When I was a little girl, I had a bit of a Barbie doll obsession. Being a Daddy's girl, I would get a new doll every couple weeks. This coincided with the time it took for me to get bored with the newest addition. Now, that first week or so the new Barbie on the block got all my attention. She got to wear the cutest outfits, drive the best car, and move into the Barbie Dream House. She was the girl who got the happy ending with Ken while all the other Barbie dolls that came before her watched from the sidelines. The sideline Barbie dolls had one advantage over her though because they knew what was in store. The inevitable toss aside was soon to follow after the Shiny New Toy syndrome wore off.
As we grow up to become adults, we stop playing with dolls. Our new toys are boys. However, not much of the game has changed. We meet a new guy. We're excited and want to focus all of our attention on him. It is often more attention than the object of our new affection even deserves. Then, after a couple weeks of the flirting, text messaging, & a few inside jokes, the Shiny New Boy starts to look like every other male. He begins to lose his shine and his initial appeal. Then, we start to recall the embarrassing moments that we actually wasted stressing over said boy. We endure the slight teasing from our girl friends who had to listen to our over analyzing of his every move for the past couple weeks. Then, we shake it off and go in search of a new boy to play with. Thus, we enter a cycle that keeps replaying itself.
So, the question is how do we even get ourselves into this Shiny New Toy situation? And furthermore, how do we one day stop repeating the pattern? It is our desire to be desired and seen as a unique & awesome individual. After awhile, even your closest friends know most of your stories and your quirks It's nice to meet someone that sees you as a blank canvas. It's exciting to share yourself for the first time and in most cases be the Shiny New Toy for someone else. The butterflies. The stolen glances. The first kiss. The giddiness that reminds you of being a teenager again. All the beginning sparks are what perhaps makes Shiny New Toy syndrome a hard pattern for us to break. It's all the fun stuff without any commitment.
Hopefully, the pattern ends when we find someone who doesn't lose their shine. I hope a boy comes along that feels new all the time. I'm looking for the one that keeps the butterflies fluttering and every kiss has the same excitement as the first one. After all, Barbie can't be the only gal to get her happy ending.
-ldw
