fangirl

Alternative title: The Time Jon Foreman Pronounced My Name Correctly

It was the night for which I had been waiting months. Nothing was stopping me from seeing my favorite band of all time that had finally decided to venture to Oklahoma. I was even prepared to attend this concert all by myself. I didn’t have many friends who loved Switchfoot as much as I did; this most likely attests to the reason they rarely played in concert in this state. Sure, going to a concert with your dad might not be ideal, but at least I was going.  

This concert was going to be different. Switchfoot’s newest album Fading West was actually the soundtrack to their documentary of the same name. As part of their tour, they were screening the Fading West documentary directly before each concert. I was less interested in seeing the movie, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see my favorite band play. So, on November 22, 2013, my dad and I arrived in Tulsa to see the concert. The wait was excruciating. We stood in line outside the Brady Theater in the cold for over an hour. We waited for the employees to scan each ticket as guests entered the building. We waded through the crowd in a desperate attempt for a good seat. We waited for the movie to begin. When the documentary was over, we waited for the band to come out. At one point, I thought the real concert was about to start, but it was only one of the band members announcing that they would be taking questions via Twitter. That distracted me for a while; I tweeted them a couple of questions that had intrigued me since I became a fan. But that distraction lasted only a moment. I still had to wait… and wait… and wait… until finally the lights dimmed, and I saw the outline of five male figures walk on to stage. I screamed and cheered with the rest of the crowd as the lights beamed up and the first notes of my favorite song of all time, “Stars,” began to play. The wait was over.

The band played mostly new songs, but one stood out in particular. From the very first note, “When We Come Alive” effused hope and inspiration. The beat filled the room with energy, and the lead singer Jon Foreman sang with passion. Even though it was the first time I had heard the song, I couldn’t help but smile and sway to the music, singing along as I learned the words. Jon Foreman engaged the crowd as he waved his arms, signaling for us to follow along with him. I followed his every movement.

Suddenly, he jumped down off the stage and into the crowd, which stepped back as if parting the waters, so that Jon Foreman could walk through on dry ground. Or, at least, on empty chairs. Every person he walked by clamored for his attention, raising their hands, jumping up and down, and snapping photos. But no one in that moment was more excited than me. In my anticipation, I bounced up and down on my toes, hoping against hope that he would make his way towards us. Could I really have the chance to see my idol, my celebrity crush, my favorite singer and songwriter, up close? It was too good to even consider. I knew that he would most likely stop in a part of the crowd that I wasn’t, and then head back to the stage to keep singing. So convinced was I of this that I could hardly believe it when I realized that Jon Foreman was walking in a path straight down the middle of the crowd, directly towards me. I turned to my dad with the biggest grin on my face. I had no words, so I just kept jumping up and down and pointing in the direction of Jon Foreman. Then I got smart, and pulled out my phone. I wanted to live in the moment and enjoy this concert in person as much as possible, but I just had to catch this moment on video so I could relive it over and over. I took my phone out, but I was more intently focusing on Jon Foreman wading through the crowd while he sang. My heart raced faster and faster with each step that he took. And suddenly, there he was, standing in the same row as me. He stopped right there, right next to me, to finish the song. Had I been a little bit taller and my arms just a few inches longer, I could have touched him. There was only one body standing in between Jon Foreman and me, and I was so excited I could hardly breathe. He raised his microphone and finished the song with a resounding, “Yeaah!”

I clapped and cheered and jumped up and down along with the rest of the crowd around me. We were in awe of what was unfolding.

“In this moment,” Jon Foreman said through gasping breaths, “I want us to have a campfire.”

My thoughts drifted as I listened to him speak. Wouldn’t it be nice to sit around an actual campfire with Jon Foreman, I thought. Up close and personal. Just sitting there, having a real conversation with a real, incredible, larger-than-life human being.

“This is a small venue, and I feel as if we are all a close group of friends relaxing and rewinding around a campfire. So let’s have a conversation,” he continued in his slow, silky voice. “Earlier we asked you to send us some questions. Your questions travelled all the way above the atmosphere,” he pointed upwards, “to a satellite. That satellite translated your questions and transcribed them onto paper, and then they travelled back down to earth in this very building, where I have them now.”

