Losing Marcia Brady

Sarah Torbeck highlights the importance of being the person God created you to be.

“Here comes Marcia Brady! I told you that Marcia Brady went to our school!”

I stifled a tiny smile as I stepped into the vestibule of my high school and stood in the center of the atrium. I feigned a long, disinterested glance to my right, and casually surveyed the traffic outside. The parent pick-up line was forming around the well-landscaped center of the campus, as it slowly inched toward the front of the school.

A car would typically stop at the crosswalk in front of the doors, and absorb its waiting student, before slowly making its way into the traffic of Washington, D.C.

But not today.

Today, the students from the adjoining middle school had lined both sides of the crosswalk, and were waiting expectantly for a glimpse of their favorite actress from The Brady Bunch, (this was the 1970’s). Apparently, there was a rumor that she was secretly attending our high school, and the students had begun to gather in the crosswalk in an effort to investigate the rumor, or possibly steal a glimpse of the star!

Of course, Marcia Brady (aka Maureen McCormick) did not attend our school … but it just so happened that there was a student who bore a striking resemblance to the actress. In fact, they could have been twins!

That student … was me, and I reveled in my serendipitous, and not unwelcomed, fame.

I suppressed a giggle, as I tossed back my locks of straight blond hair over my shoulder and whisked coolly through the front doors of the school and into the crowd of admirers.

“There she is!” Cried a young boy.

“It’s really her!” Another voice screamed; and suddenly I was surrounded by dozens of 12-year-olds begging for my autograph.

“Are you really her?” A young boy gasped, as he handed me the back of his notebook to sign.

I offered him my most regal smile—and said, “Yes, it’s really me.” Then I bent over to sign several autographs before ensconcing myself into my waiting limo (that looked remarkably like a Dodge station wagon) and waved like Miss America as I sailed out of the parking lot.

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Ah yes, those were the heady days of my career as an imposter. I did possess an uncanny resemblance to Maureen McCormick (or perhaps I should say that she bore an uncanny resemblance to me).

Either way, my strange and unsolicited fame came at a time when I needed to be anyone else but me. My life was fraught with challenges and harrowing turns that made the idea of an alternate identity extremely attractive.

So, I developed a quasi-identity. I was Marcia Brady to those who did not know me, and the girl who looks like Marcia Brady to those who knew better.

In truth, I think I wanted to be Marcia—which would explain my faithful attempts to imitate her attitudes and mannerisms. I used to dream that a talent-scout would discover me, and make me Marcia Brady’s twin. That would have been the best of all possible worlds, and I waited with a hint of expectation for stardom to find me.

Stardom never did find me, however, and I was eventually forced to face the reality that I was me. At first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be me. Being someone that others admired seemed like such a simple solution to the problems of teenaged angst, insecurity and even … trauma. Surely, Marcia Brady could save me from all that.

By the middle of high school, I began to distance myself from my short career as a celebrity impersonator. It had been amusing, but quite unfulfilling. Being Marcia Brady had only served as a convenient safehouse for the transitional upheavals of adolescence. I was beginning to realize that God had created me for so much more.

In today’s post-modern society, it is acceptable—even fashionable—to be whatever you want to be. This is good advice on several levels … but not all. Clearly, I was not Marcia Brady, no matter how much I desired it.

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In today’s post-modern society, it is acceptable—even fashionable—to be whatever you want to be. This is good advice on several levels … but not all. #CatholicMom

Sometimes I wish I could have helped my younger self know the things I have discovered over the decades. That insecure teenager didn’t need to hide behind the safety of a false persona. God had already chosen and installed abilities that would help her realize her vocations; but most importantly … they would allow her to love and worship God from the unique platform that was … Sarah.

God does not make mistakes. Each and every one of us is an exquisite design—a masterpiece—designated by the Creator Himself. It is our duty and honor to love God, and to help others to know Him through our unique set of gifts and talents.

No, I’m not a famous actress, or even a celebrity twin. I’m just me … and you are you … which is the greatest gift you can offer to the world …

… and to God.

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