News Taffy

What is the one thing about yourself that you don’t like? I bet most of us can name one thing instantly. I don’t like my legs, my chin, my nose, my hair, my hips, my this or that. The list can go on and on. But most of us might think Hollywood movie stars don’t have too many things about themselves they don’t like, right? Not true according to four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore. She has gone to great lengths to tell the story of her dread of the freckles sprinkled all over her body. She wrote the book Freckleface Strawberry and now it’s come to life on stage.

In case you are not familiar with the book, it is about all the things Moore did to try to get rid of her freckles and hide herself so she wouldn’t be teased by her classmates. I saw the production, Freckleface the Musical, on Sunday afternoon and can’t say enough great things about it. If you have kids around the age of 7 or older even, I suggest you go see the show if you are coming to New York City. I was familiar with the book but never bought it because I thought it was a girl’s book! Boy was I wrong. The message is one that resonates across the board for everyone. Even us big people!

Freckleface herself was here after the show along with The Moms, Denise Albert and Melissa Gerstein, to answer questions from the audience! One adorable little red head asked Moore if she would like to join her Red Head Club. Of course, Moore accepted. Another child asked her how many freckles she has. Moore pulled up her sleeve and asked her if she wanted to try to count them. Doing my research before I went, I knew that Moore had moved around a lot as a child. So I asked her how she dealt with being the new kid in all of her different schools. She said she learned to adapt. But more importantly she added, she always stresses to her two kids to make the new kids feel welcome at school.

When one child asked her where freckles come from, Moore replied, “It’s just an unequal distribution of melatonin”. Of course the parents laughed and the kids didn’t know what to think! Moore later told the crowd about her freckles, “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit”. Her over all message was about loving yourself as you are and not singling people out because of their differences. That’s a message everyone needs to hear.

Keep up with D.J.’s adventure in the Big Apple by following her on Twitter @mrsdjduckworth and on Facebook.com/dj.c.duckworth Read more about the Southerner and the City at www.djduckworthyoga.com/blog