Julie Annesrefoihweoif Veugen

Once upon a time in a far off land, on a blustery December Tuesday, an angel was born. They traveled over mountains, over hills and valleys, over lakes and rivers and deserts and ice – all to see this prodigy brought to life. But when they got there, the child was gone. In its place was a vortex, and beside that – a note. The horror struck villagers gathered round, leaning on each other for support in the shock of the disappearance. A brave speaker gathered his wits, and collecting himself and wiping his tears, he stepped up onto a platform of stone. He read the note aloud;

Distraught citizens, our planet is coming to an end. Chaos, rooted from within, has taken its toll and will soon consume all. We needed help. We needed an angel – so we stole her. We may give her back. Maybe.

-Earth

This is the story of how Julie Anne Veugen came to be. See, she is not an ordinary human. She is a phenomenon. A once in a lifetime creation. But more than that, Julie is a doll. She’s also Dutch, and if that doesn’t mean anything to you – well it doesn’t really to anyone. If books aren’t written about her… they will be. Writers block will get us all. So will cats. She’s not just a person. She’s the living embodiment of cows. Cows are the ultimate form of absolute content. They’re stable and supportive, and just as good on the inside as they are on the out. Some would say that they’re even better on the inside. But that’s Julie – my beautifully wrapped shining center of a best friend. And every single day of my life, I thank the swirling vortex that sucked the little child away from her faraway land of mountains and ice, because, now I get to be best friends with an angel.

So Julie’s earth family is made up of a mom and a dad, a brother named Joe, who’s one year older, and a sister named Jenna, who’s three and a half years younger. And a cat. And another cat. (She really loves those cats). After almost seventeen years of living, Julie has learned to value individuality, truth, and loyalty. That’s probably why she loves cats. But she wouldn’t be the person she is without the influences that come side by side with life. Events, people, and circumstances have shaped her into the amazing, idealistic and slightly-odd-when-you-you-get-to-know-her person that she is today – into the girl I love.

Julie is a veteran of travel- the Christopher Columbus of High school.  With her family she’s explored the waters of tropical seas, she’s discovered coastlines of shimmering white sand, and she’s observed the daily rituals of natives. These adventures have opened her eyes to the supreme diversity of humankind and instilled in her the need to continue to experience the world in all of its unique glory. And she faces it all head held high with confidence – a confidence instilled in her through dance.

Dance never has just been a hobby to Julie – it’s a need. It’s something that’s inside her, an expression that needs to break free. It’s in her bones, in her spirit, in her heart. You’d know it if you saw her. Dance has inspired her to be outgoing – through the friendships and relationships she has created, through the performances that push her both emotionally and physically. Her self esteem has been raised, and now she is the self-assured girl we all know.

Not only experiences help to form Julie Veugen, but people as well have contributed to the wonderfully perfect whole that is Julie. As is the same with many of us, parents are the ones we have spent the most time around – they’re the ones that have been there from the start, the ones that have helped us grow, the ones that have taught us the values and ideas that we accept and hold close. Because of the natural parent-child bond, Julie has said that her parents are one of the greatest influences on her life. Her humour, her intelligence, and her undying lightheartedness, stems from them – they are her constant support system that she loves and is constantly grateful for.

A less understandable influence on her life is this weird kid named Ali – Ali Carrola or something. She’s kind of a nerd, but I guess it works because Julie also has her own share of abnormality. I guess Ali brings out some of Julie’s weirdness. Actually no. It’s not even that. I think maybe it’s because of Ali’s peculiarity that Julie can be herself. So, since it seems unavoidable, and well, because I want to, and I can, I’m going to tell you all about Julie’s oddness. She has this strange obsession with Nancy Drew video games… She has a stack of the games. I counted them one time. I lost count. She also makes weird noises. And watches Dexter and gets almost suspiciously excited over a particularly gruesome episode. Also somewhat suspicious is her odd obsession with vampires. Seriously, walk into her room and look at her bookshelf. They’re pretty much all vampires. Okay that’s a bit of a stretch. Throw in a werewolf. And an alien inhabited human mind. She writes poems too. So she’s all deep and stuff. But to me, this is just listing all of the reasons why I love her. But I guess we’re just a pair of nuts.

Sorry. Bad analogy.

Julie Veugen is a combination and compilation of many things, including travel, dance, siblings, Lydia Herle, her parents, cheerleading, her friends, Knee problems, Kurt Place Kids, and a kid named Ali. She has her life all laid out before her. She dreams of going to university for the sciences, marrying in her twenties, giving birth to two preferably non-bratty children, working a term on a cruise ship, having a cat named Willow, inheriting her parents Florida house, saving up money to travel, and, as is a common goal to all of us – winning the lottery.

To summarize Julie Veugen is almost impossible, because I risk missing something important, which I most definitely have. Knowing who she is, what she believes, and what she stands for, she falls perfectly into the Bundle theory – the theory that holds that the self is a bundle or a collection of bits and pieces of experience. She’s someone you won’t find anywhere else, which I guess makes sense, since she isn’t from here. She’s the angel stolen from a far off land to save this world simply by being her. And now I’m going to make a promise, an extremely selfish one. When her original world begs and pleads Earth to give them back their lost one… I will tie her down to a chair and lock her in a windowless room with four iron bolted doors. Because I won’t let them take her back. She’s my beautifully wrapped, shining centre of a best friend. So like I said – she’s a cow.