Life should be like the movies

Is it wrong of me to hate the movie Singles for lying to me about the way my 20’s would be?

Ah, I don’t really hate the movie. Quite the contrary, I think it’s a fun movie. Great actors, great setting, great soundtrack. But horribly disillusioning for the young woman in the midst of her senior year of high school, wondering what to expect next out of life, hoping that things don’t just come crashing to halt after the principal declares “I present to you the Dixon High School graduating class of 1993!”

I used to watch Singles a lot when I first got out of high school. I thought that it would be so cool to get my degree and move to Seattle and be hip and artsy and have this amazing life with quirky people who were just as weird as I. Of course, reality found its way in by the time I’d hit 25. I knew then that my life would never be that cool, and I needed to just accept things for how they were.

Still, I can’t help but watch that movie once in a while and get all wistful and wonder how things could have been if I’d only made a few different choices in life. But who doesn’t do that at some point? Seriously, I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t taken a moment to look back on their life and go “oh, but if I’d made that choice instead of this one” and then imagine what differences it would have made.

At any rate, I’m still annoyed that my 20’s didn’t turn out to be this amazing earth-shattering revelation. But I can’t say I’m thoroughly disappointed with my life either. It may not be a blockbuster summer flick, but it’s no high school textbook either. And on the bright side, at least Reality Bites came out after I went through that period of my life. Otherwise I probably would have hung myself. Jesus.

On a side note: When I watch Singles, I’m reminded of the fact that for some random reason, Kyra Sedgwick reminds me of Jenny. I think it’s a combination of her beauty, wit, and soulfulness. OK, I’m weird. Sue me.