I remember the first time I saw Beetlejuice. I was 12; and I was just entering the head space that our fabulous St. Lydia had already been firmly anchored in.
You know that head space. If you weren’t that girl already, you certainly knew someone like her. She was smart and keenly self aware. Not only did she not fit in, but she actively made decisions to distance her from the “normals”. It wasn’t just her appearance (although that, certainly, could not be denied– Lydia was a girl who felt more at home in red eyeshadow, vintage hats, buttoned up lacy ankle length frocks, and old-world camera technology), but her demeanor that isolated her. Who can forget her line:
[Lydia is writing a suicide note] I am alone.
[throws paper away and starts over]
I am *utterly* alone.
I adored Lydia. She had crazy adventures. She sought what she wanted, and though she was acutely human, she wasn’t fearful. More than anything, Lydia was looking for a connection. She was looking for a real home and family. And I guess, without getting all “overshare-y” that’s what I was (and still am) looking for as well.
Maybe we all are.
It was an easy decision to include Lydia as one of my Saints in the Cathedral of Rebellion collection. I loved drawing her– Winona Ryder (also a favorite) played her perfectly and I really can’t imagine another actress in that role. If you love Lydia as much as I do, you can pick up a print or a pin here, and wear her on you all of the time. Maybe then, we’ll be making moves to create our own families, like Lydia did.
We are not so alone after all.
