Glee...How Did I Get Along Without You?

I'm currently addicted to Fox's Glee. It's the perfect merging of High School Musical, every other high school teenage soap opera, and satire. I absolutely LOVE this show! It does fall into many stereotypes, but there's something unique that makes it better than any high school drama on TV. I'd say it's the choice in casting, the music, and partly the story. I also admit, I largely live vicariously through these characters in this show.

The characters are all really quirky and colorful despite all being stereotypes and undergoing little to no development. You love almost all of the characters from the start; you don't want them to change except to become more confident. They all make me laugh. My favorite characters are Kurt and Tina. Kurt is so earnest in his love for sparkles and theatre and performing. He's the guy I would want to hang out with in high school or any other time. Tina's got the super fun goth clothes complete with the blue streaks in her hair. She's awkward and shy, but pretty cool all around. Shame she doesn't get that much screen time or many solos; love her and Artie as a couple. The more of Rachel I watch, the more I realize she's the most like me. Smart, pretentious, ambitious, yet with a lot of anxieties and a deep seated desire to be popular even though she knows it's shallow and "wrong." My sister was the one who first pointed out our similarities. Now I can't get over how much I was like her in high school even down to the clothes; as Kurt said, she [read: I] dresses somewhere between a three year old and forty year old woman. She drives me crazy, and I have to wonder did I drive people just as crazy.

This show has plenty of awesome music. It mixes Broadway showtunes, with modern pop and r&b music, with 80s rock hits! I'm still squeeing over Heart's "Alone" performed in a duet by Kristen Chenoweth (she plays the role of a former high school student and Glee Club member) and Matthew Robinson (Mr. Schuester)! I adored the homage to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" music video. The Glee Club's rehearsal of "Don't Rock the Boat" had me in stitches. There's so much variety of music in the show. Furthermore, the music is so expertly arranged that you find yourself enjoying songs that you originally didn't, for example "Mercy" by Duffy.

The story isn't anything original; the usual underdogs rising to the top and dealing with the issues of being a high school teenager. I think the scenarios that come up and obstacles they have to face make the story different and interesting. I keep thinking the way Mr. Schuester made Finn join the Glee Club was pretty unusual, not to mention hilarious. One of the best things about the show is the bringing in of all the celebrities for different wacky, characters. Hello, IDINA MENZEL! I could wax forever about GLEE and why I love it, but I think I'll stop here.

Wanted: Compass or Really Fancy GPS; Job Description: Give Directions on Where to Go In Life

I really wish it were that easy. I'm so utterly miserable in grad school right now. I never thought I'd say it. The academic burnout--I've got it bad. I just feel like I'm flailing around, and not sure of myself or what I want to do anymore. I'm tired of working a crappy retail job to pay rent and be able to take classes. I'm tired of having 300+ pages of homework every week. I don't want to think about taking the foreign language exam and especially don't want to think about my thesis/culminating project. It could be the fact I'm taking 4 classes and working on two degrees at the same time. Plus I've been in school for 18 1/2 years spanning from Kindergarten all the way to where I am now in the first semester of my second year of grad school. No breaks, just straight through; almost everyday sitting in a class with my butt in a desk, pencil and paper in hand, and 20+ people around me. I've been having to cram so much crap in my head that I don't even care or intend to write about. And then I'm ALWAYS BEHIND, no matter how much I try to catch up. I'm always exhausted, and my social life is pretty much nil. I miss being able to go home whenever the weekend comes. I'm just really lost right now. I'm torn; I have a love for learning and desire to be involved the academy; yet I want to be part of the "real world" with a 9-5 job that has insurance and pays at least $20,000/year; and I want to have time to write. Grad school is killing my soul and crushing my dreams, and it's causing me to rebel hardcore and  almost consider dropping.


I try to pep myself up with inspirational movie scenes and stories and characters from books. Whenever I feel down and out, one of the books I never fail to pull out is: Alanna: The First Adventure. For those of you unfamiliar with the text, it's a story (rather series) about a girl who wants to and eventually becomes a knight. I was rereading Alanna for about the millionth time, and a scene really resonated with me. It's when she starts to fall behind in her classes and chores.


"Face it," Gary told her kindly. "You'll never catch up. You just do as much as you can and take the punishments without saying anything. Sometimes I wonder if that isn't what they're really trying to teach us--to take plenty and keep our mouths shut.
Alanna after this conversation goes back to her room and orders Coram to pack for home.

"I never figured ye for a quitter," Coram interupted softly.

"I'm not quitting!" Alanna snapped. "I--I'm protesting! I'm protesting unfair treatment--and--being worked till I drop. I want to have time to myself. I want to learn to fight with a sword now, not when they decide. I want--"

"Ye want. Ye want. 'Tis something different ye're learning here. It's called 'discipline.' The world won't always order itself the way ye want. Ye have to learn discipline."

In the end, Alanna of course decides to stay, and she eventually becomes a knight by the end of the series. Yay, role models and inspiration! I say grad school is a worthy analogy to knighthood--though lacking the physical fighting; it's made up for by all the intellectual arguing you have to do; both are pretty brutal.

I mentioned also, I like somewhat cheesy, inspirational, follow your dreams films that surprise me and defy my expectations. For example, Brave New Girl; yes, it's an ABC movie directed/produced by Britney Spears; something so fun and reaffirms your faith in your decision to follow your dreams and be happy. ;) I love the scene where the main character performs Habanera from Carmen, and then does her own twist on it.

Last thing to make me feel better is always the wonderful Idina Menzel. I think "Brave" is a song that really defines my life right now--state of transition, constant changes, and somewhat scary grown up things. I'm gonna face it all and make it through grad school!