Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Worm Hole Day: Dr. Who's Cassandra


I have been given a once-in-lifetime opportunity by Stephen Tremp, (A-Z Co-Host again) to SAFELY traverse a wormhole (AND return) for one opportunity. Just one.

His partners in this adventure are Laura Eno, Luanne Smith, and Carrie Butler, who made our great badge.  Thanks to all for organizing this.  

Any Dr. Who fans out there? Our whole family watches it, but I guess because of who I am and what I think about, I found the Cassandra episodes the most...thought provoking. As a recovering anorexic, I couldn't help but latch on to the symbolism of what society had become by the end of the universe.

I suppose a little catch-up is necessary...since I know not all cool people are die-hard sci-fan like we are, let me tell you that Dr. Who is a Time Lord, the very last of his race, and he travels through time and space in a “ship” called a Tardis. From the outside it looks like a blue police call box, but like in Harry Potter books, the inside is much bigger than the outside. His job is to keep the world from ending at the wrong time. Yeah, I wouldn't take the job either.



One of the times they keep returning to is the end of the universe (hmmm....can't imagine why that would interest anyone...) and they keep finding Cassandra. She has become as thin as possible. She is a piece of skin, stretched tight, and has to be misted to keep from drying out. Yet she's happy. She has achieved ultimate “thinhood”, something all of us anorexics long for.



In the episode I'm thinking about, the Doctor takes her back in time, waaaay back to when she looked like she was a human, and shows her hosting a dinner party. IMDB won't give up any of those pictures, (though all the rest of the photo credits go to them) but here's her face, 


and imagine the body to match.  As the doctor is sitting with her as she dies, she says,

"I was really beautiful, wasn't I.”
Yes, Cassandra, you were. You just didn't know it.”
Thank you for showing me this before I go.”

I don't remember what happened next because of course my family (of men) is worrying about if the sonic screwdriver will fix the thingamajig long enough to let them get the Tardis back from the end of time vortex to...wherever they were going.

Me? I'm looking at flat Cassandra, about a millimeter thick, and how she thought she'd achieved beauty. And then looking at real Cassandra throwing a dinner party and having a good time. 

So for my trip through the worm hole, I'd go back to myself before I went all nuts, and tell myself I look beautiful. Just the way I was, when I was 14, a size 3, a successful gymnast, with my whole life ahead of me. I'd also tell myself NO.  Do not let what anyone else thinks of your looks influence what YOU think about your looks.  Because looks don't matter. 

We are not the costume we walk around in.  We are what is in our hearts.  Love to those of you out there who really know what I'm talking about.

~Tina




28 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. well that was interesting - I learnt things about Dr Who I had no idea about ... and then about Mrs Life is Good after anorexia - I knew someone who had the illness way back when - it was troubling ... anyway back to Cassandra ... Zoe Wanamaker - a young Zoe - I don't think I'll be able to watch Dr Who again without thinking of this post ...

Welcome back A - Z co-host ... we need you ... cheers your Minion Hilary

Annalisa Crawford said...

Thought-provoking post, and very true. It's such a shame we can't feel accepted for who we are inside. Well done for conquering.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You have to feel good about YOU.

Brian Miller said...

ha. nice....used to watch dr who back in the day....but i really like the message in liking yourself....far too many miss that...

JoJo said...

it was drilled into my head from early childhood that fat was bad and thin was good, and my mom always had me on restricted food and diets. I'm surprised I never ended up anorexic trying to achieve what she wanted. As a result I went the other way, weight-wise. :(

Unknown said...

I think Dr. Seuss said it best, 'Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.'

Jo said...

Love that quote Jenn.

It's so true, we are pressured to look thin like models all of who are like walking coat racks. Maybe that's why I went the other way too. I do try to lose weight now and then but at my age its more difficult. Lucky I never became anorexic or bulimic, its easy enough to do I think. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

Anonymous said...

You've got a lovely wormhole, Tina! I think lots of people can benefit from taking a tour of yours! :)

Anonymous said...

If you don't feel good about yourself then who will? Great post and thanks for participating!

Nick Wilford said...

Great post - very inspiring. You should definitely like yourself as you are as long as you're healthy. I always found Cassandra pretty creepy!

katie eggeman said...

A great worm hole story. I am a fanatic of Dr Who, and remember the Cassandra storyline.
Katie atBankerchick Scratchings

Luanne G. Smith said...

Wow, I'm reading some really powerful entries for this blog hop. If only we could go back in time and give our younger selves a hug and tell us to focus on what's really important in life.

And the tardis is by far the most fashionable wormhole device. :)

D.G. Hudson said...

I don't think I'd like to be that thin. . .

Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to discover who you really are.

An interesting take on the wormhole opportunity.

Unknown said...

big doctor Who fan here (also mentioned him and the TARDIS in mhy post). i loved that episode too. I was emotional and fun!

And I would take his job (at least for a while) - books would be so much easier to write: just recording facts - I admit, i'd cheat that way.

Chancelet said...

Great intro to your wormhole story. That would be an ideal wish to fulfill. Do you think you'd listen?

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I believe that's called the "Cassandra Complex."

Jolie du Pre said...

I feel bad for expressing my views about weight at my blog, but then again, I don't, because I believe in honesty and being honest at my own blog. I have my own body issues, and those are probably not going to change. Having said that, I've never been anorexic, but I'm pleased to hear that life is over for you.

Anonymous said...

Such a moving story! Thank you for sharing. You are beautiful the way you are, and don't ever let anyone tell you differently. The girl back then made you who you are today, and you are all the better for it. :)

Unknown said...

I've never been anorexic, but I know what you're talking about.

I've learned to love my body-- I think this happened, finally, last year, when I was on a wheelchair for 4 months. When one of my legs became a useless vegetable, I realized the worth of my so-called 'ugly' legs. As I went into physio to recover, I sent my love to my legs, and sent myself forgiveness for hating them.

I still joke about getting into shape, but the little bumps and extra bits of fat don't bother me any more. My body makes my life possible, and I'm going to love it the way it is.

Thanks for this post, especially, the last paragraph.

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

I never watched much in the way of Dr. Who, but now I wished I did. Looks like there was a lot more to it than I realized. Great choice for your trip, Tina. I wonder if the younger versions of any of us would listen to our words of wisdom, though.

Nicki Elson said...

I'm glad you see it now, Tina.

I've started on Dr. Who but am working my backwards through the Doctors (am on on 11 so I've got much adventure ahead of me. :))

loverofwords said...

Thin and beautiful, that is the message that we get as women. The whole facelift thing -- I have a friend and her message growing up from her mother was: "be pretty," and now, several facelifts later and gorgeous clothes galore, she still is but her face is not really her. Her mom even criticized her over weight friends. Sad.

nutschell said...

Well now I want to go and watch Dr. Who. It sounds like a super fun show!I think inner beauty is always what counts!
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Tammy Theriault said...

Dang you are creative! Can I join your wormhole??

Empty Nest Insider said...

I remember hearing about Dr Who. This was great, and you should be very proud of who you are!

Julie

Trisha said...

Thanks for sharing your story here - this was a great entry for the hop! I'm glad you got something meaningful out of that Dr. Who episode.

Lynn(e) Schmidt said...

I am also a recovering anorexic. I haven't ever seen Dr. Who (so thank you for explaining what was happening because so many of the other posts didn't). This was an awesome post, and I hope your 14 year old self would listen. Keep up the good fight, keep eating, go out and buy a doughnut for yourself :)

EvalinaMaria said...

Have a lovely journey!