Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Don't Worry, Baby

As I contemplate my impending 24th birthday, I keep worrying about things I thought I would do by age 24. Josie Grossie-type things. I makes me want to throw a "let's be 17 again" birthday party and stage a do-over (at least in the relationship department).

On my 17th birthday, two of my best friends had me watch Never Been Kissed since Drew Barrymore's character repeatedly exclaims, now that she's back in high school, "I'm seventeen. I'm seventeen."

But I'm not 17 anymore. And I am working towards becoming an editor like Josie Grossie, and I am still waiting for a few rites of passage to occur.

As I wandered past the ferris wheel set up on the campus quad today, I had my don't-worry-baby calming epiphany, which I now share with you.

Epiphany: The point of Never Been Kissed wasn't that Josie hadn't been kissed. It was that she should have been. Her personality, her quirky charm, her super intelligence--the audience loves her and she deserved to have a man who did, too. People weren't stunned about her virgin lip status in a sideshow freak kind of way; they were stunned in a you're-too-good-for-that-to-be-true kind of way.

As am I.

Here's to 24 and not being Josie Grossie. And many upcoming kisses on baseball fields with The Beach Boys serenading away things that have been building up for, oh, I don't know how long.

2 comments:

  1. Well, I LOVE this post. For so many reasons, and not all of them are Beach Boy related. The only part I don't like is that you would EVER compare yourself to anything that has 'grossie' in the title, because you are anything BUT that. And you know it, deep down inside you really know it. And when those baseball dreams do occur, because they will, the wait will be well worth it. And nothing like it would've been at the edge of 17. Don't worry, baby, everything WILL turn out alright.

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  2. LOVE this. Love, love, love!!! It's pretty empowering when you hit that point of realizing that a lack of dating is a shocker because you're so amazing, who WOULDN'T want to date you?! Totally makes all the difference in the world. Confidence is radiant and attractive more than anything else in the world. The biggest transformation in this dearly loved film is in how Josie blossoms and comes into her own. That makes all the difference! She doesn't have to be anything but herself to get the guy - and, swoon, what a guy!!! Where do I find a Mr. Coulson in real life?!

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