Art Imitating Life: Mean Girls in the Real World

"Evil takes on a human form in Regina George." -Janis Ian, Mean Girls

Mean Girls has beocme a classic film in the eyes of today's adolescents, mainly because of its hilarious and quotable dialogue as well as its unforgettable characters. One such character is Regina George, Queen Bee and alpha female of the movie's North Shore High School. Regina is exactly the sort of snotty and bitchy character that everyone loves to hate, but what some probably don't know is that she was developed based on the real-life mean girls seen in high school and profiled in Queen Bees and Wannabees, the advice book that inspired Mean Girls. That's right, there are girls that act similar to Regina George in reality. So, in a way, art (the film) is merely reiterating what's already seen in life today.

In Mean Girls, the Plastics--headed by Regina and also including Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith--are a highly powerful and exclusive group. They shun anyone who's the slightest bit different, such as Janis Ian, a former pal of Regina's who is now snarky and unpopular. In addition, the clique's Burn Book is an entire collection of slanderous rumors and gossip.This is not unlike what is going on at schools now; snide remakrs are scribbled inside bathroom stalls and possess of girls snicker about other students behind their backs. Girls have grown more superior based on knocking others down a peg, which isn't cool at all. In fact, Regina George-esque girls should realize, based on how the conflict between the popular kids and everyone else escalated in the movie, that this brand of slander and snobbery is very hurtful and will not make people admire or say positive things about you in the long run.

Sure, Mean Girls is a smartly-written and entertaining comedy, but the underlying message is one that girls should take to heart. Is it really best to be a "mean girl" in order to be thought of as cool and funny? Is popularity woryh acting like other people are lame and beneath you? Should you really make others feel unwelcome because they love comic books or don't have more than a thousand Facebook friends? I'm sure that it is fun to have a wide variety of people to hang out with, but I'm more content with being a nice, unpopular girl with a few close friends than a catty mean girl with tons of associates.

If you still manage to be popular while also bieng kind and non-gossipy, then kudos to you. Perhaps it is possible to have a large number of friends and also be a kind, courteous, and inclusive. However, for the popular girls without those traits, remember this: Regina George got hit by a bus before she started to change her ways. I'm not saying this will happen to you, but it's better to change your ways before karma decides to give you a wake-up call.

Homecoming: A Night to Remember

This isn't a story about the ugly duckling becoming a beautiful white swan, or a sexy black swan. It isn't about the nerdy girl ditching the glasses and becoming the apple of the popular boy's eye. No, homecoming 2011 was simply about me taking a foot outside of my awkward stage and actually having some fun with my classmates.

At first I wasn't even going to go; freshman year I didn't know any friends to go with, and sophomore year I just wasn't feeling it. This year was junior year, though; I had only one year left of high school after this. I couldn't leave high school with regrets in not partaking in activities that would leave me with awesome memories. So I squelched my doubts and awkwardness, endured tedious dress shopping and day-of-the-dance preparations, and actually got excited for this dance. Never mind that I felt weird in anything that wasn't a jeans and T-shirt or pajama ensemble, or that my dancing skills severely paled in comparison to the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance, or even that I'm such an awkward shell when it comes to social interaction with people. I was gonna go and fully enjoy myself on this one night, Saturday, September 17, 2011.

I went with my friends Nicole and Meg (the latter of whom is a senior), and a few of Meg's senior friends. That made me panic a little, because, well, they're seniors. Seniors equaled intimidating and way too cool for a little fish like me. Nevertheless, I learned to relax and be a bit cooler than I am, and discovered that they liked me! And we got along okay, no weird silences or pauses in conversation included. It was nice; I should definitely try to do this more often.

As I already mentioned, the dancing part was one of the things I was most worried about. I shied away from the obviously couples-only slow songs, but for the faster ones I danced with my friends, who would not send me home if I performed less than stellar, because they aren't superb dancers either. (So they say.) As I made my rounds about the cafeteria, dancing and just walking around, I heard tons of compliments about my looks and dress. Sweet. If I couldn't "shake it" without looking like a chicken, at least I could look pretty doing it.

So basically, that was the lesson I learned this month. High school doesn't have to be all stress over tests and grades. It's okay to get dolled up every once in a while and have fun, maybe even make some new friends along the way. :) Onward and upward to October now, where hopefully I will blog more (I'm a terrible updater, I know. Writer's block!), learn more, and take another step on the road to becoming a better person.

Monthly Reflections: August

So the first month of school is over! I had some nerves going into junior year, but I managed to survive the first few weeks relatively unscathed. I also managed to learn some stuff, which is why I'm introducing--drumroll, please!--my monthly reflections. Usually a month just passes by, with me saying some thanks for living to see another month but not really thinking about what happened, how I learned from it, and all that good stuff. It sounds like I'm going all philosophical but you do learn something new every day--or even every month!

