Casting Call
Being a teenager is all about finding the cast of characters to surround you in this movie called your life. Everyday is chance to put out a proverbial casting call for people to join your unique band of misfits. Whether you've got a boybandish entourage, some Gangnam style backup dances, or a hilarious textaholic like Madam Hilary - your cast of people in your life is all up to you. Made some changes, get a body double, and direct your own media worthy life.
The thing that makes college so different from any other time in your life is the people you are exposed to. You get a wide variety of personalities, beliefs, and ideologies from people from all different walks of life. It's mindblowing that literally everyday you pass a whole smattering of complete strangers who are all relatively the same age as you. Everyone is so different, but there's at least one thing that connects us all - we're here to learn. Whether we're studying just to get a degree or to broaden our concepts of what the human condition (OMG <3, I speak college) - we're all hear trying to educate ourselves somehow. When it comes to learning about other people though, that's where we see all these problems come into play. Take for example this girl who's taken her case against affirmative action to the Supreme Court - that chick be cray. Let me tell you about this little itty bitty concept known as white privilege. This girl felt entitled to being a student at University of Texas at Austin because of her legacy (having a family member attend a institution of higher education preceding you) status and when her average self didn't get it, she couldn't get over it. First things first, did this girl try and transfer into the school? Secondly, this would not be a case at all if she had been admitted to the school - let's be honest. The playing field in America is nowhere near even and doing away with affirmative action would do more harm than good. The entire notion of reverse racism or discrimination makes me laugh, because until you've been a person of color (as white people will never be) and experienced the nonsense that white people display towards you, you cannot understand how drastically different everything is. No matter your socioeconomic status (as displayed by my entire life) - even though I may be a little smidgen affluent, the way people treat you is noticeable and it's absolutely different. College is supposed to awareness and celebrate differences, not just learn to "deal with" or "tolerate" other's differences. In my casting call for the people I'd like to surround myself with, I look for people who treat me as equal. People who understand our cultural differences but don't let it define our relationship as friends. It's patronizing as a person of color that every single I speak to certain people they make a black joke, comment on the color of my skin, or make some stereotypical assumptions. I understand that I'm African-American, there's no need to remind me every time I see you. People take a difference with someone and make it that person's defining characteristics. I wear so many caps on campus, being a person of color isn't the only thing I am so don't make it the major plot point in the story of my life. This casting call is for people who can relate, try to understand or do their best to empathize with me as person, just as I would do for them. Make the call and the find the people that make you feel like you, not some crazy character that you're just trying to play.
Let me tell you about the rest of my week. It consisted of watching some of my favorite YouTube viral videos with the most stereotyped black caricatures. Sweet Brown, Sh*t Black Girls Say, Bedroom Intruder, Bunifa, Bon Qui Qui, Can I Have Your Numba - the list goes on and on. Classic videos that you need to know be up on the pop culture casting call lingo. Thursday for me meant some office hours which equaled emails, phone calls and presidential duties galore. After that it was tennis class where it was doubles day, and I was actually proud of myself for not being an absolute mess for once. I'm getting myself together and doing me. It's like I did a casting class for student double and switched with the Bryan Brothers or something. After that it was time for chemistry lab and yet again my lab partner and I dominated that thing hard. We went to work making our solutions and dotting our TLC (thin-layer chromatography) plates like professionals. I was like all sciencey and stuff like Bill Nye the science guy. After lab it was back into hardcore study mode with Jimmy as we waited out the time before our organic chemistry second exam. Exam time hits and I power through it to the best of my ability. I felt prepared and okay enough to do well and so I answered all the questions and dipped out. I went to an anti-hazing presentation and then caught the bus from central campus to Redstone to work on posters and surveys. The amount of ridiculousosity that ensued on that journey was just unreal. There was like a "rail jam" (so Vermont - tricking on snowboards in the middle of a green) and I was a mess cleaning up the office a bit. I was done with the day and ended by watching the latest episode of the CW's 'Arrow" (please watch it, it's epic) and paying Temple Run for hours o end. Friday for me meant so many more classes, plus tabling and giving out free candy and informing students about potentially offensive costumes (like racist or insensitive ones that make jokes of serious topics such as abortion, rape-culture etc.). My last class of the day was biology and it was back to my room to wallow in my despair at another screwed up exam grade (like reevaluating my entire life kind of momentous). Fraternity meeting with some of the guys, and Sam and I took a trip to central for their Hall Council event. We did a doughnut on a string contest and even bobbed for apples. I was super impressed by the CWBC HC of Chloe, Michelle, Eli, Sarah and the rest of their team. Now it's night time as I'm writing this - possibly going to a dance dressed as Louis Tomlinson (braces aka suspenders and all). Casting call closed - deuces.
Being a teenager is all about finding some of those permanent fixtures to keep your life path well lit. When the camera flashes fade and the hubbub dies down, who will just be there just to be there. When the fame is gone or the popularity goes, who's left to just hang out (no strings attached)? Make the casting call and put out a listing for those kind of friends with the way you portray yourself. Who signs a shooting contract without knowing who the director is? And we're rolling.
