#getKatietoKelly

 Well, I waited much longer to do the next entry than I should have. #NoExcuse

This may seem like an "off the wall" story, but I need ya'll's help. So, way back when (like 2008).. maybe... I took one of those Facebook or myspace quizzes that read "Which celebrity do you look like?" It wasn't really a quiz that you answer questions. I just had to check the box to give them access to my entire life and then upload a picture. Simple enough, right? Nothing could have prepared me for the outpouring of support that I would receive over the next 10+ years from just clicking "Submit." 

So it went through it's loading stage and BOOM! There I was with my face next to Kelly Clarkson's face with a 95% face match. I was so surprised! Never did I think I looked like her, but since they pointed it out...well, heck yea I do! There was no going back ever again. Ever. 

Over the years, people continued to tell me that I looked like her and I just kind of shrugged it off like "OH yea? Okay." But then one day, I decided to just own it. So, picture it. I am just walking around, minding my own business when someone says, "Gosh, you just look so familiar!" Of course, I say "Oh!!! I look like Kelly Clarkson!" I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have said that in my life. Like.. no one cares, Katie. But that doesn't stop me at all! I said it all the time when I first became a marketer. I would go into a business, introduce myself, and we would get to talking. I love building relationships with others in town! Anyways, 9/10 someone would say "I feel like I know you from somewhere." or "You look familiar.." To which I replied, "Well, I look like Kelly Clarkson. Here is my business card." Most of the time, they would just laugh it off and some would even say, "Oh my gosh, you do!" They had no idea how much bigger my head grew. :D 

In all seriousness, Kelly and I do have quite a few things in common besides our high cheek bones and big smiles. 

>We both have tattoos and love them. 

> We both hate sharks. ( Who knew?)

> We are both 5'5" tall. 

> We both have 5 letters in our name. 

> We are both loud and have a big laugh!

> She was born in Texas. I have lived in Texas a super long time. 

> We were both born in the '80s.

> We both LOVE Reba McEntire.

> We both love to sing! 

> We have both been divorced one time!

> We both had a troublesome relationship with our biological fathers, or perhaps not a relationship at all. 

> Our father's passed away about a year a part. 

This is where it gets real. For so long, I let my past and my crap relationship (or lack thereof) with my biological father determine the outcome every relationship I had. It was (and still is) hard for me to believe that people aren't just trying to see me fail or get hurt or worse... fall so hard that they look so good because "they helped me." Music has always helped me connect even has a child. It helps connect with myself, my feelings, my friends... hell... LIFE! 

Kelly's music has truly been so touching for me. I remember sitting in my room when I was in high school. Back left bedroom of the house. Windows were nailed shut. No air, no heat. Just me and my radio. I would lip sync the words to "Breakaway" with tears falling down my face because I DREAMED of the day that I would be free of all the emotional and physical abuse and neglect. Even now, her song "Piece by Piece" gets me in my feels. To think that someone couldn't be there for his child. I just can't even imagine treating my child the way my father treated me. 

Sometimes I wonder if she felt the way I felt when she learned of her father's passing. It was like a huge weight had been lifted. I remember being in Dilliard's in Texarkana when I got the call. I had just finished volunteering to wrap presents and I literally screamed "I am free!" Like... screamed! All the disappointment, all the memories, all the failures... every time I wasn't good enough. Every birthday he missed and every birthday I lived with him that he would NOT allow us to celebrate. It had all finally started to lift from my body. 

I want to meet Kelly, ya'll. I want to HUG her and THANK her for being there for me. For being there for all of us who struggle with how to put our emotions on paper. I want to tell her that she is truly an inspiration and that one day maybe I will have the courage to be more like her- STRONGER. 

#getKatietoKelly

This picture is from when I was a marketer for a local urgent care. We had a dress-up day each month. This was "Twin Day." I didn't have a twin, so I put Kelly Clarkson on a shirt and got my hair cut to match but a little shorter.