would go on the date.” It took all my restraint to not latch onto her and repeat, “It’s not your fault!” Good Will Hunting-style until I could feel her believing it. No one deserves to be physically violated! Regardless of age, sex, race, intoxication level, skimpy outfits, etc. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes it okay or even remotely understandable to be sexually assaulted. You are not to blame in any way for the sick, unfair wrong choices other people make. It is not your fault!
I believe she knows that and as her love for herself continues to grow right and wrong will become more clear. Jill is thankful that she began opening up about that experience because as a result other friends have found comfort in confiding in her. The fact that more than one person has chosen to trust Jill with their most personal feelings speaks volumes for her character!
As I sat there speaking with her it was quite apparent that her joy has been returning! Jill has welcomed a new mature and loving man into her life. She has the lovely opportunity no
w to get used to being treated like a Queen. She is currently involved in an artistic production that she’s proud of and passionate about. She recently quit smoking and is still going strong! (That is no easy feat!) And today she succeeded in doing one of her favorite things, making people laugh! She is hilarious!
w to get used to being treated like a Queen. She is currently involved in an artistic production that she’s proud of and passionate about. She recently quit smoking and is still going strong! (That is no easy feat!) And today she succeeded in doing one of her favorite things, making people laugh! She is hilarious!
Near the end of our conversation when asked what she’s proud of in her life she stated, “I’m proud of taking new risks and knowing the consequences…instead of being reckless like I have been in the past.”
My heart skipped a beat. That was almost word for word her definition of “Courage”.
Jill, whether you realized it or not you are living a courageous inspiring life and I look forward to seeing it blossom even more!
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