The Bachelor

I am a self-proclaimed reality show junkie. I don't know what it is in me that craves the dysfunctional drama played out on the boob tube, but I just cannot stay away.
I have to say that sometimes I want to smack myself for feeding into drama on these shows that is obviously VERY unhealthy behavior. Sometimes I feel like I am adding to the destruction of our society in exchange for 1 hour of entertainment.
I sit here watching ABC's The Bachelor and I am appalled at what I see. This show is one of the biggest psychology experiments I have ever seen. It is successful in playing upon the emotions of both its participants and its viewers. In no way do I condone humiliating women and praying on their weaknesses,but it obviously makes for good television.
The Bachelor plays upon the most vulnerable places in a woman's heart-competition and acceptance. There are thrown into the Lion's Den and forced to compete with their peers for the ultimate prize. When they are rejected, they automatically begin to look at themselves and wonder how and/or why they don't compare to the other women. It is completely unhealthy. What makes women wonderful creatures is that we are all very different in our own special way-that's the beauty of being a girl!
No one wants to feel rejected; especially when they are being compared to someone else. I think the women in this situation may end up losing a sense of who they really are, and forgetting what makes them unique and special. It is enough to play with anyone's emotions. Who wants to see the guy they adore sit there and make out with the same woman with whom you are sharing a room? I don't think I would have the stomach for that kind of torture.

There are two very unrealistic elements to this show-the fact that 25 women competing for the same man can live in the same house and not kill each other, and the fact that every single date that you go on will be a fairytale. I don't know anyone who has had the pleasure of having all 5 of their 1st dates include sky diving, trips to the Caymans, candlelight dinners on the mountaintop, and dancing under the stars in a Versace dress. Who wouldn't fall in loves?! I am not saying that its not possible to fall in love very soon after meeting someone. I know as soon as I met my husband that he was 'The One', but there were no fantasy dates. We dealt with the real world, and put in real WORK in our relationship. It wasn't carefully laid out for us by a group of television producers. By crafting this fantasy world for the lovebirds, they are ultimately setting them up for failure. I wonder how long the next couple will stay together.

Love is pretty cool...I think I'll keep it

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a hopeless romantic. I love to see love in our daily lives..husbands and wives, mothers and sons, little kids, dogs, pigs...Love is beautiful, and sometimes overlooked and under appreciated.
Two of my close friends got engaged over the holiday, and I am so overwhelmed with you. I never thought I could be so elated over someone else experiencing so much joy. I don't think I have had this emotion before. I mean, I always cry at weddings, and I'm always excited to see new love. But I think that now that I have found my life partner, I can fully comprehend the magnitude of love. I thought I knew the magnitude of love, but today I realized that all of this time, I did not have the full understand. Its like a new Christian who goes to church for the first time. It seems pretty cool..the music, the charismatic prose of the preacher, the big hats. But it is not until you experience true pain, trials, and suffering that you fully understand what it means to experience the glory of the Lord. I have truly been enlightened. Cheers to love!