The crowd laughed at his surprisingly successful attempt to romanticize the process of copying down tweets to paper.

“It’s magical!” he said as he pulled out several pieces of paper from his jacket pocket. “So now, I’d like to answer your questions. My first question comes from Gatlyn A.”

My mouth dropped open. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. I was never the one to win something in a drawing. I was never the one who caught a t-shirt or other prize among a crowd. I had never seen a celebrity up close. And I definitely had never stood within three feet of my favorite artist as he said my name.

“Gatlyn A?” he repeated. I realized I hadn’t made myself known. The entire theater was silent, waiting for me to respond to Jon Foreman. But I couldn’t speak. I was so shocked and excited, and my heart was beating so hard, that if I had said anything it probably would have come out with a crack. Or worse, I might have cried. So instead, I opted to awkwardly raise my hand and bounce on my toes.

Finally, Jon Foreman turned around and saw me.

“You’re Gatlyn?” he asked.

I nodded vigorously and grinned enormously.

He reached down his hand to shake mine. I hoped he didn’t notice how much my whole body was already shaking from excitement and nerves. “I’m so glad you’re here tonight, Gatlyn! This is magical,” he said, and repeated his earlier metaphor.

It certainly is magical, I thought to myself, barely maintaining my composure.

I know he answered my question, and I tried to listen, but I only vaguely remember what he said. The moment was so surreal, and I needed to process everything. There were so many times that I tried to share my excitement with my dad, but every time I turned around I could only smile like a maniac, grab his arms, and shake him over and over. There was a feeling deep in my gut, stemming from nervousness, which travelled all the way up to my throat and prevented me from speaking. I knew if I even tried to speak, the tears would immediately come.

It was not until days later that I realized what was most magical about the night. It was not that Jon Foreman came out into the crowd and stood right next to me. It was not that Jon Foreman chose my question to answer out of hundreds, and chose to answer it first no less. It was not even that Jon Foreman shook my hand and spoke directly to me. It was that Jon Foreman said my name, my confusing, hard-to-pronounce name, out loud, and he said it correctly. And that night, because of that moment, was truly the best night of my life. 

Next time, I’ll tell you about the time Jon Foreman complimented my t-shirt.

stories.

I haven't blogged in a while, so I'm cheating. Here's a fairy tale parody that I wrote with a friend about five years ago.


First upon a day, not too long ago, in a very close place, there was an ugly princess. She fell in love with an evil sorcerer. One day, Prince Charming kidnapped the princess and carried her off to a cottage right in the middle of the city. The evil sorcerer followed them to murder the princess. She escaped by jumping onto a short, fat pony and riding into a tree. Next to the tree was a beautiful frog. The ugly princess thought to herself, Maybe, if I just squeeze this frog, it will turn into a Prince! So she picked up the frog and squeezed it as hard as she could. The frog, which was in reality poisonous, burst open and splattered all over her. She began to get sick from the poison.

  

Meanwhile, the evil sorcerer and Prince Charming were still in search of the ugly princess. They became jealous and killed each other with their machine guns. And they all died happily ever after. 

The End

Now here's a superhero parody that we wrote.

Today was a peaceful, calm day in Havocsburg. Mr. Humphreys sat at his desk in his evil scientist lab, contemplating what to do about this unusual day. How would he save the city from being completely and totally ruined by peace?

     Well, as he sat there in his mad scientist lab, Mr. Smithens was giggling deceitfully.  His plan was working! The rowdy citizens of Havocsburg were finally becoming calm and subdued! No more of the ridiculous robberies and murders–no, now, people were giving each other anything the other wanted and keeping each other safe! See if Dragonflyman, also known as Mr. Humphreys, could get the city out of this mess!

     Mr. Smithens’ deceitful giggle was cut short when Dragonflyman burst right into his window with a bump! “Now, Cookieman!” he whispered, for that was Mr. Smithens’ bad-ish-guy name. “What have I told you? You are not supposed to cause me to work!”

     “I-I-I c-can do wha-what-t-tever I-I-I w-w-want,” Cookieman stammered loudly from on top of his desk, trying desperately to look like the bad-ish-guy that he was.

