Hi classmates!

Well to start off with, my name is Margaret McKnight, but I go by Maggie. I have never really liked my full name. My mom has always told me, just incase I want to be president of the United States some day, she gave me the name Margaret. Thanks mom...Anyways, I am a junior undergrad studying psychology and picking up a minor in sociology. I plan to go straight on to grad school in 2 years (crossing my fingers) and eventually go for a PhD. I plan to be a school psychologist, which is very different from a councilor. I DO NOT want to help kids plan their schedules or get in to college. I want to help kids going through rough times with family and friends or who have learning disabilities and need adjusting in school. My younger brother worked very closely with the psychologist at our high school so I got to know him well. He does school psych and works in a private practice doing counseling on the side. That is what I hope to be doing in 10-15 years.

I chose this particular junior English class because I am a woman. Easy enough, right? But I was really excited to learn that the class focused on Barbies and body image. I had plenty of Barbies when I was little so I can certainly relate. But I have also dealt with body image issues all my life. I honestly thing everyone does. Discussing them and learning about others with body image concerns is a perfect way to learn about yourself. I hope to be a more proficient writer and to learn a little about myself through this class. I also hope to come out of it with an A!!!!!!

As a child I had lots of Barbies and two American Girl Dolls. I played with them a lot but was really bad at making up stories and acting them out with the dolls. More than anything, I liked dressing them up, creating their houses and decking them out with accessories. I did their hair and set up scenes with them, but never liked "playing house" or telling their stories. I'm not sure why?

I also loved playing with my mom's vintage Barbies. They all looked so different from mine, even their facial expressions and make up were different. They had unique cloths, lots of which my mom sewed and created when she was that age. I adored one of her Barbies that had an extendable and retractable ponytail. I had to be careful with it but really liked that I could do more than dress her up. I hope I can think of more Barbie memories as the class goes on. I will ask my family for memories as well. They are bound to come up with some pretty funny stories.