The Best Years Of Our Lives

(photo courtesy of mtv.com)

No lie. I think I can vouch for P and I when I say that we are nostalgic for our college years. Afterall, it's when we met. We could cut class, watch Vh1 marathons of America's Next Top Model, order from our favorite Wings restaurant, and go out for drinks whenever we want (regardless of what night it was). Our schedules could be based around our needs - meaning sleep. No classes before 11am were always preferable. I mastered the ability to have four day weekends. We wrote papers in the library and made it fun. We only had to pay for the bare necessities (meaning food, clothing and various drinks - and of course by that I mean every flavor of Vitaminwater possible). Speaking of which, is it just me or are college campuses the guinea pigs for new flavors? I swear I bought the "Formula 50" flavor before it was approved by any FDA regulation.

But I digress...

Now that P and I are working women, joining the ranks of young professionals (for nearly a year now!), we have little time for such relaxation that college gave us. Sure, we don't miss the all-nighters, research papers and final exams (damn those bubble sheets!). But we do miss the former priorities. Dating. TV watching. Going to the occasional party.

Thanks to MTV, we can vicariously live this life again. College Life premiered last night - conveniently after The Hills. I am convinced that my life freshman (or sophomore, junior and senior year) would give more of a storyline (cheating boyfriends! breakups! roommates! trying to overcome dining hall food!), MTV has done well. By giving four college freshmen handheld cameras, we meet Jordan, Alex, Andrea and Kevin. Somehow I can relate a little bit to each one. Jordan deals with his racial identity on his college campus. Alex struggles with commitment issues. Andrea juggles an ex-boyfriend and Kevin parties too hard.

Come to think of it, maybe we shouldn't miss college as much as we do.

-M

Sidenote: Did anyone else catch Kevin's friend wearing a UMass Lacrosse t-shirt? Is there a UMass connection to College Life? If so, this is even more amazing. Info needed from anyone who has it!

Reality TV: My New BFF.

(photo courtesy of: http://www.courttv360.com)

A minor (okay, major) announcement. Myself, and my two prep school best friends - A and K (I'm sure you recognize their acronyms) have been casted for an in-production reality show that we auditioned for. While I'm not at liberty to give out details (no, I haven't signed anything, but don't feel like spilling everything so soon!), I dedicate this post to my love for reality television -- and a few rules... commandments, so to say -- that I (and A and K!) vow to live by with cameras in our faces in the not-so-distant future.

#1: Thou shall keep all clothing on. The first thing my father told me upon receiving the good news yesterday via phone. He said he was proud of me and the girls, excited for us, but then made me promise to 'not get naked.' I promise Daddy. I'm not 18 anymore - I'm 23. I do not get drunk and naked - I'm a smart cookie, I know I still need a job upon returning home.

#2: Thou shall not aim for stardom. There's nothing more annoying on television than that girl (or guy) who is just so obviously pining for the next star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Although it is so difficult to not envision the beautiful faces of my best friends on the cover of US Weekly with me. Would we wear our hair up or down? Should I wear Seven for all Mankinds or Rock and Republics? Black nail polish or apple red? Oh dear - see how easy it is to get caught up in these thoughts? My thoughts break this commandment at least 100 times a day.

#3: Thou shall stick together with my besties at all times. A and I talked about this on the phone last night. We need to stick together through this show, no matter what. If we all go out for a night to a bar - we stay together. We do not stray. We do not let sketchy men hit on us on camera (which is inevitable). We say, 'Oh. Sorry! This is kind of a girls only night out.' Last resort, A becomes my lesbian girlfriend and we drive guys away -- or to us. Maybe that plan won't work...

#4: Thou shall not give into random people suddenly wanting to talk to us. We're waiting for it, and it's already started. Exes calling us upon hearing the news through the grapevine. People we really don't like suddenly inviting us out for drinks and dinner. Yeah, right, we see right through your act. Don't even try - although we might not be able to pass up a free martini or two.

