My name is Pauline, and a proud 14-year old Brit lass from Liverpool. Right
now, I live near San Francisco/San Jose in California's Bay Area in the north.
(NORTHERNERS !) The reason why I'm writing this article is to write why I too
admire Melanie Chisholm. 

 Reading those articles that other people have written about Melanie just lit
a little spark in my head and realised that I wasn't the only one that felt
that way about a role model. 

As many of the others have said, it is hard to be a Spice Girls or Melanie
Chisholm fan. You constantly hear people tease and diss them and it just makes
you want to hide when everybody's laughing about them. But at the same time,
inside you feel that it's not right to say something about somebody that you
don't know or haven't even met. That's a typical day for me at school. Being a
Spice Girls fan in 8th grade isn't exactly easy. Why you ask ? For one reason,
in my school the dominating pop groups would be either the Backstreet Boys or
*N Sync. Girls ranting and raving about Justin Timberlake of *N Sync or Nick
Carter of the Backstreet Boys. If it's not the pop music, most of the other
people at my school listen to rock/alternative. 

I'm not afraid to say that I'm a Spice Girls fan or a Sporty fan. In fact, I
proudly wear my necklace that says, "SPICE". It's the fact that people tease
you and how they make in fun of them behind your back even though they know
you're just around the corner. But enough about that, what about Melanie ? We
can't leave her out of this article. 

I have never , ever in my life have a role-model who has been such an
inspiration to me. I wouldn't say that I was over obsessive or anything, but I
feel that she's done everything that she could have done just through the TV
and interviews. Imagine what she could have done if I had really known her as
a friend. Ever since 1st or 2nd grade, I've always wanted to be a singer.
Teachers and friends would ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up ?" I
would proudly lift my head and say, "I'm going to become a singer someday." I
could just see the teachers eyes that she was mocking me inside, and thinking,
"Yeah, right." even though she didn't say it. She gave me a strange look.
Friends would just go, "Maybe you will." I obviously didn't get much support.

When the Spice Girls first came out in 1996 in America, I thought, "Oh, it's
another pop group that's not going to last." In 1997 when I went to get one of
my friends a little gift for her birthday, I knew she liked the Spice Girls'
music, but weren't really into them. So, I got her the 'Spice Up Your Life' CD
single. When I got home, I couldn't help it, I thought, "Well I'll just get
her something else." I had never heard any songs from the Spice Girls before,
and so, I ripped open the package and popped the CD in. I immediately feel in
love with the Spice Girls. It was from that moment on that they'd become my
favourite group of all time. 

As time went by, I read articles and biographies of each of them and got to
know them by just the books and interviews on MTV and such. There were two
girls that really stood out for me. One of them was this loud red-head and the
other was this quiet girl who always dressed in sporty clothes. Having Geri
and Melanie as my favourite Spices and having role models to look up to
changed my life. 

Melanie taught me to go for your dreams no matter what. Like her, nobody ever
really believed that I could or ever make it into the music industry, but when
they see me there someday, I know they'll be thinking in the back of their
heads, "I knew I shouldn't have said that." One other thing was that I was a
bit of a tomboy in elementary school. I was always and constantly hanging out
with the guys either playing basketball, kickball, footie (soccer), or
handball. As a diss, the guys always called me 'Sporty' because all I would do
during school was play sports and be in sporty clothes. I showed them because
most of the time, I beat the guys at their game which made me proud. 

And somehow, in a weird way, it seems as though, I know her, but I've never
met her in my entire life. She just seems like a person that you could talk to
hours to. A close friend that knows me so well. Just through the TV, it feels
like I've known her forever and that she knows me. She's a person who cares a
lot about her friends and you can just see that once you "see" her. You get
this "Melanie-vibe" like she's been there for you and she's a friend which is
talking directly to you even when you haven't met her. I just think that it's
fantastic that Melanie did go for her dreams and that she's encouraging her
fans to do so too. It does prove that if you want something bad enough, you'll
get it someday, and you'll get your change. 

Another thing that got me into the Spice Girls was that I was British, and I'm
really proud to be. I thought, "Oh wow, a fantastic and amazing group that's
from Britian, just like me." Being such a footie freak as I am, once I found
at that Melanie supported Liverpool, I just went in awe. She seemed so down-
to-earth, and not-selfish. Plus that and she's really proud to be British. I
was drawn to her almost in everyway you could to a role-model. Almost every
second you think, "Oh wow, just imagine, I would have been a totally different
person if she hadn't been there. I would have just stayed the same...imagine
what that would be like?"

It just shows you, once you've had someone or something like that in your
life, there's nothing that could ever to replace it. Somebody like Melanie
could never been erased from your heart, knowing the fact that they changed
your life and made such a great impact on you just puts you into a mode where
you just sit there and think for hours.

I just wanted to thank Melanie Chisholm for being who she is and the reasons
why she's up there in the spotlight of many people's lives. She is one of the
most amazing peole in the world, and a great heart. If you ever plan on
managing a group or starting your own record company some day, I'll be waiting
for my chance. LIVERPOOL FOREVER ! P.S. You'll Never Walk Alone. 

People at school also ask, "What music are you into ? Any bands, groups in
particular?" I anwer, "The Spice Girls." Immediately, they turn away and
snicker and look back and say, "Oh really ? Are you serious ? The Spice
Girls??" Most of them go in disbelief because who I am. A sporty girl that's
most of the time tomboyish like the Spice Girls ? Not possible.