Disney Channel and "the image"

Disney Channel makes me sick.

So, I just felt like I needed to post something about this, because it sort of upset me in that "I can't believe children actually watch this crap" kind of way. 

I am not a religious viewer of Disney Channel by any means. I used to be - Even Stevens and Lizzie McGuire were my shows, and I never missed an episode. Ever. I even watched That's So Raven, and Phil of the Future. And of course, who could forget when Boy Meets World was on Disney Channel? Those shows were - if you don't mind me using 90s terms - the bomb. Heck, I even watched The Suite Life of Zack and Cody for a while.

My problem lies with one of the shows that Disney has on now. It's called "Shake it Up." It's about two girls (around the ages of 12 or 13) and they're dancers. That's the basic gist. First of all, the show isn't even that good. I watched about ten minutes of one episode and the only part I found funny was when the girls actually tried dancing. (Emphasis on "tried.") And did I mention they're only 12? And they wear makeup so they look like they're at least 16? It's disgusting, if you ask me. Clearly they have no idea how much that can impact a child in today's world. I mean, teenagers already have a tough time with "the image" and how we as women are supposed to look in order to be "beautiful." And did they ever take a minute to think that this was just going to push that image along, possibly to a younger age range? Probably not.

Now, if you have any idea who Demi Lovato is, you would know why this next part spurred so much controversy. If you don't, she is the star of Disney Channel's Camp Rock (alongside the Jonas Brothers) and another Disney show called Sonny With a Chance. She left the show and cancelled part of her tour when she came out to the world with an eating disorder, but has since gotten better. The following clip was taken straight from an episode of Shake it Up:

Seriously?

a PR from Disney said that they meant no harm in this joke after Demi said something about them making an eating disorder joke in light of one of their own stars leaving the network because of such a disorder.

Am I overreacting about this? I just don't think a show that is directed at a 7-12 year old demographic should be making jokes like this. Personally, I don't think a show like this directed at 7-12 year olds should exist. I mean, I remember in That's So Raven, there was an episode about her being uncomfortable with her weight. And the lesson was to be comfortable in your own skin. Where did that Disney go??

Bring back the old generation of Disney, please. I miss it.

Why I appreciate IT people...

So for my mom's birthday/retirement/Christmas present, Dad bought her a new desktop. It's fancy and touch screen and I'm on it right now. But my father, technologically inept as he is (bless his heart), doesn't have any idea how to work it. So whenever I'm spending time on Facebook scrolling through my news feed or playing a game and clicking things with my fingers, he will stand there in shock and awe.

Last night, after I messed around on it a little while, I shut it off and went upstairs to go to bed. I hear the computer turn back on, however, and realize my dad is still downstairs.

Let me pause this story to tell you that my dad just spotted me on this computer and was in awe that I had the wireless keyboard on my lap instead of on the desk. Proving my point.

So he comes upstairs and tells me I didn't turn it off completely. Thinking I hadn't, I go back downstairs to find that he had turned it back ON. I press the power button again, turning it off. Then my dad asks me why there was a light on on the back of the computer. I look and see that it is the power cord, shining blue to show that it is plugged in. I explain this to my father, and he nods and I go back upstairs to go to bed.

This morning rolls around and I'm lying in bed trying to wake up. It's 9:30 in the morning and I hear my dad talking on the phone. Not to be bothered, I roll back onto my side and fall back asleep.

When I finally emerge to eat breakfast, my dad tells me he called the computer company asking about the light on the back of the desktop, and he explains to me that it is to show that the computer is plugged in. "Dad, I told you this last night," I said. He looks at me funny and says he doesn't remember. To which I respond with this...

I love my dad. And I also wish I had the kind of patience that the IT people have to have for the technologically handicapped.

Thank you for the wings.

I said in a previous post that my favorite Christmas movie of all time was It's a Wonderful Life. And it was like fate when this picture popped up in my news feed tonight. It's funny how going to get wings with a few people turns into a huge party and a fantastic evening.

No man will ever be a failure as long as they have friends. So I will take this time to say how thankful I am for each and every one of you. And thank you for giving me the wings I needed to fly. :)

Merry Christmas to you and yours. And please, stay safe.

