I’ve been told by many friends I should start “blogging”. My response is usually something along the lines of, “That’s ridiculous, who gives a flying F about my mundane existence?” followed by, “Well, you make a good point because I am entertaining. And my life is not mundane or boring at all.”
So here goes...
I recently turned 25 and I’m an attractive young woman. I have a lot of self-confidence and I live in Manhattan. I’m sure I could have been an A-List pop-star had I been abused by my parents and forced into the entertainment industry which would have been an arduous journey wrought with disappointment for most years of my early life. This is not open for debate, coulda, shoulda, woulda. Could it be possible that I am resentful of being raised by the utmost of selfless and loving parents? Who have lived with my best interest perpetually being placed before their own? A man and a woman who devoted their entire married lives (37 years this week!) to ensuring that my older sister and I would be granted opportunities they never would have dreamed of growing up? 18 years of private schooling, adventures in Europe… My parents are a pair of diligent, intelligent, motivated, hardworking individuals who came together as a unit to prepare their children to take on anything they set their minds to. They tell me they love me every single day. I have been raised with the notion that anything is possible. Can I blame my parents for my apathetic state of confusion? Nahh.
I keep being told by mentor-types and elders that I need to find my focus. One of my least favorite questions in the world is, “What do you like to do?”. It's right up there with the anxiety producing, "Where do you want to go to college?" or "What do you want to do with your life?" I’ll get defensive and say stupid things that don’t answer this seemingly simple question.
Things I like to do:
I like to travel
I like to cook
I like to run
I like to listen to music
I like to go out
I like to read Op-Eds
See? That wasn’t so hard!
This blog is a social commentary on these items viewed through the lense of my 25 year old Bostonian gone "New Yorker" self trying to sort out my existence by way of sharing things I enjoy and discovering new interests along the way. I need to sort it out because the truth of the matter is that I am not a pop-star. My life and career paths are unknown! I find excitement in this fact because I believe the unknown must not be feared! It must be embraced for it to ultimately be defined.
As far as Op-Ed’s go, this morning I read an article in lieu of the David Letterman scandal. The inherent nature of a “scandal” implies that whatever illicit affair or action took place ultimately comes to a public fore and it is “exposed”. A scandal is not a scandal if it is kept secret. I wrote my Poli Sci thesis on the Clinton scandal. I am fascinated by scandal. I believe it's potential lies beneath nearly every success story! I found this article particularly interesting because it addresses how young women can be viewed by their higher-ups of the male variety, often as subordinates expected to be devoted to the ego-maniacal causes of male executives.
“For some men, it’s the very inequality of the relationship that’s alluring, the way these women revolve around them and make life easier, the way they treat Himself like the sunrise and sunset of their universe.” Maureen Dowd
This is so antiquated! Yet it remains a pervasive norm that women like myself including many of my peers and friends are exposed to. Trying to climb the coporate ladder is impossible without clear goals, and trying to create goals ain't an easy thing for me. Please don’t confuse me with a raging feminist, but I just can’t help but go a little Betty Friedan once in a while. The Feminine Mystique was stimulating and all but I’m only commenting on all of this because I’m just TRYING to figure out if I should try to sleep with my boss or not! My lack of professional stimulation mind you, is why I am writing this to begin with. Should I just embrace?? Haha... I'd post a photo of him for a good laugh, but then my blog would surely be fodder for scandal potential and I'm really not interested in that sort of attention. GROSS.
Another notable quotation from this article which raises a topic I personally analyze frequently is this:
“In terms of evolutionary biology, it could be rooted in the fear that aggressive females would be more likely to cheat and the males could end up raising offspring that were not their own.” –Maureen Dowd
This is funny. I mean, I am aggressive sometimes, but mainly in context of negligent restaurant staff or Time Warner Cable phone representatives. However, based on certain antics of mine, I truly wonder if anyone has ever thought this about me… Nahh. Yet it is amazing that women who don't adhere to subordinate corporate "norms" can be negatively stigmatized, and women who do conform, or those who chose to use their bodies as a means to an end are also negativey stigmatized! It's a Catch 22 cubed!
