My thoughts for today's post are inspired by my best friend and her love of unicorns. Yes, you heard that correctly. My best friend, Tonia, loved unicorns as a child. When asked what her favorite animal was, she would proudly reply, "unicorn." She never questioned a unicorn's actual existence because she figured that since their were pictures and stories about unicorns, they must be real. She had unicorn stuffed animals, unicorn folders, and even a snazzy unicorn light switch!
Tonia continued to believe in unicorns far longer than any normal person. Her blind love of the animal seemed to have made her unaware of the truth that we all came to realize at some point. We all realized that our Lisa Frank folders weren't depicting actual reality, and that unicorns were a thing of fantasy. The truth ultimately became clear for Tonia when she told a group of her teenage friends that unicorns were her favorite animal, only to be met with looks of shock that she was being serious. The truth hurt and was slightly embarrassing to realize.
Even though Tonia has been told the truth, that unicorns don't exist, she sometimes still insist that they must be real. I usually get involved in a strange conversation questioning the reality of them. We are slightly joking, but slightly serious, when we ponder why anyone would simply make up a unicorn without ever actually seeing one. Isn't their something about a unicorn that seems like it must be real in some sort of whimsical, parallel universe? Whimsical things such as unicorns, mermaids, and fairies are so intriguing because they seem so possible, almost like you think you saw them as a child or perhaps in a dream, but so rationally impossible.
I now realize that I am rambling about unicorns, and that has to stop! In the end, the whole story makes me think about believing in the impossible and embracing the whimsical. Here are some images of rationally impossible yet endlessly interesting creatures.
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