The Girl Who Made Her Own Rules

I dreamed about this woman named Greta who became one of the biggest directors in the world. But here's the thing—when she was young, nobody told her she could be a director. She didn't even know that was a job you could have.

She started by writing her own plays. Little ones. She'd get her friends together and say 'Okay you say this, then I say that, then you do this.' Just like directing a scene. She was the boss of every scene.

But then something happened. She went to college and people kept telling her what to do. 'Do it this way. Say it like that. Follow these rules.' And she HATED it. She felt like everyone was trying to write her script for her.

So you know what she did? She left. She moved to New York with like no money and started making her own movies with her friends. Tiny movies. Movies where SHE decided everything. What people wore. What they said. Where they stood. Every single thing.

People told her 'You can't just make up your own rules.' And she was like 'Watch me.'

She made a movie called Lady Bird about a girl who fights with her mom but also loves her mom. Then she made Barbie—you know, the doll—into the biggest movie in the whole world. A movie about a doll that everyone said would be silly. But Greta made it her way. She wrote every word. She directed every scene. She was the boss of EVERYTHING.

And now? Now she's one of the most famous directors alive. Because she never let anyone else write her script.

The thing that got me in my dream was this: Greta said the reason she became a director is because when you're the director, YOU get to decide what the story means. You get to protect the people in your story. You get to make sure nothing happens that shouldn't happen.

Greta started with dolls too, by the way. Playing with Barbies. Making up voices. Deciding what happened next.

She said something in an interview once that made me think of you: 'I needed to be in charge of the story because I needed to know it would turn out okay.'