     “No you can not!!” thundered Drag–onflyman casually, while filing his nails. “And look what you’ve caused me to do!”

     After Cookieman knew what was happening, Dragonflyman dove out the window to help save a quite energetic young boy. He was throwing away a piece of trash, and Dragonflyman was furious! “No, no, boy!” he said, snatching the trash out of the boy’s hand. “This is how you do it!” Then he lit it on fire and tossed it on top of the National Havocsburg Grass Reservation Park, causing the entire ten-foot-square lot to catch fire.

     “Remember, kid, with stinky trash comes stinky responsibility.”       

     But Cookieman was quite good at sweet-talking people to do what he wanted them to do, and he ordered them to put the fire out. The National Havocsburg Grass Reservation Park was saved, but to what ends?

     “I’ll save this town, yet!” laughed Dragonflyman, waving and smiling to the citizens. “Just you wait and see, Cookieman! This peace will not last!”

     And he flew away from Havocsburg, crashing into small houses as he went.  

Yeah middle school!

 

snowflakes.

I keep hearing that Disney's Tangled and Frozen are very similar. Now, I have seen Tangled too many times to count (I can quote that movie almost as well as I can quote The Princess Bride), and I recently watched Frozen. I can definitely say there are few to no similarities between the two movies. The animation is the same, but otherwise Frozen is just like any other Disney princess movie (besides the not-so-surprising true love plot twist at the end). There is, however, a production which has many similarities to this year's Best Animated Film (was it really though?): Broadway's WICKED.

First I must state the most obvious:

Indina Menzel

Both Indina Menzel's characters, Elsa in Frozen and Elphaba in WICKED, are very similar. 

(And here's a mash-up picture for visual emphasis)

1. They both have magical powers, leaving them misunderstood and hated by everyone, even their own family.
2. Their powers cause them to damage their sisters.
3. They have grown accustomed to being isolated and therefore prefer it.
          Elsa in "For the First Time in Forever" (Reprise): "Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free."
          Elphaba in "Defying Gravity:" "If I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free.
          (Indinza Menzel has practically the same line in both shows. That's pretty cool.)
          There are also many similarities between "Defying Gravity" and "Let it Go."
4. They have weird, unexplained birth defects. Elsa has white hair* and Elphaba has green skin.
5. Their names both start with the letter E (that's insignificant, but still a similarity).
6. Neither of them can control their powers until they find love, and before that they unintentionally use their powers for evil.

*I could literally go on and on about how unexplained Elsa's power is. Where did it come from? How did she inherit it? Why does it make one's hair turn white? Why did the father have that power? Why didn't he have white hair? How could he control it? Why didn't he teach Elsa how to control it better? Did the kingdom know about his power? If so, why did the king and queen hide Elsa? Why are the trolls the only experts on this magical power? Why didn't they tell the family from the beginning how to heal a frozen heart? Ugh. There is so much awesomeness this movie could have dived into but it did not.

Broadway

I won't confirm anything because I haven't actually researched this fact legitimately. However, I have seen on social media that Frozen will be a Broadway show eventually. I will definitely be seeing that, but I hope they expand on that unexplained magic thing. And as you know, WICKED is a Broadway production as well.

Awesome music

Let's be honest. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie Frozen, but I bought the entire soundtrack. I get chills listening to "Let it Go" and the reprise of "For the First Time in Forever." Every. Single. Time. The music for this Disney movie is absolutely phenomenal. And so is the music from WICKED. I get way more chills listening to that, of course. I play "Defying Gravity" on repeat too often. In fact let me do that right now.

That's the stuff.
 
The bad guy is the good guy at the beginning. 


In WICKED there are two bad guys: the Wizard and Madame Morrible (Morrible rhymes with horrible and merges with morbid so one can figure this out just by her name, but I digress). The Wizard is basically Elphaba's celebrity idol that she wants to meet and team up with since he is (supposedly) the only other person who can do magic like she can. But he's an evil coward who has a weird villain-taking-over-the-world plot and ends up being the reason all of Oz thinks Elphaba is evil. Madame Morrible isn't all that great but she runs a school and pretends to take interest in Elphaba when everybody else hates her, and wants to help her meet the Wizard, which is Elphaba's dream. Turns out she is teamed up with the Wizard in his twisted power-gaining plot.

