Thursday, March 6, 2008

reality tv

I think I figured out today why I like reality television. Let me preface this with not ALL reality TV falls into the acceptable realm of reality TV. More on that later. Basically, here it is: these people, these real people, are out there doing something, and they don't mind letting us watch. Let me further explain.

Sometimes it's nice to come home from work, make dinner, post to your blog, lounge around, then catch some Z's. But, to me, that is a pretty boring life. Life is about doing stuff, having fun while doing it, learning some lessons, becoming better, getting great stories to tell later on. Going to the park, scoping out a museum, joining a Scrabble club, getting away for the weekend: these are all fine examples of doing stuff.

Reality TV people go out of their comfort zones to do something interesting, and we get to go along for the ride. They learn to dance (Dancing with the Stars), they work on their singing skills (American Idol), they eat bugs in Fiji (Survivor), they venture to lose hundreds of pounds (The Biggest Loser), they move to New York and try out a new career (America's Next Top Model), and on and on. I mean, wow. If I tried to do all this stuff in my life, how exciting it would be! Honestly, I admire them. They're trying something new in front of America.

This is where the disclaimer comes in that "all reality TV shows need not apply." If you live in a house and let cameras in your house to watch your every move, this is lame. Britney, Jessica and Nick, Travis and Shannon, I'm talking to you. You can see how their lives all turned out. (In case you've been living under a rock, Jessica and Nick AND Travis and Shannon are both divorced. Maybe they should have gone on Survivor instead.)

If only we could all be so brave as to venture and do something with our lives. Last year I made a resolution to plan one exciting date every month with my hubby. We went snowmobiling one month, snowshoeing in another; we saw a play and had dinner at a fancy place downtown; we went to the Museum of Flight; we went to this cool man-made island in Everett on a gorgeous day and watched kite surfers. It was awesome. I never want to stop getting off my duff and trying something new, enjoying where I am, living it up.

Now on camera, ha, that may not be for me.

1 comment:

Daddio said...

Ain't nothing like doing stuff with those you love. Like watching meteor showers in the middle of the night during the dead of winter, or working together on an important project.

While I might have enjoyed a reality show every now and again, I find that the networks have oversaturated the market these days with too many, too whacked-out shows.

Of course, reading the daily blogs can be fulfilling in its own right!