Feeling a Little Like Beth...

I am wildly in love with the novel "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott as well as the movie by the same name. The movie especially. I love it mostly because it reminds me of my sisters (I have four). Secretly, I have always wanted to be just like Beth. Beth is the soft spoken, sweet, even tempered sister. However, Beth is always in poor health and manages to catch every disease of the day from colds to Scarlet Fever from the Hummel's baby. It's ridiculous, really. Note to Beth: just stay away from the sick people and you'll be just fine. But I digress. Though Beth is my role model in my endeavors to be virtuous and sweet (ha!), there is one thing about her that I do not wish to one day embody.

Beth is always the sister that does not leave home and does not do anything particularly exciting. She just remains at Orchard House with Marmie while playing her piano and snuggling up in her cute little knit shawls. What she does is not bad, it's just not fun. Her sisters go and do something else with their lives either outside of Concord or with a man (married of course). I would like to compare the March sisters to my roommates freshmen and sophomore years. There were 4 that were there both years: Gina, Kallene, Kaccee, and little Teresa. Then there was Britni from freshman year who ended up getting married the summer after. Finally, Lauren took Britni's sophomore year and we loved her just as much. After two years of greatness together, three girls decided to go on missions (Kal-Hawaii, Kaccee-Chile, and Teresa-Spokane, Washington) while another got married (Gina), and Lauren moved back to Boise because she was done with her program. I remained in Provo to continue on in my schooling. This school year, I was worried that I would have a crazy roommate that I couldn't handle (I knew two of the girls I would live with but not the one I would actually share a room with). But Susie was an answer to my prayers! Glorious and hilarious and a genuine lover of BBC films, Susie was my heartsong and more during the fall. But, like others before her, she left for bigger and better things that just happened to be in Washington D.C.

This brings me back to my Beth analogy. My "sisters" are all leaving me for foreign countries, beautiful men (Laurie!)and marriage, or to further their education/to go on an adventure in the big city. These are all great things and I support them wholeheartedly. But there are moments when I can't help feeling a little like Beth; stuck and a little left behind in the world. What I'm doing isn't bad by any means. I'm doing what I need to be doing. It's just that what I'm doing is...well, boring.

I figure, the only way I can really get ahead of those who have gone out into the world before me is to DIE like Beth. Like she says (or whispers) to Jo, "Why does everyone want to go away. I love our home...I do not like being left behind. But now I am the one going ahead." Yep. That's what I have to do. But I would DEFINITELY prefer not to. When I say stuff like this, I know that I'm being ridiculous. 95% of the time. My roommates are on to new and different things and, though it all feels the same to me, I'm doing new things as well. I wonder if this is how Beth felt too...

Christy, Robin, and Chuck/Blair! Oh My!

I have discovered over the last few years that watching t.v. shows over the break is just about the best way to unwind from a long semester of school and the stress of finals. Thus, every year I make sure to watch at least one new t.v. series I have never seen. This year was no exception. And even though I have written several blogs about movies or television shows, I don't really care. I still want to express my absolute joy at finding these shows. And there are many...what can I say? I like to vege completely during the break.

Show Number 1: Gossip Girl- Don't judge me. I have a weak spot for CW television shows (One Tree Hill, Dawson's Creek, Smallville, and the list continues). You would want a way to completely rot your brain after a semester of Organic Chemistry too. This show hit the spot. Scandalous, full of pretty people, and just despicably delightful. But the thing that really pulled me in was the disturbing yet adorable relationship of Chuck and Blair. My mom thought I was talking about a gay couple when I was talking to my little sister about it, so I will clarify: Chuck is male, Blair is female. Blair - the ultimate drama queen/socialite - and Chuck - the dirty, nasty, hilarious, disgusting, awesome, spoiled preppy boy - make the most fun couple ever to grace the screen of the CW (or even the WB). She's funny. He's funny. They're hilarious. They're spiteful. They're utterly wrong but so right. I just can't walk away. You know you love it. XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Show Number 2: Arrested Development- Ooooookay. Hilarious. I watched several episodes before the break, but I knew I needed to sit down just watch. And what a great decision it was. The antics of the Bluths make me laugh so hard it gets out of control. I have yet to watch an episode where I can predict what will come next. Just not possible. I must finish this series. When, I do not know. But I will do it.

Show Number 3: Robin Hood (BBC)- I had heard about it from a few people, but I never had the opportunity to watch. So, when I was walking through my local rental store, I decided to grab a few episodes and give it a shot. It is truly fabulous. Every actor is excellent and it makes me laugh. Marian is my newest hero, Robin is quite handsome despite his British teeth, and, as a bonus, Richard Armitage of "North and South" fame is in it too. So really, an all around great television experience in both the aesthetics and entertainment departments.

Show Number 4: Christy- This was far and away the BEST show of my break. A product of the mid-90's, Christy is like "Anne of Green Gables", "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman" and a Hallmark monthly movie all rolled into one. In other words, it is made of AWESOME. And while I have finished the series and I STILL don't know if Christy picks the grumpy, old, mean doctor (Neil McNeill) or the beautiful, perfect, amazing preacher (David Grantland), I still LOVE this show with every fiber of my being. I know that in the books (spoiler alert!) she picks the doctor. I just can't help but want her to pick the reverend because he's amazing! I also know that there are movies, but I don't want to watch them because the girl who plays Christy is different as is the man who plays the reverend and the woman portraying Miss Alice. I just can't want to watch it without all of the same actors. "Christy" was a great, wholesome rebound from the dirtiness of "Gossip Girl" and I recommend it to all. Now, whenever I look at the mountains, I can hear the voice of Kellie Martin - the girl who plays Christy - in my head saying "The Great Smokies. When I left my city home to be a school teacher in a backwoods mission, I dreamed of adventure..." And then I just giggle and smile about how much I absolutely love this t.v. show.