Pretty Little Liars – ThirtySomething Shenanigans

It’s officially a new year. Another year down in the books. Another day, another chance to start fresh. After all, isn’t that what the new year is about?

I know for some people, even myself, the first day of the new year can be so cliche for new things, new goals, new aspirations, etc. to take place. But, if not now, then when? Something about a brand new slate gives people that extra push of motivation to get going on those new “things” they’ve been after.

Now, what do I have “new” going on for me this year in 2015? Well, I’m no Miss Cleo and so I can’t predict the exact future, but I can tell you what I am hoping to have happen this year. And, well, some things I know will happen–like me turning TWENTY-FIVE in five months. Ummm, what? :-O

Anyway… With a new year upon us I am looking forward to many things. For starters, I am looking forward to going to Nashville for my third time in 3 weeks to visit my old roommate/best friend Kayla. This will be my second time flying alone but, slightly scarier this time as I have a three hour layover and a plane change. Now I’ve done a layover and plane change before but, just not by myself. EEEEK! Let’s just hope I don’t miss my next plane because I’m caught up getting another cup of coffee or watching my DVD collection of Criminal Minds. 😉 Either way I am super excited and can’t wait for a little getaway from this crazy weather we’ve been having these past few days. (Where was this snow for Christmas? I’m just saying.) I’d say if I’m lucky then it won’t snow AT ALL while I’m visiting there. When I went last February, on my last night, there was seriously the LIGHTEST amount of snow flurries EVER and Nashville had their salt trucks out like they had just had a couple of INCHES fall. It was wild to see. LOL!

On another note… Between that and until June I’ll just be working and dreaming of my next trip to Nashville or elsewhere. Come June it’ll be my 25th birthday. Still can’t believe it. When did it become so close to me being 25? Didn’t I just turn 21 yesterday? Anyway, with me turning 25 the only thing I can REALLY, TRULY look forward to is my car insurance going down. WOO HOO! Oh, and being able to rent a car. That’s cool, I guess, right? 😉

In all reality I don’t really mind turning 25 as it’s another birthday to celebrate and who doesn’t like celebrating birthday with loved ones, regardless of the age you’re turning? In my opinion, turning 25 is when to do something REALLY big. So, my something really big I would love to do is either go to Vegas (better get saving… myself AND my best friends, included 😉 ) or something smaller, Chicago, or even smaller but still super fun–overnight stay at the casino. Who knows? I still have four months to go but you know me, I am a planner and like to get the party started early. HA!

What else is happening this year… Well, nothing too major that I know of. Or can remember. At least, that I know of, yet. Hmm… Hopefully big things will happen, if not for me, then for others. But, we don’t know what the future holds so I guess we’ll wait and see.

While I don’t personally know what else is in store for me, I do have HIGH hopes for things that I would like to happen. Might sound corny and overrated but I have high hopes I’ll find a special someone to start dating. Okay, so it sort of, kind of sounds so corny but who doesn’t want to eventually want to settle down with someone and all that? I do. I know not everyone does, and that’s totally okay and awesome, but for me, I just have a feeling, a desire, a hope, to be that sparkle in someone’s eye. Okay, taking it to too far as being cheesy/corny so I’ll leave it at that. LOL! We’ll just see what fate brings me.

In other news… I am also really hoping I can find a diet/exercise regimen I can stick to. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, I HATE exercising and dieting. Like both words might as well be banned from my vocabulary. I hate them both. But, while I despise them both doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re important. They are both super important and I give major credit to those who stick to a good diet and exercise program and see actual results–have their own success story. I always tell myself I someday want to be my own success story but it’s just the motivation to get there is SERIOUSLY lacking. I like food too much, plain and simple. And, I HATE exercising. So, until I can tone down my love for food and get over my hate of exercise I have a feeling I’ll just have to deal and settle with where I am at now. But come on, who likes to settle for something such as weight, especially when you KNOW you can lose it. I need more willpower, damnit.

Anyway, enough about dieting and exercising. I really want to keep this blog going consistently this year but I just don’t know what to write about. People tell me to write what I know about but I think I can only write about and people can only read so much about….: My love for food (i.e. Chipotle), love for Starbucks, Criminal Minds, Pretty Little Liars… AND… Shoes. Yup. I mean I know there are others out there who enjoy these things as well but only for so long. I need NEW, FRESH content. So if anyone has any ideas for me I am ALL ears. 🙂

Oh, one more thing before I end this post–something that I found amusing tonight… My dad tried to use my iPad and didn’t have a clue on how to use it. Oh, I love you, dad! 🙂 Thankfully it didn’t take rocket science for him to figure it out but it was just kind of funny I thought. It made me think of how if I ever have kids that in that day and age they won’t know about what’s popular right now for my generation because by then it won’t be popular anymore. Same thing with my dad–the iPad and technology of that nature weren’t around when he was my age and so someday when I am his age I will be in his same shoes as he is now if I have kids and they’re playing with their popular gadget of the future. 😉 Just a little something I found comical, among several other things tonight. I swear, my parents, brother Tom and I should have our own reality TV show. We’re hilarious. Although, other times I am thankful there aren’t cameras around for the comical, nonsense we say. 😉

Hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start so far. Tell me, what are you hoping to happen in 2015? Big or small. Cheers to a great year!

