Kicked Out K's ~ Life Lessons from Reality Television ~ A to Z Blog Challenge

When I began thinking about the A to Z challenge, I thought for a long time about what I wanted to write. I tried to think of ways to find neat things about the English language with each letter. And then I thought, what if that letter didn’t exist? So I am doing an abbreviated version of my Life Lessons series that I normally do on Fridays, but without using the letter of the day. What would life be like without that letter? Let’s find out...

I am a closet fan of reality television... well, maybe not so closeted anymore. Mostly I watch competition shows such as The Voice and So You... well, that dancing show on the same station as American Idol. Sometimes I watch the dating shows along the lines of the Bachelor where you see all the “behind the scenes” drama.

Part of the reason I enjoy them is the glimpse they give into human nature. No, I don’t believe all of the girls America loves to hate are as bad as editing shows them to be, but there are elements of authenticity mixed in with the contrived shenanigans. It’s also interesting to see the results of voting based competition shows.

Whenever people get into conversations about reality television, they start discussing their favorites, who they want to succeed and who they hope crashes and burns. Very rarely does anyone actually pull for the “best” one, the one that seems to be the expected front runner, the one reviewers and critics claim as the top contestant.

Why is that? I believe it is the internal desire we all have to be original. The anti-bandwagon mentality permeates out society. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard someone say “I was a fan until everyone else started listening to them” in relation to a band that hits it big. 

When we do this we do a disservice to the artist and to ourselves. We cheat ourselves of the enjoyment of watching someone succeed in something they do well and enjoying the excellent fruits of their labor. In addition someone with true potential is actually penalized for it. Yet at the same time we want to be incredibly successful in our own rite as well.

What would happen if we put aside our fear of what other people thought of our choices and just formed our own opinions? I believe we’d all find life more enjoyable.

When was the last time you chose to have a preference for or rejected something because of what other people would believe about you because of the choice?

So hard to do this post without using the word 'like'! Check out other A to Z participants using the link below. 

On a side note, you can win a copy of Naomi Rawling's new book by leaving a comment on her interview over on Regency Reflections. Click here to leave a comment and enter!