So here goes...
I recently turned 25 and I’m an attractive young woman. I have a lot of self-confidence and I live in Manhattan. I’m sure I could have been an A-List pop-star had I been abused by my parents and forced into the entertainment industry which would have been an arduous journey wrought with disappointment for most years of my early life. This is not open for debate, coulda, shoulda, woulda. Could it be possible that I am resentful of being raised by the utmost of selfless and loving parents? Who have lived with my best interest perpetually being placed before their own? A man and a woman who devoted their entire married lives (37 years this week!) to ensuring that my older sister and I would be granted opportunities they never would have dreamed of growing up? 18 years of private schooling, adventures in Europe… My parents are a pair of diligent, intelligent, motivated, hardworking individuals who came together as a unit to prepare their children to take on anything they set their minds to. They tell me they love me every single day. I have been raised with the notion that anything is possible. Can I blame my parents for my apathetic state of confusion? Nahh.
I keep being told by mentor-types and elders that I need to find my focus. One of my least favorite questions in the world is, “What do you like to do?”. It's right up there with the anxiety producing, "Where do you want to go to college?" or "What do you want to do with your life?" I’ll get defensive and say stupid things that don’t answer this seemingly simple question.
Things I like to do:
I like to travel
I like to cook
I like to run
I like to listen to music
I like to go out
I like to read Op-Eds
See? That wasn’t so hard!
This blog is a social commentary on these items viewed through the lense of my 25 year old Bostonian gone "New Yorker" self trying to sort out my existence by way of sharing things I enjoy and discovering new interests along the way. I need to sort it out because the truth of the matter is that I am not a pop-star. My life and career paths are unknown! I find excitement in this fact because I believe the unknown must not be feared! It must be embraced for it to ultimately be defined.
As far as Op-Ed’s go, this morning I read an article in lieu of the David Letterman scandal. The inherent nature of a “scandal” implies that whatever illicit affair or action took place ultimately comes to a public fore and it is “exposed”. A scandal is not a scandal if it is kept secret. I wrote my Poli Sci thesis on the Clinton scandal. I am fascinated by scandal. I believe it's potential lies beneath nearly every success story! I found this article particularly interesting because it addresses how young women can be viewed by their higher-ups of the male variety, often as subordinates expected to be devoted to the ego-maniacal causes of male executives.
“For some men, it’s the very inequality of the relationship that’s alluring, the way these women revolve around them and make life easier, the way they treat Himself like the sunrise and sunset of their universe.” Maureen Dowd
This is so antiquated! Yet it remains a pervasive norm that women like myself including many of my peers and friends are exposed to. Trying to climb the coporate ladder is impossible without clear goals, and trying to create goals ain't an easy thing for me. Please don’t confuse me with a raging feminist, but I just can’t help but go a little Betty Friedan once in a while. The Feminine Mystique was stimulating and all but I’m only commenting on all of this because I’m just TRYING to figure out if I should try to sleep with my boss or not! My lack of professional stimulation mind you, is why I am writing this to begin with. Should I just embrace?? Haha... I'd post a photo of him for a good laugh, but then my blog would surely be fodder for scandal potential and I'm really not interested in that sort of attention. GROSS.
Another notable quotation from this article which raises a topic I personally analyze frequently is this:
“In terms of evolutionary biology, it could be rooted in the fear that aggressive females would be more likely to cheat and the males could end up raising offspring that were not their own.” –Maureen Dowd
This is funny. I mean, I am aggressive sometimes, but mainly in context of negligent restaurant staff or Time Warner Cable phone representatives. However, based on certain antics of mine, I truly wonder if anyone has ever thought this about me… Nahh. Yet it is amazing that women who don't adhere to subordinate corporate "norms" can be negatively stigmatized, and women who do conform, or those who chose to use their bodies as a means to an end are also negativey stigmatized! It's a Catch 22 cubed!
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