This story of inspiration is from  Marissa,

Hi, my name is Marissa, and I am seventeen years old. I know my story's probably not as interesting as some of yours, but I need to tell people about how a truly wonderful man and fabulous actor has changed the way I look at the world.

I first encountered Mr. Johnny Depp's work at the tender age of twelve, back when I was a full-on Tolkien geek counting down the days until the next Lord of the Rings movie. I read in Seventeen magazine that Orlando Bloom (my beloved Legolas) had a new movie coming out called Pirates of the Caribbean. Not too enthused because he wouldn't be in a blond wig, I waited for the DVD. In fact, I didn't even buy the darned thing at first. I rented it. I watched it. Then I rented it again, and again: I rented that movie five times before my mom finally broke down and bought it for me for Christmas. There was something about this Jack Sparrow guy that just made me feel good watching him. That was the first year I watched the Oscars, and I almost cried when Sean Penn took best actor. (I forgave him after seeing Dead Man Walking.)

Thus began my long struggle with (who am I kidding, celebration of) JDOCD. I have seen 14 of his movies, three of them Pirates, four of them directed by Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ed Wood, and Sweeney Todd.) With every movie I've fallen a little more in love with him. I've never seen a more versatile actor: from the innocence and angelic nature of Sam from Benny and Joon to the thirst for revenge expressed by the demon barber Sweeney Todd, from the giant grin and cross-dressing ways of Ed Wood to the motorcycle masculinity of Cry-Baby, from the odd walks and slurred speech of Captain Jack Sparrow to... well, the odd walks and slurred speech of Raoul Duke, Johnny has made me laugh, cry (especially in Gilbert Grape,) shudder, squeal, say "awww," and, yes, even moan. Even before seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Chocolat, I compared him to my favorite food: dark, rich, and incredibly sweet.

But the real reason I love Johnny Depp is because of the man behind the mascara. Not only is he a terrific actor, he's also that rare thing, a celebrity who didn't set out to be one and doesn't really act like one. He takes on projects you wouldn't see Brad Pitt touching with a forty-two-foot pole. He doesn't follow the trends but stays true to himself, as well as to the people who come first in his life: his family. You never see pictures of his children because unlike most famous people, he doesn't exploit them. He recognizes that kids need a chance to be kids, and at heart, he's still a kid himself. In our society, we've gone from "father knows best" to "father doesn't know he has kids." Johnny's a positive example of what it means to be a dad. Plus, Johnny Depp is almost never on the cover of the tabloids. Why? Because even though he may have been a bad boy, he turned out to be a good man. I see all these celebrities getting DUIs and going into rehab, then I go see their movies and they suck. But I don't hear a peep about Johnny in the trashy gossip magazines, and then I go to see his movies and they blow my mind. He's not a celebrity, he's an actor. He just happens to be a famous one.

Johnny's also helped me in a more personal way. Until about ninth grade, I tried desperately to fit in. I was afraid that letting my true self show would get me labled a freak, geek, or whatever else. I also was afraid to let people know I liked (no, loved) Johnny Depp. He was too old and too odd for most of my classmates. But around the time I started high school, I realized that I would do well to follow Johnny's example and stop caring so much what people would think of me. And it worked. I have friends from every class in my school, seventh graders to my fellow seniors, and all of them are just as weird as me if not weirder. Many of them are also JD lovers. I also got involved in acting. I'm working on my eighth role, and like Johnny, I've seen my share of accents and hats. (I go to an all-girls school, and including my current role as Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream, I have played six male roles in five plays.)

Well, now it's been four years and three months since I first melted into a puddle when Captain Jack Sparrow pulled a pistol and said "Savvy?" I'm practically an adult now, and I have a boyfriend who doesn't live in my DVD player. On our first "date" (the quotes are because my mom and brother came along) we ended up talking about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. On our most recent date, we went to see Sweeney Todd. I'm not sure where our relationship will lead, but it's the journey that's important, not so much the destination. "I think the thing to do is enjoy the ride while you're on it." Don't you? <3 Marissa

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