So, it is over. What now? Each year the glorious Saint Valentine is celebrated with cheap teddy bears and the tears of single women, but no one says anything about the next day. I constantly wonder why the Hallmark Holiday is so damning. If you are single, you must be lonely and a devout Anti-Valentine; If you are in a relationship, you have to be romantic even if it is just for pretend. Children are abandoned by their parents for date night and lucky teen baby-sitters cash in. In short, all hell breaks loose; movies are even erected for the anarchy. I've never truly understood why Valentine's Day caused such a craze, but I am a sucker for chocolate and the color red; so I join in. While I generally have someone in my life around this time of the year, I was single (like for real) for the first time on Valentine's Day. Being single only illuminated one really strange fact, that all the melee happens only for a day. Christmas and Easter have seasons. Hell, even St. Patty's Day gets a drunken weekend full of parades, but Valentine's Day is the shortest lived burst of love that ever existed. The folks who celebrate on the next day are suckers who missed the wave. All the sudden women are pleased with their boyfriend's who couldn't do anything right before that day. For 24 hours, angry singles mob social media with selfies proclaiming to be in love with themselves. And the next day comes, today and all that's left is thank you posts and sarcasm. So its February 15, what do you do? If you were one of the 'happily single" folks who posted to Twitter or Instagram, you pick your face up and apologize to your TL. Nobody wanted to hear you talk about yourself anyway.
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This Week's RetweetsHere's the Recap: This week's episode revealed that Mary Jane's mother is manipulative. She sent her household on a goose chase for a diamond bracelet that she hid. Just when I thought that Mary Jane's brother had slipped back into Crackhead Mode, Mary Jane's father finds the bracelet. The Andre saga continues, but takes a shocking turn when Mary Jane speaks at a Girls Inc. event where she sees Avery. The two make jabs while pretending not to know each other. Mary Jane throws a blow at herself and Avery by giving a speech centered around the joys of being number two. In the end Andre claims that he is filing for divorce, even though we have seen him in counseling with Avery. As usual Twitter had me on a roll in response to the show. But my favorite tweet came from @Marilyn_Munster. She proclaimed that "No side bitch formed against me shall prosper." And I second, third, fourth, and fifth that!
My Perspective: This episode revealed how little Mary Jane thinks of herself. It's unfortunate that she tried to glorify the position that she is in; not because of morality, but because of her own self esteem. The press for number one has nothing to do with society or right and wrong. The press for being the best is so that you achieve your greatest self. Lots of people claim that Being Mary Jane advocates adultery. But when Mary Jane got up and delivered her Number Two speech, she advocated mediocrity. Mary Jane has officially become the spokesperson for the woman in society who won't get the best she deserves because she is accepting the little she is given. Yesterday on Katie the writers of The Triple Package, Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld, revealed their belief that there are three reasons why certain cultures excel in success. One of those reasons was exceptionality. While I believe the couple's claims are risky, I do think they are on to something. Successful people think that they have something exceptional to offer the world. Mary Jane doesn't see herself as exceptional. Her refusal to push toward greatness has landed her a great spot in last place both professionally and personally. Maybe the reason she was kicked off of her former network has to do with her views of being number two. If you don't see the connection of Mary Jane's love life and her career, then you haven't stopped to consider the importance of self esteem and exceptionality to success. So before you go championing her perspective, remember, getting comfortable at number two can be as bad as being the one left alone. What did you think of the show stopping speech? Leave me a comment to let me know. |
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ATS MagAgainst the Stream Magazine is an urban platform. We edify our readers by finding noble, pure, and true talent and giving it a stage to flourish. While we love bragging about the folks around us, we also tackle urban issues by giving real world solutions. Archives
October 2015
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