(disclaimer, I do NOT watch every single episode of all these shows, I plain don't have that much time!)
Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Ax Men and the like - Having grown up in a rural, blue collar, country small town, I can relate to these men more. They are REAL, they work hard, are funny, and have such pride in their work. They don't give two shits what other people think of them. Just plain can't get enough of it.
Super Nanny, Wife Swap, Maury, Steve Wilko & Jerry Springer - These are probably the "trashiest" of all the shows I watch and DVR personally. But it's so interesting to see people that are so extreme, and sometimes pretty messed up. It puts our family life in perspective, and helps me realize that even with our wackiness and problems, we are not as wacky as some..
Hoarders, Intervention, Hoarding:Buried Alive, Obsessed and so on: I watch these shows because I so understand the mental anguish that some of these people go through. I've dealt with my own addictive behavior. I'm not a hoarder by any means, but I am just as crazy on the other end of the spectrum...I can't stand my house being dirty or out of order. I listen to their stories, and see just how far down I could have ended up had I let my "issues" get the better of me. I try to listen hard to what the doctors and experts say on these shows, to see if I can apply any of it to my life to make things easier.
Dr. Phil & Oprah: I watch these shows to gain insight on my behavior. I learn how to deal with certain situations, how to recognize destructive behavior, how to be a better wife and mother without losing myself. I don't always have the ability to know how to effectively deal with others, my brain just plain works differently. I learn a lot, and have made quite a few positive changes in my life by watching these shows and reading some of the recommended books.
RuPaul's Drag Race, 16 & Pregnant, World's Strictest Parents and a variety of others - These are the shows that I would never seek out myself, but I get roped into watching with the kids. If I watch the first 5 minutes, I'm hooked, no matter how absolutely and completely mind numbing some of these shows are. I can't believe some of the parents out there, some of the kids out there, and how much of a train wreck some of them are. As for the competing drag queens...ok fine, I love it, but this is the last time I'll ever admit it, lol.
Celebrity Apprentice - This is the inspiration for my thoughts today, and I ABSOLUTELY am enthralled with the dynamic of this show. Donald Trump is brilliant with the way he manipulates the drama. Putting 16 people who are at the top of their own personal existence/companies and forcing them to compete and work together all at the same time is awsome. What I have noticed this season especially is the difference between the creative minds, and the conservative more business minded people.
Clearly Sharon Osborn, Brett Michaels, Cindy Lauper & Maria Kanellis are the wild children of the bunch. They aren't afraid to take risks, have fun and be a little out of control.
Summer Sanders, Curtis Stone & Holly Robinson Peete are smug, business minded, can't think out of the box, straight arrow, and totally afraid to take risks. They can't relate to the others in any way, and therefore don't take them seriously one bit. It's amazing to me how high and mighty they come off.
As you can see, I am clearly not a fan of the stick in the muds. This comes from a lifetime of people disapproving of me, not taking me seriously, and thinking I'm just an out of control crazy who can't possibly have a good idea or know what I'm talking about. To quote Holly "Creative people are wired differently"...she's absolutely right, but I see this as a POSITIVE, not a negative. Being "wired differently" doesn't make artists stupid, or not qualified to make smart decisions. That very wiring is what makes new ideas fun & exciting.... if the second group was in charge of the world, we'd all dress the same, talk the same, look the same, act the same, the music would never evolve, books and movies would never go outside of a traditional plot, and we'd all be bored as hell.
So...here it is. Creative people are what make the world fun, exciting and innovative. But the very thing that makes them creative is what the rest of the world criticizes them the most about. We're flighty, weird, say crazy things, do crazy things, take risks, sometimes we say things that are inappropriate or controversial, we go off into our own world. That very INSANITY is what makes artists so wonderful. It's not a bad thing, it's a beautiful thing that should be celebrated, because it's a gift.
