teenage insights

So I was reading through my journal the other day, and I came across a couple of funny entries. Thought y'all might enjoy them :)

July 2005

"Things don’t always happen like they do in the movies. In fact, I have rarely seen it happen when one side will act in accordance to some scene in a movie, and the other side cooperates. As a child, I would often relate life experiences to scenes from movies or books, and things never worked out the way they did in the movies. Usually I did this in an effort to help someone, because to me it appeared they needed some kind of help. I always got some kind of an “oh you’re so cute” kind of reaction, and then a “but you’ve got it all wrong” or something like that. In fact, this still happens to me today. I have yet to determine if these people are in denial, or if I really do have it all wrong most of the time."

August 2006

"This life is funny. As in strange and different and unique and odd and all the other words that mean that type of thing. But somehow it all ends up tying itself all up together in the end. It’s funny how things that aren’t real can shake you up so much and inspire you and make you think. Make you think about everything that is real. We can’t get out of the real. As if there isn’t enough stimulation in this world… we have to create our own to make us dig deeper. But the tricky part there is that these make-believe stories were sparked from something real that happened in someones life. The real caused them to think of the things that aren’t real. Fantasize. Things happen and they wish they could change it or they wish they could make it better, and in the real they can’t. But if they pretend, they can. So they do just to put their minds at ease. Why do you think Disney re-did Pocahontas? Someone was torn up by the ending and wanted to make it better and resolve it in their mind. Same thing with Little Mermaid, and all the other stories that have sad endings. But the thing is that the sad endings, and the reality, is ultimately what makes us think anyway. Maybe that’s why people like happy endings. Because it doesn’t require any thought on their part. The movie draws the conclusion out for you all nice and tied up with a pretty bow, and you don’t have to do anything. But when the story ends in a way that you aren’t expecting, or don’t really want, you are forced to face reality and think and resolve. But that’s what real is like, and we watch movies to get away from real. Our mind wants a vacation from solving problems and tying bows. But the other part is that when we are removed from the situation and watching it—say, in a movie—our mind can think much more clearly and pinpoint foundational problems, and learn from them. So watch a sad movie if you want stimulation and intrigue, and watch a happy ending movie if you want a vacation. "