M.M.

When I was in Florence, Italy last year, I saw there was an exhibition on Marilyn Monroe at the Salvatore Ferragamo museum. I simply had to go and see it, I’ve always been inspired by this icon who I happen to share initials with: M.M. So I sent my boyfriend over to some science museum and I went to Museo Ferragamo. With plenty of photos, anecdotes, music, movie clips, iconic clothing (the famous white dress!) and last but not least, the shoes Salvatore Ferragamo designed for this inspirational lady, I wandered around for a few hours seeing all this (when I was there I was the only one).

What I always appreciated of Marilyn was that she was smart and that she knew herself better than anyone else. She knew how to play the crowds and put on her happy face, her girly voice, her sexy smile, but never forgot where she came from. Some inspirational quotes of her show exactly that:

‘Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous, than absolutely boring.’

‘I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I’m out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.’

‘If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have gotten anywhere.’

Everybody’s a star, and deserves the right to twinkle.’

‘To all the girls that think you’re fat because you’re not a size zero, you’re the beautiful one, it’s society who’s ugly.’

‘I am good, but not an angel. I sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world, trying to find someone to love.’

‘I believe everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they’re right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself. And sometimes good things fall apart, so better things can fall together.’

‘Respect is one of life’s greatest treasures. I mean, what does it all add up to if you don’t have that?’

‘No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t.’

‘I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent.’

‘All a girl really wants is for one guy to prove to her that they are not all the same.’

‘We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid, so are regrets.’

‘This life is what you make of it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends – they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything – they’re your true best friends. Don’t let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they’ll come and go too. And babe, I hate to say it, most of them – actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can’t give up, because it you give up, you’ll never find your soul mate. You’ll never find that half who makes you whole an that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, it doesn’t mean you’re going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.’

Marilyn has been an icon for decades and were it not for her untimely death at age 36, I like to believe that she would be a sweet, funny, sassy and smart 87-year old lady, someone like Betty White.

M.M. 🙂

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