#5: Thou shall not glorify those in our past that we despise. Will we share past experiences regarding people that we don't necessarily like? Yes. Will we glorify them in a way that somehow would make them happy about the attention? No. It's a fine line girls that will not be crossed.

And, of course, all typical rules go into effect. No cheating on boyfriends. No excessive drinking (I don't even know what would appear on television if they fed me one too many sangrias). No smoking. No talking about past 'experiences' -- and those who know me know what I mean. With all of this in mind, yes, we're excited - and ready to hold on really tight for maybe the most crazy thing we've ever done in our lives.

-M

Real Life Gossip Girl!?!

(photo courtesy of wikipedia.org)

Why couldn't they have done this while I was a prep school student? Life is so unfair sometimes.

-M

Staged Reality?

Now now, I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence. We're all aware of certain "reality" shows that aren't so much reality. When it comes to The Hills, I don't mind. But there is a crop of reality shows on MTV that I watch on these days off that I have, and, well, I'm confused as to how I could even possibly see these shows as real. I mention my most laughable, unrealistic, favorites here.

Parental Control. I would like to see any set of parents willing to sit down with a heinous boyfriend that they despise. I would like to see any boyfriend that's a total jackass (that's believeable) that's willing to sit down and watch me date, kiss (and probably do other stuff) with two other guys (not so believeable). I'd also like to see a slew of teenagers who all, somehow, break the news of choosing one of three partners in the exact same scripted fashion. Yes, complete with even the same dramatic sigh before saying the last eliminated name. Oh boy. What coincedence. Even it's participants admit it's staged. Whatever happened to NDA's???

The Ex-Factor. I will not lie. I am completely and totally sucked into this show. I dont know how anyone watching it can actually believe that these two couples ever thought that this was an actual 'resort' they were going to, or that we're supposed to believe that this ever-smiling woman that always brings bad news ("So, your partners are going pole dancing today as an afternoon activity!") is an actual resort worker. I also don't know how we are to believe that this resort never has anyone else around, actually has dinners set up on cheap patio furniture in the middle of an infinity pool, or actually somehow has such survillance for this spying on the ex'es. Regardless, the idea of this is absolutely killer. What would I do if I was with my ex for a weekend (and didn't think I was being spied on)? What would my boyfriend do with his ex? What would I do with the guy I'd be in the room with if I just saw my boyfriend cheat on me with his ex? Yeah -- I think the reality might be better than MTV's staged setup on this one. But wait, if this is staged - then was Temptation Island staged? I feel as though my entire television past as a child was all a sham. It's like realizing that the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny all don't exist. Who else brings me my Mini Eggs every Easter Sunday?!

Finally, the show I can't figure out if it's real or not. The new Dr. Drew hosted, Sex With Mom & Dad. I can't imagine: 1.) being on this show, 2.) telling the story of my sex life to my parents, 3.) my parents EVER reacting this calmly to such news -- we all can think of how my old-fashioned, conservative parents took the news when they found out I was having sex. Period. All of a sudden, these parents aren't about to strangle their kids when they find out that they have a million and one partners? Had sex in the back of their Jetta? Has an admitted 'hatred towards women?' How about the girl who is 19, is having sex with her boyfriend (no biggie) but has not used protection. First, is this girl stupid? Even the worst public school sex education show at least a condom? Doesn't it? Even Sarah Palin now endorses contraception -- although, she might not be the best expert of talking to your kids about sex...

Maybe the parents of today's teenagers have a much more relaxed mindset than my sixty-something year old parents, but I would not even want to think of my daddy's reaction if I had to play the 'What turns you on?' game with them on national television (as it is I got nervous talking about making out in elevators knowing P's mom reads the blog! [Sorry for any offense, by the way!]). No thank you, no. Although, I do give this show some major props for, staged or not, promoting such conversations within families. It can do some (or rather, most,) families some good, and might make talking about sex a bit more productive than it has been in the past. I know that I sure hope for more openness when it comes to my hypothetical children and I.

-M