I was the "odd" one in my group of friends back in preschool when we talked about our own cartoon heroines. While all of them wanted to be like Jem and the Holograms when they grew up, I secretly wished to morph into a Betty Boop someday.

For some strange reason, I was deeply fascinated by the innocence she had behind those cleavage-baring, thigh-showing dresses. My friends would tease me about my choice of heroine, saying Betty Boop was a major flirt because she wore such outfits and that men were always chasing after her. I was disappointed that they just couldn't see what I saw in Betty.

When I grew up to be an awkward and pimply fourteener who hopelessly slouched all the time, I loved to hate Betty Boops. I'd watch in awe as they passed me by in their mini skirts, low-neckline halters, three-inch heels, and that intensely feminine aura that made them sell like hotcakes to the guys I'd admired from a distance. Back then I was so in a hurry to grow up then that I've forgotten the real essence of a Betty Boop.

Come 16 when I realized I'd shed some baby fat while growing "new" body parts, I was finally accepted into the Boop World. I'd had my share of crushes, heartaches, cases of unrequited love, near-catfight encounters, "fan-" and "hate mail"--all the perks of learning the art of being a stereotypical Betty Boop.

But you see, as I write this while reflecting on how I was as I grew up, I realize how my adoration for Betty Boop has changed. For the past few years of my teenage life, I saw Betty the way others saw her--someone got all that attention because of her looks. And it's such a shame how that was the kind of Betty Boop I wanted to be.

Thanks to all the humbling experiences and encounters I've had, I've learned to see beyond the shallowness of the Boop World. I began to rediscover the very thing that made Betty Boop my personal heroine back when I was 6--that innocent, unassuming air that canceled out all positive negative judgments about her from the way she looked and dressed.

It doesn't matter if you wear green eyeshadow to class all the time or if you're a shirt-and-jeans girl or if you match black nails with an all-black outfit. You don't have to be model-pretty or incredibly smart--heck, you don't even need to wear a C-cup. If you're confident and happy in your own skin and shoes, then you're just as hot to be called a real Betty Boop!