20-Somethings, Just Listen Up and Live!

     Dear Millennials, Gen-Y-ers, 20-Somethings,

     Do me a favor and listen up ... Because I have a little something to say.

Stop reading advice columns from 20-somethings!

     ... And, yes, this is coming straight from a 20-something about to try and advise you.
     I know some of you are reading this, scratching your heads, and asking why ... and some of you are just thinking this is the rant of a cynical, jaded 20-something who feels the need to tell you what to do with your life just like every other 20-something out there (full disclosure: there may be a little truth to that) ... But the real reason I am writing this is because of one simple reason - those advice columns you love so much - 10 Trips You NEED To Take In Your Twenties, 36 Lessons I Wish I Knew At 25, 47.5 Reasons Your 20-Something Boyfriend Is Not Right For You ... All those advice columns, they're bull.

  
     ... And here's why.
     For one thing, I know that I have probably read hundreds of those "Dear 20-Something" columns and each time I click, I get conflicting advice. One person tells me to take the bull by the horns, another tells me to just sit and wait for life to start because the best things happen to those who wait. WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? --- My opinion - YOU DO YOU! Don't let some random person writing a column in Kalamazoo, Michigan influence your decisions.
     If you think right now - in your 20's, in this moment - is a good time for you to pack your bags and fly to Brazil and explore the rain-forest, do it! If you think living at home with your parents and applying to 900 graduate programs is right for you, then do that. It's your life, make it about you.
     Second, I don't know when every 20-something in America (and around the globe) decided to go into the fields of relationship and sex therapy ... but it seems to have been in the last few years ... Because so so so many of the advice columns I read tell me what I am doing wrong in my love life (or lack thereof), what I can do better (or worse ... you know, if I want to lose a guy without actually initiating a breakup), what I am doing right, what men like, what women like, what your parents will like in a significant other ...
     SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY! 
     You're 20-something years old. You are at an age where you are able to make mistakes in life and love and bounce back from them! Don't let others tell you how or who to date. Don't let random people typing advice columns into your bedroom. Make your own love stories, hook-up stories, break-up stories! --- If anything, they'll be good conversation pieces later in life ... Or the makings of a great Hollywood movie. Who knows? If you want to try online dating, try it. If you want to bring a random person home every Saturday night until you're 35, do it (be safe, people). Just don't let others tell you that the choices you are making are somehow wrong. Those choices are only wrong when you feel like you need to begin to make new decisions about relationships, and love, and sex.
     Lastly, so many of these columns seem to say something along the lines of, "OH, now I'm 50-years-old and if I only did this or if I only knew this when I was 25 and a half, my life would be so much different." I'm not going to lie, some of the advice in those columns have good takeaways ... But life is life, people. No one knows where your life will go, or the twists and turns it will take. You may get on the subway tomorrow, slip and fall on your face because you decided to wear 6-inch heels, and meet the person of your dreams when he/she helps you up off your face. (Who knew Payless would have a place in your love story?) ... Or you may wake up tomorrow and get a call from your doctor saying you have 3 months to live.
     The point is ... live for today. There are only two days a week when you can't make something happen - yesterday and tomorrow - so live with no regrets ... and I'm not saying it's an easy to do. It's hard! So, so hard. You may lose friends, you may piss off relatives, you may spend some money you don't have right now ... But at least try, so that way you're not sitting around at 50 telling 20-year-olds that if you only did this or that your life would be so different ... Because it's not something they need to hear.

     Love,
     Nazzle Dazzle

I've loved, I've laughed, and cried. I've had my fill, my share of losing, and now as tears subside, I find it all so amusing, to think I did all that and may I say, not in a shy way, oh no, oh no, not me - I did it my way. (My Way, Frank Sinatra)

A Hard-Hitting Question --- What's Annoying About Local News?

     Local Fox station WNYW took a good, hard, humorous look at itself - and the local news industry, as a whole - last night during their 10 p.m. broadcast when reporter Joel Waldman covered the story we've been waiting forever to see: What's annoying about local news?

     I could personally write a list a mile long about the things that annoy me about local news, but that would be just like having a 3 minute stand-up for a 30 second story, so I'm just going to get to the point and post Joel's video ... and let you take a look for yourself.

     (Ugh ... for some reason the embed code is not working with me ... See the video here until I figure this out).

     So, there you have it, folks. The secret is out. The people who work in local news actually know that some of the things they do are gratuitous and annoying ... and simply for ratings ... But, when it comes down to it, who doesn't like to see puppies cuddling with babies and reporters in the rain (Oh Jimmy). 

