Cover Photo: Suzi-Q Supercharge.
By Suzana Ward
Fine Artist and Author of Happy Great Day® Self-Care Habits to Create A Beautiful Life
This article was originally published on December 19, 2019, but it had to be rebuilt — because in 2025, a cyberhacker who gained access to my passwords stole hunks of text from blogs, precious photos, digital art, and plenty more. I started over quietly, selling fine jewelry while revising parts of my work. It took eight months to feel like myself again and to trust my voice.
To everyone who has subscribed: thank you. It was a long time before I could even look at this website without feeling violated. Your support reminded me that people can still be kind. I promise you that I will try my absolute best to pay that feeling forward.
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Being the primary caregiver for sick parents was both the best of times and the worst of times. My mannequin stylist (a.k.a. Dad) sure could make me laugh.
He was the real, unforgettable clown (not me).
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Back in grad school over a decade ago at the Savannah College of Art & Design, I created a photographic story for a class project about everything I thought it would take to be happy. This assignment required writing down all the ways I wanted to feel, noting the main experiences I’d like to have, and listing the possessions I’d like to own. Fast forward to a few days ago, when I found this old list of goals and, in stunned disbelief, realized I’d already checked all the boxes about who I wanted to become one day.
I’ve always had an interest in fashion, so I used a mannequin for the class requirement of self-portraits. The teacher approved my substitute self because, after all, it was an art class, not trigonometry. I’m still an artist today, and I can’t change my basic nature. If you think it’s weird that I named my mannequin Queen Suzi-Q Supercharge, you’re probably right. But I name all sorts of things, from computers to my car. I’m writing this blog post on “Goldie,” a late-2013 MacBook Pro. And my white Subaru is named “Snowflake.”
Before you read further, let me make doubly clear that the following images were lifted from a grad school project. (I didn’t sit around thinking up the idea to illustrate my list of goals with pictures of a dummy. I was coerced by an eccentric art college professor who required that his students create something wild, tongue-in-cheek, and out of the box.)
With no further disclaimers or fanfare, I present to you an excerpt from my list of yesteryear goals featuring illustrations of Queen Suzi-Q Supercharge:
COMMAND RESPECT
This queen is humble, empathetic, and fair. She is daring, guards her boundaries, and blows playful kisses at bad guys instead of swearing at them. Admittedly, there’s still some room for improvement here. I tweet rude basketball and football texts that taunt other teams’ fans on X. I’ll also confess to plenty of swearing when my favorite teams are losing. At least I am humble, empathetic, and fair.
MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE BILLS WITHOUT STRESS
She knows it’s not money that’s going to make her happy: Suzi-Q believes in a compassionate architect of the universe. And she deeply loves her closest friends and family members. Fashion, travel, and the pursuit of creative passion projects make her fiberglass heart beat faster. That said, she wants enough dough to be comfortable without worry that she won’t be able to pay her power bill or afford dental care … So far, so good on this wish for the future. I’ve been able to cover the power bill, and I’m grateful that my original choppers are still intact.
OWN SOME BRIGHTLY COLORED, WELL-MADE CLOTHES (NOT POLYJESTER)
This sad joke was the result of me feeling sensitive and emotionally naked. I was embarrassed about wearing the same outfits to class again and again, as I wanted to own flamboyant, brightly colored, sparkly apparel that I couldn’t afford. Interestingly, I still don’t have a lot of clothes, but these days, I make a conscious effort to wear the few crazy outfits that I already own. — It’s a comforting game to buy as little as possible because I like the idea of less material possessions cluttering my brain.
HAVE THIGH HIGH RED BOOTS AND PLAY ROCK MUSIC LIKE A BOSS
Half a check on this goal because I can at least strum “Freebird” on acoustic guitar. But I don’t own thigh-high retro, red boots anymore. The ones in this photo were technically borrowed from Jessica, a treasured friend, from the Savannah College of Art & Design. Jessie, when you read this, I beg your forgiveness for borrowing and then losing your boots.
In closing, I’m going to talk from my own perspective (rather than telling this story through a stylish mannequin’s eyes)…. “Mama Love” explained that it changed her perspective on what romantic love looks like to grow up in a home with happily married parents who rarely purchased non-essentials. Her mother was a high school physics teacher, and Granddaddy was a traveling salesman. These two were madly in love with one another (just like my mother and father). And they were content with their simple life (just like my mother and father). I remember a lot of giggling and kissing in both the home I grew up in and in my grandparents’ home. This photo of Grandma Effie and Grandpa Delma is a good representation of how Mama’s side of the family generally behaved. But I also have vivid memories of Grandma getting passionately angry with her beloved. That said, I never questioned that either couple was good for each other.
I’m not going to lose sleep trying to define what a great partnership should look like. All I know for sure is what I was taught: There’s no doubt that the person you fall in love with should be by your side, not ahead or behind you.
I’m also certain that I just want to be the real me.
P.S. Special Thanks To Dad, My Mannequin Stylist.
This article is dedicated to you, Pops. You always told me to vividly imagine every detail of my dream life, because The Universe is listening.
~ from Author-Artist, Suzana Ward
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