My Life As Liz
The MTV show My Life as Liz is one of my favorites. Yes, it is obviously scripted. Yes, it may try too hard to be "hipster," and Liz Lee, the show's protagonist, may try too hard to be lame. However, there's this undeniable spirit of individuality that courses through the show. All the characters have their own thing going on, but especially Liz.
The girl's got spunk. She is who she is. She's weird, she's crazy, she's colorful, she's original. She embraces her angle on life. She jumps over spilled trash cans instead of walking around them. She gets up and performs her music instead of singing it in the shower. She goes to New York for college instead of staying near her hometown of Burleson, TX.
That's another thing- Liz has struggled with fitting in everywhere she has gone, and I can relate to that. When going to high school in Burleson, Liz thought no one got her but her "nerd herd," a group of Star Wars-loving goofballs. The culture at her school was very small town Abercrombie and Fitch, while Liz would have been better classified as "indie." While the majority of her classmates was meeting up at the local mall, Liz was ambling around in dusty old thrift shops, looking for her next statement piece.
So, in an attempt to find more people like her, she decided to go to college in New York City. There, she expected to find oodles of art nerds and Star Wars fans. However, what she found was another place she didn't fit in. This time, instead of being ostracized by the mall rats, she was ostracized by the same people she thought would embrace her, the art nerds.
When I watch her show, I can't help but think, "Welcome to my life."
I grew up in Milwaukee, WI, a small, liberal, largely middle-class city located along the coast of Lake Michigan. Most of my friends outfitted themselves in thrift shop finds and borrowed items. However, I was all about the runways. I craved sophistication and a cosmopolitan lifestyle. So, I left what I knew in Milwaukee and headed for Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.
When I got here, I was so excited to find more people "like" me; however, all I found was more people I was not like. Instead of finally feeling accepted, moving away made me feel even more confused. Since I wasn't sure I liked what I had found in Dallas, and I wasn't sure the culture of Milwaukee was for me... Where do I fit in?
Of course, I've found some amazing friends at SMU now, friends I know I will keep for life. However, a week does not pass without my feeling insecure about fitting in here.
Then I realized, that's life. No matter where I move or who I choose to hang out with, I will struggle with "fitting in." It's not that I have special weirdo problems, it's that everyone, no matter how "cool" they are, struggles with fitting in. Interesting thought. Even President Obama feels awkward sometimes around foreign leaders sharing an inside joke he doesn't understand.
So, thank you, Liz Lee, for showing me that I'm not an anomaly. I am me.
