Everything

This is going to be long winded. There are a great many things I want to say here, until I actually start the Program this is going to be purely therapeutic. Also, let me say that I am typically not a hateful or judgmental person but I am going to rant. a lot.

I love Disney. GET OVER IT. I live with a bunch of hipsters and hippies who think of Disney as "the Man". Not only do I live with them all concentrated in my dorm, but I am an art major. I have come to realize that I HATE OTHER ART MAJORS (with exceptions. Everything I say that is so extreme, just assume it is generalized and there are obviously exceptions). I was in a kind of denial freshman year, thinking I would make friends at the art school. NOPE. I hate to say it but I really can't stand them. They're a bunch of idealistic kids who need to grow up and realize that that's not the way the world works. There is NOTHING wrong with earning or having money. You need it to live. It's like they think that being successful is wrong. Tell me what you think 10 years from now when you're either destitute, in a commune, or part of the system that you hate so much. Also, what ground do you really have to stand on to say all this bull when you are a student at Indiana University. A state funded institution of education, where you will get a degree in order to get a job somewhere and make money. WTF. 

Now, ever since I was accepted into the Program, I've obviously been super excited and have been talking about it a lot... I cannot tell you how many times one of these punks has come up to me and just given me hell about Disney. Telling me all these things about how Walt was a Nazi and a racist, blah blah blah blah blah. As if I've never heard it all before, out of all the research I've done and biographies I've read. OF COURSE I've heard your theories, but I think I've made it pretty clear via my actions and words what my stance is on the matter. 

Here it is in case you haven't gotten it yet: Unless you can bring Walter Elias Disney back from the grave and have him seek me out personally, throttle me by the neck, pin me against the wall and say, "Erin, I hate everyone other than white men. My movies are nothing more than racist propaganda, and have nothing to do with dreaming or love," then I AM NOT GOING TO BELIEVE IT. PERIOD. END OF STORY. You have your opinion, and I have mine. Live with it. And that goes for everything. I don't tell you how to live your life, so don't tell me how to live mine. (I kindof am right now but this is a rant on a blog so it doesn't count.)

That being said, when they say this crap to me they have this condescending way as if they're sorry to break it to a child that Santa isn't real. Like they're making me see the light and because of them, I'm going to rethink my entire life. UM. NO.

Here is a link to an article that pretty much sums up exactly how I feel about the matter: http://www.cracked.com/funny-4573-hipster/ 

Some select quotes:

The hipster rebels against social norms by paying way more attention to them than anyone else.

Every aspect of hipster culture amounts to little more than an elaborate pissing contest.

In actuality, most of the culture boils down to judging... items, activities, bands, companies, clothes, oneself, and most importantly other people.

By basing their actions on avoiding the mainstream, they are in fact guided by the mainstream.

They don't realize that they're a big joke.

*A smaller annoyance of people not understanding my love of all things Disney: not hipsters, but just people who can't comprehend loving Disney so much. All they have to say is how tired of it I'm going to get and that I will hate it by the time I'm done. I had one girl say that if she worked at Disney the best part would be getting drunk everywhere that sold alcohol and then causing mayhem... wow.

So as a result of this, I've really been a hermit lately. I hate going to my art classes too. I just feel surrounded by these people I cant stand and it drives me crazy. Like the other night I worked at this coffee shop we have at my dorm, and I was playing the new Taylor Swift CD. I got SO many scoffs. WTF is not to like about Taylor Swift? I don't get it. I don't get what's not to like about a bunch of things I like that seem to be looked down upon by everyone around me. Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, High School Musical, Nicholas Sparks books. Of course those aren't my only interests or something at all, but I do like all those things and I see nothing wrong with that. I refuse to call them "guilty pleasures". Why should I feel guilty for liking something just because mostly the people I described above think of them as basically "low art". Who makes that distinction? If I like something, I like it. And that is my business. These people seem to think its their duty to educate the masses or something. What's so wrong about being wholesome or just happy in nature? I personally just love the innocence of these things, and they make me happy.

Which leads me to my next tangent: Miley. Everyone seems to really hate her. I simply do not get it. The only thing I can come up with is that most people don't do their research before they set their opinion of her, because if they did, they would realize there is really not much not to like. Let me address some common misconceptions:

