Skewed Reality

A co-worker was talking about her soap opera, Port Charles, it is going off the air. She was upset about it. Ellie Mae started talking about how she watches As the World Turns. She said something about watching it for the first time when she was 10 and someone was healed of their blindness by a kiss from her soul mate. She said she thought that was the most remarkable thing she has ever seen and ever since then, she has watched it.

Here's my point. When we are younger and we watch shows like this, we really think that life will one day be this way. For example: I used to watch 90210 religiously when I was about 11 or 12 or something. I thought that one day, my life would be that. I revered Donna b/c she was a virgin and she wanted to wait until she got married to have sex. She also didn't take bad diet pills or drink alcohol like the naughty Kelly Taylor. Ooooo. I was also worried about eating disorders and they would affect everyone that I was friends with. I was terrified of men b/c on the show they were so starved for sex that I just KNEW that if I didn't put out on the first date, they weren't going to like me.

I was also appalled when Dylan smoked pot and he got drunk all the time. I vowed then that I would never ever do that. Now, not really such a big deal to me, obviously.

I also became a Days of Our Lives fan for about a month when Marlena got possessed. I kept hearing people talk about it and I was like, "Hey, I need to check this shit out for myself." That was back in the day when I thought it would be cool if I watched a soap opera b/c I just thought that is what chicks should do. I know better now. I also think that soap operas started my obsession for sex.

For example: My sister would make me watch Young and the Restless whenever she would baby-sit me when I was about 8 or so and she was only 12 so she probably just watched it to be cool too. I don't know. Anyway, Young and the Restless was the Melrose Place of it's day (actually Melrose Place might have been on too back then but you know what I mean) and they had a lot of sex on that show. I was always a little embarrassed by it but intrigued at the same time. That is also when I thought that sex only meant that some guy had to lay on top of you and that is all sex was. You had to be completely naked and some guy had to lay on top of you and POOF, sex. If only it were that simple...

Now, I really don't know how people watch this shit. I guess if it entertains you, that's cool but it's just so stupid. Of course it entertains me to ask my friends about Days of our Lives and see how stupid it is and the fucked up plotlines they give these people. Does anyone know who Hope is? Apparently she has been kidnapped a few times, and had a brain tumor or something, and had a bad case of amnesia. All this has happened to one woman. You would think they would spread the misfortune around. I guess not.

Anyway, it is crazy to think of the things you think are normal when you are young. If I had a life like a soap opera now, I think I would kill myself. But that would pretty much fit into a soap opera wouldn't it?