Time's gonna make you a man someday and you won't want to go out and play with your friends, you'll just sit at home and watch the news at ten and the pubs will be closed and you won't have been with your friends ... (News At Ten, The Vapors)

America Is Beautiful, Ignorance Is Not

      I don't know why I am surprised each and every time I am let down by the stupidity and racism that exists in this country.

     Coca-Cola kept one of their Super Bowl commercials under wraps this year and after airing - almost instantaneously - bigoted, hateful comments began spewing into the social media sphere. The commercial in question begins with serene images of this beautiful country with America The Beautiful being sung in English in the background. Throughout the video, the song is then translated and sang by a group of young girls in a plethora of languages including - but not limited to - Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and Tagalog.
     In case you missed it, here is the official extended 90 second video from Coca-Cola.

     Personally, I was moved to tears by this commercial (... and by the entire It's Beautiful playlist on YouTube). That is how beautiful I considered this commercial, and the message behind it. But, not everyone shares my opinion, as illustrated by just a few of the following oh-so-evolved and intelligent comments posted to Twitter after the commercial aired.

(Hmmm, Erik, check yo'self. The song in question is not God Bless America. #PatrioticSongButNotTheSame.)
c/o https://twitter.com/erikvela09

(Oh, sorry @uscliffordmc ... The song isn't our national anthem either. #StarSpangledBanner.)
c/o http://twitter.com/YesYoureRacist

(Ahhh, there it is. I knew I'd see it eventually, when all else fails blame Obama for the marketing tactics of Coke. #MakesSense)
c/o https://twitter.com/nothin_NEW

(Ryun, don't downgrade the importance of using apostrophes when writing contractions. #ElementarySchool?)
c/o https://twitter.com/rconn216

(Buddy, I wasn't aware Taliban members were such huge supporters of Coke. #FuckStupidity).
c/o https://twitter.com/buddycanty31

(Nick, Pepsi's CEO is an Indian-American, Indra Nooyi. She is considered one of most powerful people in the world. #AreYouNowConsideredOneOfTheDumbest)
c/o https://twitter.com/morikis

     ... And the tweets go on and on and on ...

     Now I totally get it. While I do not agree with a single point made in any of these tweets, you're entitled to your own opinion. I will listen to your opinion. I will engage in conversation with you about your thoughts and opinions. Just know that if you agree with any of this garbage and you don't see the positivity and beauty that was in that commercial ... You are not someone that I want to associate myself with ... You are not someone I would want to raise my future, hypothetical children around ... I mean, honestly, in MY opinion, you are not someone who I really want in my country because you are bringing us down one stupid comment at a time ... But we really can't go shipping you all off to your own little homes on Bigot Island, now can we? That would be totally un-American. 

     I take pride in surrounding myself with people from all walks of life and all cultures. I come from a multi-ethnic, bi-racial, dual-religious family. I have friends of all different ethnicities and races. One of best friends is Cuban, another is Irish, another is Indian ... and that, to me, is an America I want to live in - one where relationships are cultivated and bridges are built between those that may be "different" in some way.
     The It's Beautiful playlist features some behind the scenes video from the making of the commercial, and honestly, these girls who sing America The Beautiful - these children - they give me hope for a better future. They are part of the reason I don't give up on humanity every time I see a tweet like the ones above ... Because when I hear things like this from the mouths of babes ...

America is one union but with a mix of cultures and it doesn't matter who you are, we should always be friendly to each other no matter what difference we have. --- Naya

 ... Not everything fits the same way but I think that's what makes it so special. --- Carolyn 

We have the right to be ourselves, we can speak whatever we want, we can pray whatever we want to pray and I just think that's pretty amazing and that we're lucky to have it. --- Naomi

It's so beautiful that we are all the same, we just have different backgrounds, and that's okay. We're all Americans and we can come together to make change. --- Sushmitha

     ... That is what gives me hope for the future of this country. 

     So, if you are one of those people who choose to be ignorant of all the beautiful languages and cultures that make up this country, that's fine - you do you. Just do the world a favor, don't spread your vile thoughts to our country's future leaders who really give me hope that they can all get along despite their differences.

And maybe someday, we'll figure all this out, try to put an end to all this doubt, try to find a way to make things better now and maybe someday we'll live our lives out loud. We'll be better off somehow, someday. (Someday, Rob Thomas)

Side Note: The It's Beautiful Coke commercial, in addition to featuring all those beautiful languages, was also the first Super Bowl commercial to feature a gay family. See their story and others here.

Side Note II: I feel like I'd be doing an injustice to society if I didn't make this clear for some people ... So, for the record, this is America the Beautiful, this is God Bless America, and this is The Star Spangled Banner (which is the national anthem of the United States).