*It's good to get out of your comfort zone. For the past two years of high school, aside from some exceptions, I've lived comfortably and happily in my own little bubble. I'd whip out one of my books during the day, pore over my notes, and when I wasn't doing schoolwork I was holed up in my room. Now 11th grade has me fairly busy and all, but I'm making more time to be sociable. I'm going to the homecoming dance, something I wouldn't dream of doing last year or freshman year, and I'm interested in going to football games and having extracurricular activities. It's hard to totally break out of the protective shell at first, but in the long run it's worth it. Trust me!

*Hard work hardly fails...but if it does, try again and again. When my upperclassman friends told lowly sophomore me that junior year was going to be the toughest, I wasn't sure if they were exaggerating or not. News flash: they weren't. 11th grade is proving to be tough, especially AP U.S. History. I have gotten some less-than-satisfactory grades despite studying vigorously. Still, I have to chin up and keep going over my notes, ask questions, and most importantly, not give up. It's better to have a B-minus than become one of those teenagers who just doesn't care about school.

*Sometimes you can have fun inside the bird cage. The 'bird cage' I'm referring to is Snellville/Snellvegas and Lawrenceville, or, on a larger scale, Georgia in general. I was bummed out that my last week or so would be spent at home, but my family and I went to Lake Lanier and fully enjoyed it! It was a great experience and led me to stop being such a hipster about not being able to go to more interesting and exotic places. Wherever you live has some cool stuff to it if you just relax and look.

* Sometimes the need for boy friends > the need for boyfriends. I haven't been the greatest at talking to boys, mostly because boys tend to be more confident and there's also the risk of crushing on them, which sometimes leads to trouble, especially if they don't like you back. But I've been attempting to connect more with the guy friends I made last year, and I'm so glad to shove aside those silly relationship worries and just enjoy the awesome guys in my life who don't annoy me to no end. :)

Here's hoping September goes just as well for me. Later!

                                     

Stuff I Like: Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Here's a regular fixture on the blog...pretty self-explanatory. I post a lsit of my current favorite things at the moment, some that even come with links! Enjoy. :) I'll be back with a deeper, more meaningful post later. It'll be a reflection on how the month of August has been for me and I'm curious to look back on the days of the month and find out what I've learned.

*Savage Chickens. What do you get when you cross cartoon chickens with Post-It notes? This pretty cool comic!
*The dog days of summer leading into cool autumn ones later on. :)
*Five Spot frozen yogurt, especially Very Strawberry. Yummm.
*Surprisingly, some of my teachers, especially Mrs. Timmons. She's amazing!

*The song "Bluebird" from Sara Bareilles's album Kaleidoscope Heart. A girl sang it at the colors-themed chorus show this past spring, and I fell in love with it recently after remembering the show. It's a feel-good song with beautiful vocals.
*College football. Okay, so it hasn't started yet, but I'm enjoying the preseason updates! Can't wait to see the Alabama boys kick around the ol' pigskin this Saturday. ;)
*Blogs about expats--aka people who are originally from one country but now live in another. My favorites are Gringation's Blog (American living in Mexico), Correr Es Mi Destino (Frenchwoman living in Canada), and I Eat My Pigeon (American who's lived in Japan, Ireland, New York, and currently Italy)
*Tumblr. It's the best, and so many pretty pictures! My favorite ones are here at http://octobersweetheart.tumblr.com/

More favorite things another time! :)

Movies and Myself

Instead of typing up a typical post that tells more about me, I've decided to do something different and a bit more creative. I'm going to attempt to detail my personality, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and more through some of my favorite movies. You know how some people read books because they're interested in certain things like history or sports? I am like that; I'll watch something because it appeals to me in some way or I can identify with the character. But enough babbling, here are 6 awesome movies that give a little peek into what kind of person I am.
1. Ten Things I Hate About You 

10 Things is probably the only 90s movie I've ever watched that wasn't animated Disney, but I absolutely adore it. It's a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and I love it not only for being an awesome retelling but because I see some of myself in Katarina "Kat" Stratford, one of the main protag, onists. She's witty, sarcastic, and intelligent--just like I am. We're also both vulnerable and tough to open up at first, but then we come around. Kat's a little tougher than I am; nevertheless, she still came off as an awesome character and is only one reason why this movie rocks. The others? Well, there are the obvious Shakespeare parallels that someone who's an enthusiast of dear Will would enjoy, as well as the awesome 90s music, Kat's adorable sister Bianca, an equally adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt pre-Inception/(500) Days of Summer, and of course the late Heath Ledger as likeable bad boy
 Patrick Verona. Plus it's set in Seattle, and I love the Emerald City!

