Words by Alyson. Illustrations by Kendra Yee.

The early 2000s were a good time to be a millennial six-year-old girl with a Kim Possible infatuation, and with a family that also happened to have one of those “laptop” gadgets. I don’t remember visiting any other site on the internet than the Kim Possible page of the Disney Channel website. Close your eyes and imagine the excitement—the beats per minute of my heart—as I discovered a way to (finally) express my feelings to the animated supergirl herself.

Kim was my first inspiration. I’d imagine swinging from tree to tree (or roof to roof in my cul-de-sac), just like she would so masterfully hop from building to building. I watched every episode, and there was no doubt in my young mind that I could replace Ron Stoppable as her right hand. And, after establishing myself as a more-than-worthy sidekick, I would eventually morph into…the KIM POSSIBLE!!!!&@*(@)$!!!

“But what about being Alyson?” my mom asked after reading my proud declaration of fangirldom to Miss Possible over my shoulder. I’m sure I responded with the six-year-old equivalent of “SUREFINEWHATEVER.” What was she even talking about? What sound-minded person wouldn’t want to be a crop-top rockin’ cheerleader by day and a kick-flippin’ can of whoop-ass by night? I was concerned that my mom wasn’t equally prepared to dedicate herself to the best crime-halting woman known to childkind.

To little ol’ me, Kim was the heroine who put the spring in my step, with the help of Sketchers sneakers. I trotted around imitating her swift cartoon gestures and phrases, hoping that the rest (specifically, my own Kimmunicator and pet mole rat) would come along in time.

Ten years later, I am writing and drawing and creating the moodboard of all of the things I want to be some day, in one person. I keep a couple of personal icons close by as I work on this. Sometimes, I find myself falling under one of their spells so completely that I am tempted to Mod Podge their face—profile, front, and three-quarter views—all over my walls as my “WHAT TO BECOME” visuals.

Once I come back to earth and look around at all of the things I have created, what I am capable of doing, their magic wears off. Feeling “the power within,” again and again, I come to the same conclusion: I’ll become my own Kim Possible—backflips and body-flinging moves optional. ♦