Being relatively new to the blogosphere, I have been pleasantly surprised to see a movement happening around the interwebs called Reverb 2011, where bloggers post lists of topics for every day in December or write in response to topics others have posted. I like the community aspects and that topics are provided, and I like how some people are picking and choosing which topics suit them best. Today, I’m going to write about five guilty pleasures, the fifth topic from this list.
1. Following the fashion/activities of the English royal family, specifically the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Wills and Kate). This guilty pleasure started EARLY. When I was a tween, I joined an online Prince William fan club known as (wait for it) the Wilmas. It was basically conducted all via Yahoo! chat rooms (when those were cool and safe) and we did things like send homemade birthday cards to William and Harry. The obsession continues to the present day with my active membership in the What Kate Wore Facebook group and reading of the corresponding blog. I hosted a 4 am party to watch Will and Kate’s wedding live. I am currently watching the NBC special about the first six months of the royal marriage (while my darling husband grocery shops)! Gosh, if I don’t feel pretty ridiculous. BUT I LOVE IT.
2. The Twilight Series. Obviously many people love these books, but if I have a daughter, I will not encourage her to read them. Twilight glorifies co-dependence, traditional gender roles, and the idea that women need men. In spite of all that, I have read the series no less than four times, and I’ve been to the midnight premieres of all the movies.
3. Cream horns (google it): best purchased at the grocery store, I am fairly certain the filling of these is made with Crisco (or lard) and that they have virtually no nutritional value. I don’t eat them often, but when I do, I usually eat the whole package (five cream horns).
4. and 5. are related because they both involve my preference for listening to songs on repeat (4) and reading the same books over and over. A certain college friend will remember the days that I listened to Total Eclipse of the Heart on repeat until she was so frustrated that upon calling and finding I was still listening to it, she hung up. I think it stems from the desire to not be disappointed. If I can listen to a song or read a book, then why not choose one that I know I love? I have therefore read Ella Enchanted maybe 12 times (no exaggeration). These tendencies about myself seem like guilty pleasures because I think there’s a lot of pressure to be innovative and hip about the music we listen to or the books we read, but there’s something in these and all of my guilty pleasures about being true to myself, so that’s what I’m embracing here.
What are your guilty pleasures and what do they say about your true self?
Inviting Joy 