Alter-Ego, Anyone?

by Anne Carter

Have you ever wished you were someone else? Even fleetingly, say, while watching the Academy Awards and wanting to wear an insanely expensive Oscar de la Renta gown? How many Americans, men and women alike, have vocally (or secretly) expressed the desire to be president? To walk in his shoes and change the course of the world?

Maybe the person you want to be is Simon Cowell, formerly on American Idol, where you could seal the fate of any number of hopeful entertainers with a well-chosen word. Or perhaps you would aspire to be a well-known historical figure: Lincoln, emancipating the slaves; Princess Diana, beloved royal and the philanthropic activist.

What do all these admired folks have in common? Why do our heroes inspire us to want to be like them, to be them if we could? Is it because they wield a sort of power that we, in our own lives, don’t have?

As much as we’d like to be JFK, Cameron Diaz or even Stephen King, as adults we understand the line between reality and wishes. But what of children, for whom make-believe is a natural, normal part of childhood development? As a precocious second or third grader, I was Lois Lane to my neighbor’s Clark Kent/Superman as we tramped around our suburban neighborhood. Sometimes, I was Supergirl. When I went home to dinner, I was myself again, knowing that tomorrow I could don my imaginary red cape. For some children, however, the switch back is not so easy.