Hans... Oh, Hans. He's the perfect prince: "gorgeous" (according to Anna), single, vulnerable, believes in love at first sight, and finishes Anna's....sandwiches. But he will never amount to anything as royalty; unless his twelve older brothers die, he will never be king (he's the 13th child, kind of unlucky in this movie right?). So he woos Anna as part of his own power-gaining plot. He plans to kill Elsa (or something like that) and marry Anna so that he can be King of Arendelle.
Of course, at the end he gets sucker-punched in the face by Anna, so that plan didn't turn out to well for him.
Which brings me to my next point...

Romance plot twist

Elphaba, not Glenda, ends up with Fiyero. Anna ends up with Kristoff instead of Hans. Disney is basically making fun of itself with the Anna-Hans situation.




And, my final point: Indina Menzel. Her voice. Chills.

Oh, I already said that.

hoax.

It strikes me that social media is just a huge hoax. I recently posted this on Twitter:

Seriously. I want to know who comes up with all the "creative" puns and such that go around on Twitter. In one day, every parody account that I follow will tweet something like "I like people how I like my coffee... I don't like coffee" or "50 shades of [sarcastic comment about an action no one wants to do]." And every single one of them tweets that on the same day. And then I see the same tweet a week later... Yes, very creative. This repetition, however, makes me think that one unknown media dictator or corporation is coming up with these sayings and making hundreds of accounts from which to direct them. In my mind, average individuals do not operate these accounts. They are just a hoax. 

Notice I said "media dictator." Yes, the media dictates us. It dictates our thoughts, our actions, and our perceptions. With each post, there is an expectation set. With each tweet comes a new rule. There are three main categories in which I have noticed this.

Cliche possessions for [white] girls

Social media makes it seem as if every all girls (girls, not women or young ladies) want the same things. Diamonds and hearts and pink and princesses and flowers. Really, has anything changed since we were six? (It's almost as if the media wants us to be brainless and immature... hmmm....) In almost every "girl post," these items are promoted. It is as if the media dictator in the magical box in the sky is saying, "Every girl must want this. So I will say that every girl does want this." Well, I am fairly certain that not every girl wants diamond-studded Nike shoes. Nor does every girl want Nike shoes. Not every girl is obsessed with the Victoria's Secret brand Pink or Tiffany & Company (to be quite honest, I don't know what the latter is). Not every girl wears boots and leggings and sweaters and Vera Bradley backpacks and drinks Starbucks. Media consumers view these things as cliche jokes. Sure, it might be humorous to observe the trends in "white girls." But these observations are not jokes. They are standards. According to the media, only white girls drink Starbucks. Only white girls wear Pink yoga pants. This is wrong on so many levels; I will not even go in to racism and discrimination. The point is, the media is not making observations. The media is telling girls how to live.

Pointless rules for relationships

I recently came across a few "articles" (by articles, I mean poorly written lists written by nameless authors and found on websites such as Cha Cha and Buzzfeed) about relationships. They held titles such as, "Dump him if...." "Things not to tell your friends about your relationship" "Things you should tell your significant other everyday" (Remember when I said poorly written? The title said "everyday." That isn't a word. The correct term is "every day."). Some of the items made sense to me, but others I questioned. Maybe I should not comment on this subject, as I have never been in a romantic relationship myself, but I would just like to bring awareness to it. I think some of these rules are pointless and stupid. One such rule is that if someone is bored with the relationship it is time to break up. "I'm bored, time to find a new boyfriend." Sorry, that isn't how it works when you get married (Oh wait, divorce has skyrocketed. What if there is a correlation...?). It's also apparently bad to be single. According to these opinion-based "articles," if I did have a boyfriend, I would have to tell him he was hot everyday (I mean... every day), and he would have to say the same to me. When I see the word "hot" I wave a huge red flag. Do not even get me started on how I feel about that word (for most circumstances); trust me, I do not have good feelings for it. Call me beautiful instead; it is less objectifying. In addition, good morning texts, daily compliments, and cuddling are mandatory. Relationships, supposedly, must have these. Don't get me wrong, it's sweet when guys do this. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with these ideas about how relationships should work. However, I reiterate that these things are pushed onto young people through the media so much that rather than being good suggestions, they are turning into mandates. That is scary. There are many other pointless "rules" dealing with relationships but they tie more with...

