THE DEATH OF SHANIQUA
By Jen
| Change is inevitable. Change is a human experience. Without change there is no life. As with all of us, there has been a major life change for Jen, who has written under the pen name of Shaniqua Dramboui. Even Louie Anderson had to take time to deal with his life and make peace with his issues. Sometimes this means changing directions and going a totally different way. For others, it means embracing all that we have become and experienced to forge a stronger, more integrated self image of who we are. For Jen, it has meant dropping the facade of her alter ego and embracing both her humor and her unique tilted view of life and living. Below is the story in her own words. I think we will all be the better for the change! Christy Lee /Editor |
Shaniqua is dead!
Well, I guess she's really not dead since she is me, and I'm pretty sure that corpses can't type. Shaniqua was my pen name. My safety net. She was my alter ego with the ability to say anything she wanted and was never scared of the consequences. I've come to a conclusion though, I don't need to hide behind a fake name anymore. I'm not afraid to say what I think. I'm proud to be me! There's a new sheriff in town and she is me.
My name is Jen.
People call me Jen.
You can call me Jen.
Hello!
Nice to meet you! Here's a little background so you can see where I'm coming from.
I'm a 29 year old divorced mother of two. That's code for "I haven't slept since 1993 and I'm a little cranky". My turn on's are men with spines and jobs.
My turn offs are lazy, cheating, beer-guzzling swine's who don't use coasters. As you can see I'm really picky. Frankly, I don't really have time to date and deal with the opposite sex so it's all irrelevant I guess.
Why the funky pen name? Simple. Anonymity. You just couldn't get farther from who I really am than the name Shaniqua. I'm a simple farm girl from Idaho.
Yes, people really do live in Idaho.
No, I didn't grow up farming potatoes either.
Yes, we have indoor plumbing.
No, Idaho is not by Illinois.....you're thinking of Iowa.
Any other questions about Idaho will just need to me e-mailed to me. The misconceptions about Idaho are too numerous to answer in this one article.
Shaniqua was the name my friends made up for me when we would go out. A couple of drinks and she would emerge. She was the repressed wild child in me. Now, I've decided to just merge her with the quiet side and make a new and improved Jen. It's really working for me!
Another thing that is really working for me is getting divorced. There is nothing like losing 200 lbs of worthless carcass to rejuvenate the mind and body. I recommend to all women stuck with a "Cheating Rat Bastard", (That's my term of endearment for the Ex).
You see.....only Shaniqua could say such a thing.
I was supposed to be a good wife and mother and show no sign that anything was wrong--No issues--Nothing controversial--Just a slice of Americana. Blah.
So I guess Shaniqua is not really dead after all. She's here. Reminding me to stand up and say what I think--To be independent--To fight to the death if necessary--To shout from the hilltops--I AM JEN!