Miss Harmon
November of 2020, I turned 24 and knew that I needed to do something new with my hair. When I left the salon nine hours later on a rainy Saturday evening, I had a new identity. My textured coils were pressed straight, and my dark brown hair dyed subtle ginger.
Looking at myself in the mirror, all I could think was, “I must have been a ginger in the past life because I’ve never felt more in touch with my appearance.” It wasn’t until I turned on my NETFLIX to watch another episode of The Queens Gambit did I realize I had embodied the ginger character I was currently admiring.
In the show, Beth Harmon, played by now Golden Globes-winning actress Anya Taylor-Joy, plays the child prodigy in the show who becomes a worldwide chess phenomenon. That part (and her drug addiction) are the only parts where we seem to differ. Besides the fact we’re both the same personality type (INTJ), we’re super motivated to succeed, super intuitive, and super aware of herself and her surroundings.
The scene where she plays Georgi, a young Russian player, showed her kindness towards children and her willingness to adapt to any situation. Her closest relationships were between two women, her adoptive mother, Marielle, and fellow orphan Jolene. I admire Beth for her perseverance and kindness (and slight obsessions), which are traits I see in myself.
