I hate to admit it, but I had an imaginary friend.  She’s really amazing and still quite special to me. She helped me get through the rough patches of my life.  Her name is Ellie. When I was in third grade, the term “popular” started becoming a reality for me. Kids just randomly became popular in my class.  Unfortunately, that never happened to me. I didn’t have that many friends. I knew why I wasn’t popular: I wasn’t in the top five smartest kids list, and I wasn’t as pretty as some of the other girls.  One day, I was just swinging on one of the swings, alone, as usual, when I heard a voice. “You look lonely,” the voice said. I looked up to see a girl standing in front of me, hands behind her back. She smiled sweetly, and her pearly white teeth almost gleamed.  “Hi.” She waved at me. “I’m Ellie, your imaginary friend. The person you want to be.” My jaw dropped. “How…?” “Oh, it’s very possible.” It was almost if she’d read my mind. “I think we’re going to get along fine,” I stuttered.
We did get along fine.  Ellie and I were very similar.  Our favorite color is purple, our favorite meal is pizza bagels, and we love to paint and do jazz dance.  Although people thought I was strange for talking to myself all the time, I had an excuse. “I’m trying to make up the storyline for a book I want to write someday,” I’d tell anyone who’d question me.  The kids thought it was cool that I wanted to be an author. They’d ask me questions about what my story was about. I started making more friends, and gaining a bit of popularity. I was surprised! I spent less time with Ellie, but I still tried to make time for her.  
Then, one Saturday, Ellie came to me as I was drawing at my desk.  She smiled sadly and whispered, “I came to say goodbye… I’m leaving.”  I jumped up and yelled, “Why?” She sighed, then beamed proudly. “I was the person you wanted to be.  You weren’t confident. Now, that’s changed.” Her blue eyes shimmered with pride and brimming tears. “You’ve found your place, Philomena.  You know who you are, and you have confidence.” Ellie looked away from the distraught expression on my face. “I’m going to the next child who needs a friend in order to gain confidence.  That’s my purpose.” She stopped, walked over to me, and hugged me tightly. “I’ll never forget you,” I choked out. “Thank you.” “I’ll never forget you, and if you ever need help again, I’ll come back to you.”  She seemed to fade away slowly. I sighed and looked at the to-do list on my desk. On the list was: Write a story.  I grinned.  Now, I knew just what to write about.