Who is Lola?

I bet you've been wondering "Who the hell is Lola?" "If that's not your name, then..." "I don't get it", and you wouldn't be alone. So, I think its about time I explained. Let me tell you little story...

It was November 25th circa 1992, in a birthing suite at LaGuardia Hospital in Queens, New York City, a 25 yr old security guard gave birth to a beautiful, chunky, chocolate baby girl. Looking down at her princess, she knew right then that she was special and your average American "Sara" or "Mary" wouldn't cut it. She searched her memory (and a couple dozen baby books, lol) until she found a name worthy, one that had meaning, the perfect name. Adara. It means "Virgin Beauty". Adara Tiana Mitchell, that's my name.



I love my name, despite the many times my elementary school classmates chanted the Dora the Explorer theme song at me on the playground. Its unique, like me. I began my "awkward stage" in middle school. Pimples, puberty and periods. Oh My! Not unlike most girls, but middle school was the first time I realized I was a tad bit more eccentric than the rest of my peers, and they never let me forget it. I had friends, but I was still the odd girl out. I found comfort in the world of fiction. Books, movies, television etc. The characters that I'd read about were the only people I seemed to have anything in common with. In the fictional world it was always cool to be different.

In 1998, Hollywood introduced us to a girl that would become something like Wonder Woman to pre-teen girls everywhere, Lindsay Lohan. Lindsay was the girl that every girl either wanted to be, or be best friends with. I would've taken either. I was Lohan obsessed, anything she touched I wanted. So naturally I wore out my Lohan movie collections daily. In 2002, Lindsay was cast in the Disney adaptation of Dyan Sheldons' novel "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" and I couldn't have been more excited. I'd always seen that book in my frequent trips to the "Young Adult" section at Barnes & Noble, but I was way too wrapped up in "The Clique" Series to give it a try. Besides, am I like the only person in the world who likes to watch the movie before reading the book? Anyway, 5 minutes into the film and I was already mesmerized. I mean, Lindsay Lohan was already my she-ro, but her character Lola was like...like...my other half, my soul, my twin, my spirit animal or something.

Her Style.

Her Optimism.

Her tendency to overreact to just about everything.

 

Her obsession with her hometown.

That she was the outcast even at home.

She was me, just 100% more confident.

From that moment on, Lola Cep became my spirit guide. I loved being different, loved being who I was, loved being the center of attention. But years of tormenting and criticism left me without the confidence to embrace those things publicly. Instead, I flew under the radar so as not to draw too much attention to herself. Creating sort of an alter ego, gave me the confidence to be myself, as weird as that may sound. Today, I'm no longer afraid to be who I am, say how I feel, dress how I'd like , no matter how out of place or absurd it may seem to others. I love being the center of attention. (no shame in my game, lol) I use Lola, as an alias because its a reminder that just by being yourself, you can inspire another person to be themselves.

Thanks Lola!