I've gone through life feeling like I don't fit in, that I'm somehow not as valuable because I haven't followed the traditional "Script". I didn't take the safe route of having a nice "normal" guaranteed successful career. Because of this, I am rarely taken seriously outside of the circle of my own creative friends. I always saw my quirks as a flaw in my personality, and this has held me back for far too long.
What I have realized lately, is that I am my OWN normal. I obsess over music, I obsess over perfection, I am so passionate about the creative process that I will lose sleep because I have to do it. It's like breathing. When the muse visits, she is relentless, there is no ignoring her, and everything else takes a back seat. I can no longer apologize for this, it's who I am, it makes me ME.
While watching last night's Celebrity Apprentice, I realized that the creatives on that show are just the same. By no means can I compare myself to Brett, Sharon and Cindy on a talent/success level, but I so recognize the behavior. They are hysterical, they don't seem like they are taking things seriously sometimes, but in reality they are letting their creativity flow out of control, then reigning it in and plucking out the really good ideas, then they get down to business. They laugh, they take risks, and very often, are more on track with what the clients are looking for than the uppity ups who are too frigging literal.
I actually cheered when the executives said exactly what Cindy Lauper tried to say during the task, but Summer and Holly totally disregarded. Had they listened, maybe they would have won. But Cindy is weird, abstract, seems off in her own world, I think she's brilliant, and I love her.
I will give Curtis some credit, he seems to be somewhere in the middle of the two worlds, and also tried to give some insight into the task and was blown off.
Holly and Summer are a perfect example of the two best friend cheerleader "cool" girls in High School. They take over, are snobby, act better than everyone else, they band together and don't let anyone else into the "club" without their approval. They are insulting, rude and hoity toity. They don't have the nads to say things to people's faces, and talk behind the backs of others. They lord over anyone who tries to be their friends. I so hated those girls in high school, and have realized that it doesn't get any better as adults. These women are catty bitches. I only wish I had been strong enough then to realize that not being in the "popular" crowd wasn't such a bad thing.
Summer was the losing project manager. The executives reasoning was that her commercials were too wordy, too typical, and didn't use Cindy Lauper's voice enough.... EVERYTHING that Cindy and Curtis tried to say and were totally disregarded. But, who did Summer bring back to the board room? Not her BFF Holly, but Cindy and Curtis. These women band together no matter what, even though it was the two of them who totally blew this task together. They even banded together and said they were still right and better with their commercials, even though the other contestants, Donald AND the clients all agreed that their commercials were boring. They still couldn't fathom that they were wrong, to them everyone else was crazy.
I'm holding my head a little higher today. I am who I am. I'm "wired" the way I'm wired. Take me or leave me, because I'm tired of trying to cram myself into a box that I clearly don't fit in. If you don't approve, too bad, I don't give a crap. At least I'm owning who I am. I'm taking life by the horns and making it my own, and I am celebrating the person I'm becoming. I may fall flat on my face by taking too big of a risk sometimes, but at least I know I've reached as far as I can. I refuse to fall short of my potential by only going as far as guaranteed success.
The world could learn a lot from the creative weirdos in the world. We may be nuts, but we are living life to the fullest. We don't live to impress everyone else. We share our gifts freely, we give you exactly who we are. Stop treating us like second class citizens because we live outside of mainstream society. Just think how boring your life would be with out our songs, our movies, our antics, our books, poems, paintings and statues. You reap the benefits of our insanity. Give us a break and stop making us feel like we don't belong in your world... we bring the color to your grayscale existence. We add the exotic spice to your soup. Love us for who we are, and let us inspire you to find your own creative wacko that is living somewhere hidden under all that practicality!
Go out and swim naked, put flowers in your hair, dance in the rain, sing in the shower, be silly, laugh till you cry, cry till your eyes are dry, kiss your lover in public, open your eyes to the true beauty of the world that surrounds you, don't worry about what other people think, be you, love you, and love everyone else for who they are. Draw a picture, make up your own recipe, write a poem to your children, learn an instrument, whatever fits your own version of "creativity". You'll be amazed at the joy & freedom that will bloom inside your heart. I promise, it's wonderful!
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