Attainable Ideals

Alright, so maybe I've said it before -- but really, what's with all the TV shows that are horribly realistic? I mean I can't be the only one that looks to Hollywood and says, "thank goodness they get paid to be perfect, otherwise where would all my pinspiration (and the traditional kind) come from?" Listen, I like my tv idols just as well as the next girl: skinny, a dose of scripted wit and the ability to never over or under dress. Last night as I succumbed to the group decision to watch Girls, admittedly, there were some parts where I chuckled, but overwhelmingly the awkward dialogue and unfortunate style choices were distracting! If entertainment is suppose to suggest a vicarious life, or an escape route with aspiration, then what's with this new genre? On one hand I get it -- people are looking for a novel in a television show and shows like Girls offer multidimensional characters that people can relate to and give a voice to the "common girl," oh and we also don't have to read and comprehend, just watch and listen. On the other hand, you don't need a television show to remind you how nondescript and vulnerable you actually are, at least I don't. I'd much prefer to watch a show that keeps me thinking and dreaming versus "oh man someone out there really gets me, unfortunately she's making all the dough, and the only thing more I have is a girl that can't be described as pretty acting out scenes that could easily be from my weekend." I mean really.
Another thing, I must say to male readers that adore this show: just because there are moments you might have recently experienced with a girl when she offers tangential line of reasoning and you see it again in this show this does not mean the show is a window into the girl psyche, therefore you should not assume she would also agree to get a horrible tattoo or wear a bra in public, or any other egregious attribute that might be assigned should you hold this show as bible when it comes to girls. In fact, all this show really summed up is that life and girls don't make sense - and you can't make even make a show that's going to appeal to all of us. Because we're so complicated and yet oversimplified in our ideals that nothing and everything satisfies us. Makes so much sense, right?

Dear Ol' UVA...

I needed some time to compile my thoughts and comments from my recent Homecoming visit to UVa - so for those of you who were looking for it. Here it is.
Homecoming weekend at Uva... Driving down I-95 onto Alderman, guided by the giant V and two sabers inked into the road we entered a place we called home for four years. It felt as though we entered a bubble. It was a cultural capsule where it seemed nothing had changed and yet coming from out of town, there was a solemn cloud that followed us, a gentle reminder that this wasn't the real world. It's clear after being in the workplace for two years, UVa was a utopia. You don't really have to deal with adult issues, all of the rent/utilities/billing were spoon fed to you, none of your interactions were multi-level (i.e. work relationships), people can wear cowboy boots and dresses and it's more of a dress code than a fashion faux-pas; oh and singing the Good Ol' Song made everyone feel like one happy community. No wonder we feel duped...I'm not the only person that looked blankly at a fax machine or another esoteric office tool and thought: why didn't I take a class for this? That's what we need a "Real Life 101" that teaches you how to: deal with taxes, office politics, weird roommates, missing landlords, rental agreements, real crime that can't be solved with the honor code... and the list goes on.
I can't decide if the shielding of the real world from the current Wahoos is just an extension of their childhood or the set up for the first of many rude awakenings they will experience in adulthood. For example: at UVa you can feasibly, work, party, study, eat healthy, stay fit, and get enough sleep to do it all again the next day. Guess what? In the real world the routine is sacrificed for things that are considered survival tactics - eating whatever you can find, sleeping when you can, and working for food and shelter. When we were on the Range before the football game, you could still see the flicker of innocence in the eyes of the undergrads, an age of believing and where ignorance is bliss.
It was a great weekend, but returning to grounds and looking at versions of myself pre-real world, was bittersweet. On one hand UVa is now a place we can never go back to without bringing in bias, on the other hand it was a nice reset button to know that in a world that is constantly changing there are some consistencies.