Unrealistic, high expectations for boys

The standards for girls are cliche and annoying. The standards for guys, however, are far higher and extremely ridiculous. Guys are expected to look like Channing Tatum, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Hunter Hayes.... the list could go on. They are also expected to be classy, athletic, sensitive, dress nicely, strong, always understand girls, musical, made of money, romantic, protective, tough, and gentlemanly. All of those things are good things. I wish all guys understood how girls think and dressed nicely. But not all do. Some of these traits, while desirable to both guys and girls, are simply not attainable. It is sad that some girls only desire what is not real. Another problem with these "standards" is that most boys are portrayed as having completely opposite traits of what girls want. I cannot think of a better example of this double standard than a picture I have seen multiple times. It is a collage depicting Kanye West opening car doors for and holding an umbrella over Kim Kardashian while she gets in the car. The caption reads, "A**hole to the world, gentleman to his girl... I like the way Kanye thinks." Do you now? Being a disrespectful jerk to everyone else is acceptable as long as the guy perfect for his girlfriend or wife? Absolutely not. His negative personality will prevail in his relationship eventually.
Once again: I desire boys to become gentlemen and treat women right. However, I see the media presenting, in some cases, contradictory and unattainable standards. There is the principle issue about not having double standards. But there is also the issue of misleading girls into thinking that if a guy does not reach the media's standards, he is not good enough. Again, the media as a dictator....


All this is to say that the magical media dictator in the sky sells standards that it wants to be culturally acceptable. A song that communicates the negativity of the media is "Selling the News" by Switchfoot. It addresses the fact that opinions are valued more than truth, money and ads and ratings mean more than truth, large corporations rule the ordinary people, and substance is no longer valued. Whatever sells is important. Whatever the masses believe is important. "The fact is fiction." If we wake up to see how the media is dictating our lives, perhaps we wouldn't succumb to its lies so easily. We would discern propaganda from truth. Please listen to that song; it is powerful and convicting in relation to this subject.

There are so many examples I did not mention in this post. I did not even include how many issues there are with the writers of these "articles" not receiving credit for their work, no matter how unprofessional (and grammatically incorrect), nor did I mention how parody accounts kill individual creativity. I must say that though there are many negative elements to social media, there are good things as well. I still have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and obviously, a blog. I am not negating the communication benefits and conveniences for individuals along with many other assets. However, our culture needs to be aware how much the media has affected us. Let us stop being controlled by the dictator.

Here is a link to "Selling the News" lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/switchfoot/sellingthenews.html
Buy the song on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/selling-the-news/id450987801?i=450987807
Or on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vice-Verses-Switchfoot/dp/B005MW5G1E/ref=sr_1_2_title_1_mus?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1388035512&sr=1-2&keywords=switchfoot

milkshakes.

Notice: You are about to experience the first of many of Gatlyn's infamous rants about random, not really important issues in life.

Rant #1: Just a weird introductory incident

The other day at work while I was in the drive through, a man ordered a cup of ice cream and told me he didn't need a lid.

I'm not sure why he told me that.  Of course he didn't need a lid: it's impossible to stick a spoon through the hole at the top and eat the ice cream that way. But in the drive through we always put a lid on ice cream cups, mostly as a precaution, in case they drop it in their car and also to keep the ice cream from melting.  So I know putting the lid on is not really important. But it's habit for me to put the lid on. Telling me he doesn't need a lid means almost nothing to me.  If he was trying to save me the trouble of putting on the lid, it's not trouble at all.  Like I said, it's habit. What if he did want the lid he just wanted to save me the trouble? Telling me he doesn't need a lid does not communicate whether or not he wants a lid.  It would have made a lot more sense for him to say, "I don't want a lid." Not to mention  less confusing. 