1 AM memory lane trips

So tonight was the band concert at the high school. It's always such a huge trip down memory lane for me, because there is always something about going to those things that makes you remember sitting in one of those familiar chairs, playing that familiar music. It's crazier for me because every time I come back I know less and less people in that band. Soon I won't know any of them. But then I wonder where I'm going to be at that point. Will I even be back in Punxsy? How often will I be back in say, 3 years?

I'm always in this weird stage between reminiscence and looking forward. It's not that I don't love the present, because I do. I heard about one of my good friends (who just got accepted to the college of his choice... and I met him when he was a freshman... I feel old.) making a speech before the concert tonight. He told his fellow band members to cherish every moment (from what I'm told). And it's so true. Looking back, band was one of the greatest things about being in high school for me. Not only did it teach you about hard work and diligence, but it taught you teamwork. It gave you a family if you didn't have one, friends when you needed them, and lasting memories. I mean, here I am, talking about things that happened about 4 years ago now.

Sometimes looking back puts things in perspective though. I think about things I considered "dramatic" or "hectic" and then I say, man. That was so dumb of me to think. Hectic for me now is even thinking about 18 credits on top of a job, an apartment, and studying abroad. I mean, look at where I'm at now: I just got a decent job lined up for next semester (Thank God!), and I saw some of my close friends from high school tonight. Not to mention my crazy high school band director whom I remember crying to when I felt stressed, and even now, two years after I'm gone he still calls me by the name I had back then. Studying abroad is still heavily on my mind, but I'm still taking things day by peaceful day. I see people and hear from people I graduated with (and haven't seen or heard from them much since) and I feel so blessed for being where I am and the people I've met since then.

I look back at last year, or last summer, or when I was 17, and see how much I've changed. I'm still the same person in a lot of ways, because I can always come home to these people I've seen the last few days and pick up right where we left off. But in other ways, I'm not the same person fully. Which is SUCH a blessing. I still have a lot to learn, but in the meantime, here's to the present.

Cherish life where you are now, because later you'll appreciate the memories you made and the people you met in the process. <3

Armchair Astronaut?

My friend Angellica and I discovered this over the summer. Basically this video is a guy who sits on his computer using Google Earth as his telescope and has called himself an "Armchair Astronaut" because of it.

I'm sure he THINKS he looks like this:

But in reality, he probably looks something like this...

Yeah, he was totally the coolest kid in school.

So without further adieu, enjoy the video of the Armchair Astronaut. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

My 2011 in review.

Since I'm not sure how much more I'll be hanging around the Interwebs in the next few days (what with Christmas and New Year's and everything in between) I felt like I should do a review of 2011, as I do with every year. And by every year, I mean I just really started it last December to sort of keep my thoughts in line.

But I will also show you some pictures... just so it isn't completely and utterly boring. As I'm sure it will be anyways.

Here we go!

First momentous event of the year: FOCUS Conference in Baltimore.

Really, the first time I met the majority of my good friends at college. Between the concert and seeing Martin Sheen about 500 feet away from me and the midnight games of Mafia in the hotel, I wonder why I even considered not going. It was truly a blessing for many, many reasons.

Second big thing: Mine and Heather's joint birthday party.



Since Heather had never been to Eat n' Park, we decided to get a huge group together and go. Dinners and desserts were bought for us but Heather didn't think she would want to go back any time soon. And yes, we are wearing tiaras.



An ENTIRE SUMMER with the best friends anyone could have.

Since this summer was so fantastic in so many ways, I'm just going to have it broken down into several parts.

So remember the best friends anyone could have? Well, these are some of them. We like to visit playgrounds because it's the cool thing to do. I think Marcus and Alex had a little too much sugar that night. Can't really figure out why I think that, but...

Graduation. My two best friends graduated high school. And the very top picture? Well, Nick's pretty cool too.

Then there was the camping/flea market trip I take yearly with one of my best friends and her family. There's usually a couple other folks we take along as well. So we took two of our guy friends. We spent the evening playing with glo-sticks in a giant field beside our camping spot and laid out under the stars and just talked. The next morning my best friend's mom made pancakes and my friend insisted on having one with Skittles. How it was, I don't remember.



A few of us had a cupcake baking party in my kitchen. We made two boxes worth. And the only sprinkles available in our kitchen were... Easter sprinkles. With rabbits, ducks, and Easter eggs. We are just the coolest kids around.

