What was I made for?

Growing up in the ‘70s, I had just about every Barbie and Barbie accessory. The camper, the swimming pool, the townhome, the airplane. What I didn’t have, my three best friends brought over. Together, the Barbie town was well represented.

Our Barbies were in charge of everything. They were professionals. They had jobs. They went to work every day. At the time, my mom was getting her master’s and then PhD in education in the evenings after caring for us five kids during the day. She was a working woman — all day long. So, the Barbies we played with were working women too.

Fast forward 50 years, I saw the Barbie movie with my 23-year-old daughter and was star struck by Billie Eilish’s 2024 Grammy-winning song “What was I made for?”

I became obsessed. I read everything I could on the song and her process of writing, producing and directing the music video. I kept going back to the lyrics:

Takin' a drive, I was an ideal

Looked so alive, turns out I'm not real

Just something you paid for

What was I made for?

'Cause I, 'cause I

I don't know how to feel

But I wanna try

I don't know how to feel

But someday I might

Someday I might

Think I forgot how to be happy

Something I'm not, but something I can be

Something I wait for

Something I'm made for

Something I'm made for

- From “What was I made for?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Barbie 🎶

The song made me ask: What is my purpose in life? I thought about what others would say about me when I am not in the room.

When I celebrated my 50th birthday, my daughter Anna gave me a mason jar that said, “50 Reasons I love Mom” and inside the jar were pieces of paper that said things like You are a good role model, You listen, You are strong. While I was so proud to read these, my favorite slips of paper said things like – You are kind, You are a goofball, I love it when you become Pepper Pearl (my stage name: street I grew up on + name of a pet). Similarly, my sister Mary once said, “Shannon, your superpower is your generosity.” I hold that one very close to my heart. I believe I was made to provide and support my family and friends while also bringing them joy, fun and happiness.

I’m no Billie Eilish, but here’s my stanza for us moving forward in 2024:

Look to the future.

Tell me what you see.

At some point, we won’t be here.

What do you want your legacy to be?

Share it with us in the comments! 👇