Rant #2: The Meal or Not the Meal?

It always baffles me when a customer orders a meal and not actually wanting one. If a person orders a meal (i.e., they say, I want a #1, a spicy sandwich meal, a #8 combo, etc.), they have just ordered an sandwich/burger, a side, and a drink.  A meal comes with a drink.  So please, dear customers of fast food, do not order a meal if you do not plan on getting a drink.  A meal without a drink is not a meal.

Another thing customers say is, "I want a #1," but when I ask what they want to drink, they say, "I don't want the meal." It seems like common sense to me that saying the meal number indicates that the customer is ordering a meal, whereas saying the name of the entree (i.e., Whopper Jr., Chic-Fil-A Deluxe) indicates the customer does not want the meal.

The funniest thing is when a customer orders the exact same thing 5 different ways at the same time.  I've heard people order a, "#4 such-and-such sandwich meal, the combo" (I think they made themselves clear by saying #4).

Rant #3: Milkshakes 

The hardest thing about working  drive through is making milkshakes and special drinks.  They take a long time to make! So it's always awful when a customer orders 80 thousand drinks or shakes. And (though this is not exactly the customers' fault) it always seems that when one car orders 3 milkshakes, the next two cars also order one or two milkshakes.  Then three cars down from that is a 4 milkshake order.  Isn't that Murphy's Law? Anyways, just as bad as ordering a million milkshakes is adding one once you get to the window (in fact, adding or changing anything at the window after you've ordered). Once again, they take a long time to make.  Food items can also take a long time, especially if they are not ordered in advance but added at the window.

Rant #4: Getting out the Money

Sitting through a drive through usually takes a long time. So I'm always surprised when a customer gets to the window and doesn't have their money ready.  They have just sat still for 2-8 minutes, yet somehow they didn't have 30 seconds to reach into their wallet and get the money ready to pay? It's actually rather funny.

Rant #5:  Extra Ketchup?

When I'm working the window at drive through, I have to ask if customers want condiments like ketchup or any special sauces.  Sometimes the customer will tell me what they want before I ask them.  "I'll take two mayonnaise" or "some honey mustard".  But the best one is.... "I want extra ketchup." The reason I ask customers what condiments they want is because I don't put any in the bag to begin with.  Zero. 0. More ketchup (extra ketchup) than zero ketchup is just one package of ketchup....

It is also funny when I ask if they want condiments and they say no, but after I give them their bag they say, "Oh yeah! Can I get extra ketchup?" 

They didn't want ketchup 30 seconds earlier.... So they get just one.  Because that's more than they originally had.

Rant #6: Please Leave

On drive through, my goal is to get through each transaction as fast as possible. I always hate sitting in line for a long time and I don't want anyone to suffer through that.  Customers who sit at the window for a long time after they've received their food make my goal extremely difficult to accomplish.

Rant #7: I'm not a Turtle

I always thought I was being polite by ordering slowly and clearly when I went through the drive through... Until I started working at fast food.  Employees are so familiar with the menu that they can type up an order at practically any speed. I honestly feel insulted by customers who order slowly and don't give me all the information at once. It doesn't take anyone ten seconds to press a button, it takes just a fraction of a second.  I'm not a turtle, I'm a hare.  Give me your fastest order and I'll take it!

Conclusion: I hope those who read this will be smarter fast food customers, especially when going through the drive through.  Fast food employees world wide will be eternally grateful for you.  

disney.

Am I the only 18-year-old who gets over-excited to see Disney movies? I hope not.  How could someone not love them? They are cute, funny, creative, sometimes musical, and entertaining

                                   (things I want in a guy).

If I'm being honest with myself, those are not the reasons I enjoy watching the quirky animated films. The real reason the older audience loves movies meant for children.... is that they want to become little kids again.

There is a beautiful feeling called nostalgia. It is the longing for things lost, things that were wonderful but seemed to have passed too.  I am nostalgic for my innocence and my imagination.  For the good feelings related to smells, scenes, and sensations.  What brought about these good feelings, I often wonder.  Other times when I do chance to remember, I daydream. Those were the good days.