• Miley is a "slut". First of all, as a music artist, there are several parts of the entity that is Miley Cyrus, one being her image. I will give you that, her outfits have been a bit risque as of late. Personally, I think it has to do with her parents' divorce that was just made public. I think she might have been "acting out" in the way that adolescents sometimes do when confronted with confusing and adult situations. Keep in mind that she grew up with her parents and family as her rock, it's not like a lot of kids that grow up used to their parents being separated. This is completely rocking her world. I would be traumatized too. That being said, as a big fan, I know a lot about Miley, including what of her personal life she has opened up about to the press and in her book. She is ALL ABOUT her family. She grew up in a small town in Tennessee, and Christ has always played a big part in her life. She even wears a purity ring, STILL. After dating a Jonas Brother, an older underwear model, and now an Australian actor, she is still wearing the ring. Some people might say this is for publicity... except for the fact that she has shed her "good girl" image now, but STILL FREAKING WEARS IT. If she doesn't really mean it, there would be literally no point in keeping it at this point. Also, Since she is still only 17, she obviously has always lived with her parents, who have always guided her and served as her rock. She also has a little sister and little brother who are still in school. The last thing she wants is for her younger siblings to go to school and have their classmates shoving tabloids in their faces. Another point on this matter is that I have ALL of her music. Let me tell you this: there are literally ZERO sexually explicit or suggestive songs. The closest is "Who Owns My Heart" where she talks about dancing with a boy (scandal!). However, the message of the song is to think about whether you really are into him or if you're just caught up in the moment and the music. Another example of people misinterpreting her songs is "Fly On the Wall". For some reason, people think it is about her cheating on her boyfriend, when she literally says in the song, "You should know by now if you were my boyfriend, I'd be true to you. If I make a promise, I'm coming through. Don't you wish that you could see me every second of the day, that way you would have no doubt that Baby I would never stray"... yep. She's a cheater... Another song that people take the wrong way, purely by only reading the title and not listening to the words, is "Can't Be Tamed". Contrary to popular belief, this is not a song about how she is now some sort of wild child, it is about not letting a boyfriend tie you down and change who you are. Actually, that's the basic message of her entire new album. All of her songs though the various Hannah soundtracks, Breakout, Time of Our lives, and Can't Be Tamed have a good wholesome message to them. In my opinion, the lyrics that a music artist puts out are the best way to tell about them. Especially when they write their music, which brings me to...
• Miley has no talent. Though Miley is a pop artist and like most pop artists, she has a team of people helping her with her songs, especially Hannah songs, the vast majority of her actual Miley songs she has had some part in the writing process. Especially on her new album. Other than the one cover song, she has writing credit throughout the entire album. She also plays guitar, and learned piano in three days for The Last Song. Oh, and she sings live without auto tune. As far as her acting talent goes, omg people. Lighten up. First of all, 99% of what you have seen her in is HANNAH MONTANA. a Disney channel sitcom for tweens and younger. She is SUPPOSED to be exaggerated and corny. The Last Song is her first role ever not as Hannah, and it was a staring role. At the ripe old age of 16, when literally all the acting you've done is Hannah, of course you're going to run into some trouble transitioning into such a position and vastly different character, unless you're some savant. I never said she was the best actress in the world, and neither did anyone else. Give her a break. She has several more movies coming up, so I reserve judgment until later notice.
• Billy Ray is what got her Hannah. This could not be farther from the truth. Do you even know anything about how long and drawn out casting processes are, especially for Disney? Miley auditioned for over a year to get the part. She flew out to L.A. many separate times specifically to audition, and they kept telling her she was too young. Eventually (since it took so long) she didn't look too young anymore, and she made it into the final round of girls and got the part. That last time she flew out to L.A. when she got it, she got kicked off of her competitive cheer leading team, which was the only thing she truly enjoyed at the time because all of her friends had turned on her at school. So knowing that she might not even get the role, she wanted it bad enough to give up cheer leading for the chance that she would make it. After she ALREADY HAD THE ROLE, they were auditioning her with the actors for Hannah's dad when her mom said that Miley's dad would be perfect for the role. They asked her more about him and ONLY THEN did they realize he was Billy Ray Cyrus... and about that. Even if they had known, does one hit wonder country singer from the 90s who was known for his mullet really scream "the family has talent"?!?! That argument has nothing to go off of.
• Miley is an empty shell. A lot of people seem to think that Miley is this ditsy celebutante. It's simply not true. She supports many causes including To Write Love on Her Arms and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, because her friend died of cystic fibrosis a few years ago. Oops! There's another controversy. She has a tattoo on her left ribs under her breast that says "Just Breathe", which is the campaign slogan for the cystic fibrosis foundation. She even formed her own charity called Get Ur Good On where she auctions off her clothes on Ebay and encourages other young people to participate in charities and volunteer, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sad2_p1EOic

All of that said, even if you still "hate her" for whatever reason, get over it. She has done nothing to you and doesn't deserve the crap that she gets, simply for being successful. It's not like she put a gun to everyone's head that has ever bought her product. Even if you don't like her music, so what that's great you don't have to. All I'm saying is it's stupid to blindly say you "hate" her or call her names.

*The "pole dancing" incident lasted about a tenth of a second, while she was holding the mic in one hand, and balancing on the rolling cart with the other, which the media took a still image of and plastered everywhere. Watch the whole performance and tell me she was "pole dancing'.

*Probably at least 50% of teen girls take "bad" pictures of themselves. She just happens to have millions of people dying to hack into her personal things.

* If she were your average teenage girl and had dozens of adult men she didn't know constantly following her around the streets of L.A. and around her home, she would probably file charges.

Enough about Miley. I've just had that on my chest for a long time. It's not even entirely about Miley just because I'm a fan. It really bothers me that its such a common thing for people to get off on good things going down in flames.

The last thing I want to say is just how frustrating it is when people whose job it is to have the answers and help people out can't do it or act like it's a real chore. I'm having several issues with IU, my scholarships, and their compatibility with the Disney College Program. I'm in this never ending circle of people i need to contact to make sure of things because NO ONE can give me a solid answer. 

If you are still reading this, I commend you. Good day.