Yeah, I went to see Big Time Rush. Don't judge me.

Then the second year of my school life at The University of Pittsburgh. But not long before the absolutely amazing weekend of Labor Day:

We found a few things in Phil's basement... and the guys had a little too much fun. Nah, who am I kidding, I did too. That weekend was the weekend that we all got closer as a group of friends. And who knows, maybe there will be another weekend in the future that we'll be running around with toys shouting: "SHUT UP WE'RE RECORDING."

The barn dance!!! My second attempt at square dancing (my first attempt being at Gobbler's Knob, because there was nothing else to do but support Julia in her little square dance band thing... and let's be honest. It was a huge fail.) But this night was awesome. I got hay in places I didn't know I could get hay in and danced the night away.



Halloween. I was Rapunzel from Tangled this year. After I got all my hair chopped off over the summer I thought it would be a good idea. And it was. I even had a frying pan. Though, I was called a housewife. To which I responded with this...

Then there was Light Up Night downtown. Max and Erma, the Santas from around the world, the gingerbread houses, the lights, the CHRISTMASness of it all. It was wonderful.

My cousin got married over Thanksgiving break! It was the first time I had been out to their house in years and the whole family was together again. Being the Pitt family that we are, we sang "Sweet Caroline" at the top of our lungs and danced the night away.

The girls in my bible study went to Phipps conservatory as a way to have one final group outing with our leader, Emma, before she left for a semester abroad. That girl on the end with the pink coat? Her and I are leading the bible study in her place next semester. It's a bit nerve-racking, but I think two heads are better than one. Plus with girls like these in our study, there really isn't anything to worry about.

Finally, there was the day I left Pittsburgh to come home for the first time in two months. A foreign exchange student from high school came home with us, so we met up with her friend for breakfast at the best breakfast place in Oakland - Pamela's Diner. Pancakes and old friends - of course, it's an awesome combination.

And now here I am - sitting at home on a Monday evening thinking back on this whole year. It seems as though every year I say there will never be one better than it, and then the next year I find myself saying the same thing about the present year. So this year, I'm not going to. Yeah, this year was fantastic - it had its ups and downs, the extreme highs and the extreme lows, the times with great friends where everything seemed perfect and the times where I wondered if anything could be worse. And who knows - something even more exciting could happen in the next few days. I mean, I've been home for two days and I've seen people I haven't seen in months already. Who knows what can happen? So until then, I'm off to do... well, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing right now. But I'm probably procrastinating from it. Soooooo.

It really is a wonderful life.

So I just got home for Christmas break about say, four hours ago? It's fantastic and everything, but then I remember how much work I actually have over this break.
I have to figure things out for an apartment next year.
I have to spend time with my family (I mean, obviously...) and friends I haven't seen in months.
I have to catch up on my shows (Thank God for DVR)
Christmas. DUH.
Most of all, there's this thing:

For those of you who don't know, it has been my dream to go to Italy since I was a kid. My grandfather, Frank, traveled over to America in the early 1900s with his brothers and sisters. I was always fascinated by his story, how he spent the first three years of his life in a small town in Calabria and one of his first memories being of the Statue of Liberty. Nobody in my family besides some of his siblings have gone back since.

That, of course, is one of the many reasons why I want to go. I've always loved ancient Roman culture, the humanities and the stories that came out of that era. Most recently, I've wanted to visit the Vatican. 

Recently I found that I had the opportunity to go there for 6 weeks in the summer and study the language. So what if I'm not the best speaker? That's what studying it is for. This blog was meant to capture my life when I did go (if I did...), but I felt like I wanted to capture the moments before it - the times I spent with my friends, the studying, the blood, sweat, and tears... Okay, maybe not that last part. But just the things I am thankful for in my life right now: sitting with my parents going through pictures on my Facebook account of the things I've been doing while watching saved episodes of Top Chef on my DVR and eating pizza from the little family-owned business down the street. Thinking about the people I spent the last few days with and the people I'll be seeing in the next few. Why capture a little bit of my life when I can capture the whole thing?

My favorite Christmas movie is a classic: It's a Wonderful Life. I always have that wonder of what life would be like without me, or without x person or y person. The little things - petals in your pocket, a drafty house filled with the warmth of a big family, and of course pizza and fancy food game shows - are what make life worthwhile... what makes life truly wonderful.