Childhood.  When we were free of responsibility, of drama, of conflict, and of confusion.  I realize that as I go off to college all of this is changing much too fast. I have the responsibility of a job now.  I am responsible to be an example to the people I train at my job. I will have the responsibility of buying my own food, shampoo and toiletries, and clothes in a few months. I will have the responsibility of remembering important meetings and deadlines on my own.  

I suppose that is why I couldn't wait to see Toy Story 3 and Monster's University.  Here were beloved characters I had grown up with: Andy, Mike, Sully, and all their friends; and in those movies they would be taking a big step of responsibility in their own lives.  They offered me the chance to relive my childhood in a more "adult" way.  Their lives chronicled in the most recent movies were synonymous to mine.  And I could not miss out on the opportunity to take a step back into innocence as a young adult.

Of course, there are other Disney movies coming out soon.  Despicable Me 2 on Wednesday and Finding Dory in a year or so.  Neither of these movies are relatable to my life... In fact, their predecessors came out when I was no longer in the audience for G-rated movies.  I suppose there is just that instinct to revert back to childhood as often as possible: and these new Disney movies give me a wonderful opportunity to do that.

I'm seeing Despicable Me 2 on Wednesday with my best friend who shares my love for Disney movies (one of our favorites is Tarzan).  I hope everyone has a chance to see this movie!

expectations.

One thing that frustrates me more than anything is the expectations our culture has on teenagers.  Actually, many things frustrate me about Western culture, but I am going to focus on this one right now.

A "teenager" is more of a stereotype than anything else. Think about it.  Teens are thought to be lazy, rowdy,  dramatic, trouble-making, self-absorbed, tech-obsessed individuals that have no thoughts or cares for the future or the people around them.  They have a no-consequences, you-only-live-once attitude.

This is the stereotypical teenager.  She sits in her room texting her boyfriend, fights with her parents, gets drunk at a party, and lies about it the next day at school after failing a test.

Why does this stereotype even exist? The word "teenager" didn't even exist until the 1940s.  Before then, children became adults.  They transitioned from dependency to responsibility, automatically.  There was no grace period where it was acceptable to waste one's life in "preparation" for the "real world"; that came from working in the home, the fields, the factories, or the shops.  A child's life was filled with responsibility so that he could be ready for adulthood and independency.

But not so any more.

I try to believe in humanity and hope that the teenage stereotype is just that and nothing more.  That the majority of young adults do not behave this way. However, the stereotype has advanced to the point where it is not only acceptable for adolescents to behave in such ways, but it is expected.  With the invention of the teenager, our culture has transformed our perception of what young adulthood should be.  It has become acceptable for young adults to be lazy, selfish, and childish; as opposed to a mere 50 years ago when one would be punished for such immaturity.

"Teenage" behavior has become so expected that even adults are shocked when a "teenager" shows maturity, self-discipline, and respect.  Adults, our culture, expect young adults to behave in self-deprecating, rambunctious ways. In fact, as the stereotype progresses, adults begin to behave like "teenagers".

This is where I become thoroughly annoyed.  As I said earlier, I try to believe that most teens don't act this way.  So, when adults behave like the stereotypical teenager, whether because they are mocking the young generation or trying to be young again, I get angry. How is it that they can be so immature when many young adults including myself are trying to break the teenage mold our culture has created for us? It is difficult to respect an older person who acts less mature than I do.

And here I come to the conclusion of my frustration.  Is there any way at all to break this mold? In a short time the idea of the teenager has become so thoroughly embraced.  The largest market is to teenagers; music, movies, clothing, cars, phones: these have all glorified the teenage stereotype. The "teenager" has been so quickly accepted by every aspect of Western culture: adults have embraced it, politics and large companies have marketed to it, entertainment has promoted it.

I think young adults deserve more credit than we are given.  Many, like me, wish to rise above the low expectations our culture has set before us.  We want to break the cycle of laziness and wildness. We know life is too short to waste on being stupid, dramatic, and immature.  At the end of the day, all teenagers are frustrated that they are not pushed to do more.

This is only a small part of the culture war we are all battling right now.  I hope someday the pieces fit together and we can end this detrimental cultural cycle.