Do you ever watch TV and think: "These people have a great life. How come I don't know anyone that lives like that?" I do - all the time. Let's face it, even reality TV isn't exactly real life. We're bombarded with images of who we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to want. The problem is most of what we're shown isn't even realistic.
If we're to believe what the media promotes... A real girl is a size 2 but thinks she's fat. She's drop-dead gorgeous but has problems in relationship and with her self-image. She has a killer closet. A nice place. Friends that fall out of the woodworks. And a job to die for - but one she doesn't really have to go to that often. Enough money for expensive trips, designer clothes and frequent nights out. Oh, and let's not forget she most likely lives in a pretty amazing city too.
I've started to get more and more frustrated with this vision of an American girl. The problem is she isn't real. Let's take The Hills for instant. A friend of mine got me hooked and LC quickly sunk her teeth in for the kill. She was just pretty enough to not be threatening. She had problems. She liked the wrong guys. But the show was never real or even if it started real it became a series of fake problems and even faker friendships. LC was supposed to be the every girl. The twenty-something just starting out and trying to make it. The problem was LC is rich. Let's face it she makes more money in an episode than I make in a year. Her parents were rich. She wasn't exactly strapped for cash living on her parents couch while working a mediocre job. She had a great house, killer clothes and a BMW. How many 22 year olds do you know driving around in a new convertible? It was frustrating because it wasn't real enough. I wanted to see LC looking for a job, trying to figure out how to pay the mortgage, shopping the clearance racks...
To be fair it's not just TV - they are just the easiest to blame. With magazines a close second. I'm a communications major. I know the spin. Media is an escape. No one wants to see real life because that's depressing. But maybe some reality would be good.
That's where my blog comes in. I'm not some starlet in Hollywood, a social climbing New Yorker, a spoiled Southern belle, or a farmer in the mid-west (did I catch all the stereotypes?). I'm a normal twenty-something girl. I'm the good and the bad and everything in between. And I have real struggles that might not be MTV-worthy but can be pretty interesting on their own. So my hope here is to show a bit of what it's like to grow up or maybe just get older amid all of this. To prove to myself that even a real girl can be interesting. But if you hear of LC having a yardsale - let me know. I couldn't pass up on the chance to raid her closet.
I hope you enjoy and I want to hear from you! Comment along - what's your life like as a real girl just trying to get by.
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