My blog post question for the day is ... who would play you in the movie version of your life? I would say either Jacob Artist or Brenton Thwaites to get all this hilarious debonair down.
The thing that makes college so different from any other time in your life is the people you are exposed to. You get a wide variety of personalities, beliefs, and ideologies from people from all different walks of life. It's mindblowing that literally everyday you pass a whole smattering of complete strangers who are all relatively the same age as you. Everyone is so different, but there's at least one thing that connects us all - we're here to learn. Whether we're studying just to get a degree or to broaden our concepts of what the human condition (OMG <3, I speak college) - we're all hear trying to educate ourselves somehow. When it comes to learning about other people though, that's where we see all these problems come into play. Take for example this girl who's taken her case against affirmative action to the Supreme Court - that chick be cray. Let me tell you about this little itty bitty concept known as white privilege. This girl felt entitled to being a student at University of Texas at Austin because of her legacy (having a family member attend a institution of higher education preceding you) status and when her average self didn't get it, she couldn't get over it. First things first, did this girl try and transfer into the school? Secondly, this would not be a case at all if she had been admitted to the school - let's be honest. The playing field in America is nowhere near even and doing away with affirmative action would do more harm than good. The entire notion of reverse racism or discrimination makes me laugh, because until you've been a person of color (as white people will never be) and experienced the nonsense that white people display towards you, you cannot understand how drastically different everything is. No matter your socioeconomic status (as displayed by my entire life) - even though I may be a little smidgen affluent, the way people treat you is noticeable and it's absolutely different. College is supposed to awareness and celebrate differences, not just learn to "deal with" or "tolerate" other's differences. In my casting call for the people I'd like to surround myself with, I look for people who treat me as equal. People who understand our cultural differences but don't let it define our relationship as friends. It's patronizing as a person of color that every single I speak to certain people they make a black joke, comment on the color of my skin, or make some stereotypical assumptions. I understand that I'm African-American, there's no need to remind me every time I see you. People take a difference with someone and make it that person's defining characteristics. I wear so many caps on campus, being a person of color isn't the only thing I am so don't make it the major plot point in the story of my life. This casting call is for people who can relate, try to understand or do their best to empathize with me as person, just as I would do for them. Make the call and the find the people that make you feel like you, not some crazy character that you're just trying to play.
Let me tell you about the rest of my week. It consisted of watching some of my favorite YouTube viral videos with the most stereotyped black caricatures. Sweet Brown, Sh*t Black Girls Say, Bedroom Intruder, Bunifa, Bon Qui Qui, Can I Have Your Numba - the list goes on and on. Classic videos that you need to know be up on the pop culture casting call lingo. Thursday for me meant some office hours which equaled emails, phone calls and presidential duties galore. After that it was tennis class where it was doubles day, and I was actually proud of myself for not being an absolute mess for once. I'm getting myself together and doing me. It's like I did a casting class for student double and switched with the Bryan Brothers or something. After that it was time for chemistry lab and yet again my lab partner and I dominated that thing hard. We went to work making our solutions and dotting our TLC (thin-layer chromatography) plates like professionals. I was like all sciencey and stuff like Bill Nye the science guy. After lab it was back into hardcore study mode with Jimmy as we waited out the time before our organic chemistry second exam. Exam time hits and I power through it to the best of my ability. I felt prepared and okay enough to do well and so I answered all the questions and dipped out. I went to an anti-hazing presentation and then caught the bus from central campus to Redstone to work on posters and surveys. The amount of ridiculousosity that ensued on that journey was just unreal. There was like a "rail jam" (so Vermont - tricking on snowboards in the middle of a green) and I was a mess cleaning up the office a bit. I was done with the day and ended by watching the latest episode of the CW's 'Arrow" (please watch it, it's epic) and paying Temple Run for hours o end. Friday for me meant so many more classes, plus tabling and giving out free candy and informing students about potentially offensive costumes (like racist or insensitive ones that make jokes of serious topics such as abortion, rape-culture etc.). My last class of the day was biology and it was back to my room to wallow in my despair at another screwed up exam grade (like reevaluating my entire life kind of momentous). Fraternity meeting with some of the guys, and Sam and I took a trip to central for their Hall Council event. We did a doughnut on a string contest and even bobbed for apples. I was super impressed by the CWBC HC of Chloe, Michelle, Eli, Sarah and the rest of their team. Now it's night time as I'm writing this - possibly going to a dance dressed as Louis Tomlinson (braces aka suspenders and all). Casting call closed - deuces.
Being a teenager is all about finding some of those permanent fixtures to keep your life path well lit. When the camera flashes fade and the hubbub dies down, who will just be there just to be there. When the fame is gone or the popularity goes, who's left to just hang out (no strings attached)? Make the casting call and put out a listing for those kind of friends with the way you portray yourself. Who signs a shooting contract without knowing who the director is? And we're rolling.
My blog post question for the day is ... who would play you in the movie version of your life? I would say either Jacob Artist or Brenton Thwaites to get all this hilarious debonair down.
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