Go on, admit it, you too had one/many when you were growing up. It's OK, in fact, I reckon that having an imaginary friend is one of the most special hallmarks of childhood. This is a time when it's acceptable, nay, wholeheartedly encouraged to have an over-active &trippy imagination, so why not make the most of it? Personally, I was the little girl with a troupe of animal imaginary friends, who sincerely believed that Narnia was real until she was ten. No, really. I sat in my wardrobe for almost an hour to test this belief out.
In my early years, I was definitely in the geeky/nerdish minority at school. Most of the kids were cool&popular, who had actual real person friends, not figments of their imaginations to keep them company. In fact, the small (really small) group of allies I did have were equally proud to have their own apocryphal compatriots, who, according to my memory, would chill out &do all the things that imaginary friends do while us kids played hopscotch or whatever. I should clarify, reader, that I was about 5-6 at the time, and was fed a literary diet of 'The Never Ending Story' &other wild&fanciful tales by my parents. That's right, I put all of this down to my upbringing.
Shall I tell you something? (I realise that what I'm about to say is desperately uncool and could be construed as a desperate attempt to cling on to my childhood). If I ever have my own spawn*, I'll feed them with a literary diet similar to the one I feasted on, just so they will be secure in the knowledge that having an imaginary friend, or a whole band of them is absolutely fine, or rather, quite brilliant. 'Cause let's face it, being little isn't always fun. Kids are mean, and we all know that childhood can be pretty lonely and disheartening. But, when you've got the creations of your mind to keep you company, you've got something to rely on during the bad bits of being a small person.
If only having a fictitious companion wasn't so frowned upon for adults...
*i.e children. 'Spawn' is my preferred term.
Miss D x
