Barbies & Styrofoam: Ingenuity in Action

My family was pretty poor growing up. We received Food Stamps, my mom made most of my clothing, and I even had a few dolls that she sewed for me. I’m not complaining, plenty of kids have it worse. I always had a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and I don’t think I missed out on any of the major “childhood experiences”.

The one thing that I never had was a dollhouse. I had plenty of Barbie dolls and even accessories to go with them, but the house was out of our price range… and in retrospect, I’m glad it was. I remember crying to my mom that my friends had these grand mansions for their dolls to live in. Why didn’t I?

“But Sheryl,” she said, “you already have one.”

I had this built-in shelving unit in my bedroom that my grandfather built when we moved into his house. It was 6 shelves high and two across and we found a dresser that fit perfectly right underneath it. I came home from school one day to find that my mom had decorated one of the shelves to look like a living room. She used a few peel and stick bathroom tiles to create flooring, hung some fabric on the “walls,” painted a television and hung a light from the “ceiling”.

“We’ll go buy some furniture after payday,” she promised.

But I was too excited to wait for payday. I wanted to move my Barbie in right away. I looked around the attic and found some Styrofoam pieces that were meant to protect electronics in the box. They were perfect. My Barbie got a couch, coffee tables (those little plastic contraptions that they use in pizza boxes to keep the box from caving into the cheese), she even got a hot tub. My Barbie was livin’ large.

When we have everything that we can possibly want, it’s hard to think creatively. Why think outside the box when you can go and buy the box and everything in it? Not having everything at our fingertips forces us to become resourceful and tap into our ingenuity. We are able to step outside of the obvious and find creative solutions to our problems. If money had been more available, I never would’ve thought to repurpose trash (the beginning of my eco-friendly attitude?) into toys.

Growing up without money is a challenge, but it also breeds a new level of self-sufficiency. Instead of viewing our challenges as negative experiences, let’s look at them as opportunities to grow and expand our skills.

Are there any situations in your life which you currently view as a challenge? I invite you to look for the blessing in disguise, tap into your ingenuity, and find a way to grow from the experience.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of CHOICES Magazine