       2. An Education

 

An Education came out a few years ago, yet is set in the 1960s, a time period that really fascinates me. The cultural aspects in particular pique my interest: the funky new fashions, new rock sounds that emerged such as the Beatles and The Doors, etc, etc. Jenny, played by the phenomenal Carey Mulligan, is a bright student with an overarching curiosity to get more out of her life than just "boring" school. So do I; I'm studious, yeah, but sometimes I want to go beyond the walls of Brookwood High School and even Gwinnett County. Paris, Rome, Amsterdam...so many wonderfully exotic places as well as things to do beckon for me, and I often dream of a life of fun and exploration that whisks me away from the norm.

Jenny actually gets the chance to live out her fantasies, though she gets herself entangled with someone who later turns out to be trouble in the process. So Jen and I couldn't totally be twins, but as soon as I heard about this movie I was instantly drawn to it because we shared similar dreams. (Also, I can't resist a gorgeous period piece like this. I'm such a film and history nerd.)

3. Tangled

My reason for picking this film is similar to the one for An Education : the desire to get away to a new place. Poor Rapunzel has been trapped in her tower the years, which is how I feel sometimes. I'm trapped in my house, stuck for hours at school, confined inside Gwinnett County and Atlanta and Georgia itself. I also love a good fairy tale, and the fact that Rapunzel gets to kick some booty (not that I don't mind the non-action heroines like Belle, but this is a refreshing change) alongside the cute and charming Flynn Rider on an adventure together makes the film all the more appealing. I like movies, TV shows, and books that defy normal expectations for entertainment and deliver something new and exciting, which is why Tangled is probably my favorite Disney movie right now.
4. Limitless

So I didn't take some crazy drug in order to become a boss at everything I do. But like Eddie Mora, I am an aspiring writer with a desire for knowledge. I admit I envied Eddie's new and improved skills after using NZT, because I've always wanted to be able to write easily and parla italiano (or any other language) flawlessly. I know that I can't be the perfect girl who does everything, but Limitless brought out the part of me who likes to imagine...and who's also trying to be as cultured and good at writing as she possibly can.

I don't seem like the kind of girl who likes action films, but as I said before, the  atypical plot drew me in. Who knew that the man who Knew Everything would cause so much trouble? Also: Bradley Cooper is a hottie. Of course I'm gonna watch him in a film.

5. (500) Days of Summer

 (500) Days of Summer has two things I like: unconventional viewpoints on love and good music. I'll admit it; I'm a romantic and think that stories about couples who like each other are cute. However, this is the real world, and things aren't always happily ever after like Prince Charming and Cinderella. Relationships fall apart and couples break up. (500) Days of Summer is so groundbreaking and original because guess what? Tom Hanson does NOT get the girl in the end. He and Summer had a good run and some fun times, but they aren't going to meet up again like Savannah and John and possibly rekindle their romance. So it's a story with love, but not a love story.

The music is pretty cool too. I haven't heard any other song by Hall & Oates, but "You Make My Dreams" is happiness and awesomeness and just plan fun personified. You also have The Smiths (a band Tom and Summer mutually enjoy), Regina Spektor, and a bunch of other great artists including Zooey Deschanel's own band She & Him. Long story short, this is a great film for me even though I haven't been in love before.

6. Midnight in Paris

I'm a budding Francophile who adores, of course, all things French language, culture, food...you name it. Of course, that meant I fell in love with Woody Allen's latest film, which also has the most wonderful French jazz music as a soundtrack. I'm also a fan of the whole writer protagonist shtick, because that's what I am: a writer who's the star of her own story. I could sympathize with Gil, the American writer who fantasizes about the days of 1920s France, a literary and cultural dynasty in its own right. I often feel like I was born in the wrong time period--that I should be lying on a rug listening to records in the 1960s, or sashaying in a trendy 20s gown, because things seemed cooler and better and less like the annoyingly fast-paced world of today.

Obviously you can't learn a person's whole story from the movies they watch, but hopefully from this small sample of my favorite films, you can see a warm and witty girl with a good ear for music and a plot that truly connects with me.

A New Beginning: My Intro Post

Hey! Thanks for reading my blog! Tell your friends about it...and your brother, your sister, your dog, even the sweet old lady who lives two doors down from you. School and other facets of life frequently keep me busy, but I'll update when I can!

Why is this blog named My Uncharted Journey?

Well, I was listening to Sara Bareilles's song "Uncharted" the other day, and inspiration for a blog suddenly hit me. I too am cruising through uncharted territory--where are the friends and choices I make taking me through life? Who knows what challenges and joys I'll face next? I figured keeping a blog and spilling out my feelings via keyboard would help me out as well as be a simple daily writing exercise to help me become a better writer!

In this blog, I'll post surveys, pretty graphics I've made myself, lists of my favorite things, and anything that isn't too person to share via the Internet. I'm excited to venture into a new project with (hopefully!) the support of the people I love best. Happy reading, y'all!