Dear JEM,

21May08

At the beginning of every episode I know I sang along to your theme song.

Jem! (Jem is excitement) oh
Jem! (Jem is adventure) oh
Glamour and glitter, fashion and fame!

Jem (Jem is truly outrageous)
(Truly, truly, truly outrageous!)
Whoa, Jem (Jem), the music’s contagious (outrageous)
Jem is my name, no one else is the same Jem is my name!

I couldn’t wait to watch you have your adventures as businesswoman by day: Jerrica and rock star by night: Jem!

You were the epitome of childhood beauty.

You were a bevy of pink hair and kid-friendly punk rock make up.

You wore awesome star/walkie talkie earrings that turned you into a rock star when you said “Showtime, Synergy!”

In 1st grade I was JEM for halloween. I finagled my parents into buying me the JEM halloween costume. For some reason halloween costumes in the 80s equaled 2 things pre-packaged in a box for 9.99. The first item, a plastic bag that resembled a garbage can liner with a Jem-like ensemble printed on it, which meant a pink top with a pink mini skirt. The second and most important item, Jem’s face with holes for my eyes and nose. For some strange reason the air holes for the nose were too small, which ultimately meant that the mask ended up resting on your head like a hat.

I wore my JEM costume with pride, my best friend Debbie, a Thai girl from north hollywood, wore the same costume to school as well. In the Pinecrest Halloween parade we walked, side by side, proud of the fact that we were JEM twins. Proud of the fact that we had you in common. We were the raddest 1st graders at the halloween parade. Two Southeast Asian kids trying our best to transform into our idea of American beauty. Both of our immigrant parents didn’t say, “No, why not be a Filipina superhero?” or “No, why not be a Thai princess?” Instead we were stubborn children attempting to fit in.

Jem, you were a way to fit in. And even if that paper mache mask was toxic or the plastic costume was uncomfortable, we did it. We were happy to someone else for the day. We were happy to be our hero for a day. We were happy to be you and not a member of the Misfits.

If I had my chance to speak with you, ask you for your autograph, bask in all your synergy-istic glory, I think I would take the chance, if only to meet with Aja Leith, who according to wikipedia was lead guitarist and backup vocals. Wikipedia also says she’s Russian-American. But to me, she looked Asian American. Maybe it was because her hair was blue. I wanted to be her. Because I knew I was Asian and we had that in common. There were no Aja costumes for sale, only you.

I’m not blaming you for my identity crisis. I’m not saying you were a bad role model. You were my childhood dream. You were everything I couldn’t, can’t be. When I think of heroes now, I still recall your pink hair shining in the stagelights, but you aren’t alone. You dance with Mama, Lola ‘Sabel, Lola Inday, Lola ‘Taling, Tita Remy, Tita Nenette, Yuri Kochiyama, VVL, JS, and so many others. You rock out in perfect harmony and I sing along…

L

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