Until next time…

– Ana

Last night was the season finale of one of my favorite shows–ABC Family’s The Fosters.

I knew right away from the previews of the show premiering that I was going to like it. What I didn’t know was just how much I was going to love the show. The story line is about a biracial lesbian couple who are parents to a son from one of the women’s previous marriages, two adopted former foster children and two additional foster kids, Jude and Callie, who they take in after Callie is released from a juvenile detention facility.

I’ll be honest, after the first episode I wasn’t sure if I would continue watching the show. Like I said, it was the preview of the overall season that really caught my attention. But, the first episode seemed like the story line could go in a somewhat uncharted territory for ABC Family and I wasn’t sure how well it was going to sit with viewers.

But, as the season went on I was so happy I stuck with it. I was first attracted to the show based on the story line. I can relate. I am an adoptee myself and the show touches on several different topics, adoption being one of them. Based on how well-written it is I would totally love to give executive producer Jennifer Lopez a big hug and say thank you! It truly is phenomenal so if you haven’t seen it yet I would highly recommend it.

The first episode of the first season is about a girl named Callie, who is released from a juvenile detention facility after serving time for getting into a physical altercation with her former foster dad. Upon her release she meets Lena Adams Foster, one of the main character moms, who agrees to let Callie (and eventually her brother, Jude) stay with her and her family temporarily (which later turns into permanently).

As the season progressed there was always some new surprise, new element, that I was pleasantly surprised it touched on. I think for some viewers the topics the show touches on might make them feel uncomfortable or like it isn’t appropriate for the ABC Family network, which I can agree to an extent, but, I love the show too much to care that much. Some topics have a more mature element and so for younger viewers they may notice and ask for clarification while for others it will go over their head. Either way, it’s up to a parent’s discretion on whether or not they want their children to watch the show, in my opinion.

The show touches on the topic of adoption, the LGBTQ community, foster care, mixed families, etc. The part that gets me every time and I enjoy is the portrayal of the character Jude, who at a young age, is exploring his sexuality and how to share with people he is gay. I enjoy it in the sense that I am rooting for him 100%. This aspect “gets me” every time because his character goes through some difficult times as he comes to terms and understands his true sexual identity and how to express it to others in hopes they’ll be accepting. I think it’s a fairly accurate and realistic portrayal of what some gay and lesbians experience in real life–it’s something people can personally relate to and/or empathize with.

Another aspect is adoption. The two characters, Mariana and Jesus, who are twin siblings who are adopted by the Fosters family. Mariana specifically deals with some things I myself have experienced (to a certain degree) in real life–although things that happened more so in the second season than the first season. In this second season Mariana deals with her peers asking her about her birth parents and if she has any desire to meet them and why/why not; and she deals with feeling like she doesn’t truly know who she is 100% because she is adopted and doesn’t know much about her biological roots. I myself have dealt with people asking me questions regarding my biological parents and while for the most part I don’t mind, at times it can be too much. Not because I am ashamed of being adopted or about my birth parents (I don’t even remember/know them) or anything else, but because I believe some aspects of adoption are simply private that I don’t feel the need to always share with people or with the whole world in general.

In the show Mariana “lies” (or just omits some truth) about information regarding her birth mother. She has met her birth mother before but it didn’t go as planned. Her birth mom is a drug addict and only wanted to see Mariana so she could get money from her. For Mariana this isn’t something she wants to tell just anyone as it is something that would most likely be frowned upon by society, by her peers. She tells her friends she doesn’t know anything about her birth mom and later her friends find out that isn’t true and asked why she lied. Mariana tells them she didn’t feel like it was something worth sharing.

This is where I somewhat relate to Mariana. Not in the sense that my birth mom was a drug addict (I don’t know anything about her) but in the sense I have people ask me questions from time to time, out of curiosity, if I know anything about my birth mom or dad or anything else. I get it’s mostly people asking because they’re curious but there are some times when I feel people ask to be nosy, rather than curious, and ask questions beyond what is normal curiosity. For the most part though people just ask me things because they’re curious. Like where I was born, how old I was when I was adopted.

For me I don’t have this life goal to know everything there is about my birth parents or siblings. That doesn’t say I am anti-finding out information about them but that’s something where if it happens then it happens that’s great, but, if it doesn’t then I guess it doesn’t, and that’s okay too. I think this surprises some people, particularly people who don’t have much experience with adoptees or adoption in general, because I think in their mind they would want to know, they would HAVE TO know. I however, do not. The family I have, that I grew up with since I was four months old IS my family–no ifs, ands or buts. This relates to the show because this is how Mariana feels too.

Later in this second season a guy named Mat takes Mariana to a Mexican culture festival and Mariana gets angry at one point thinking he only brought her to the festival because she is Mexican. Mariana knows she is Mexican but said because she didn’t grow up in the Latina community that she doesn’t have any real ties to what the festival offers. Also, in the season finale that aired last night, she meets with her birth mom again, thinking this time she really wants to meet with her and talk, only to have the meeting actually take place and Mariana going off on her mom. Mariana tells her birth mom she doesn’t know who she (Mariana) is because she didn’t raise her and that she (the birth mom, Ana) is nothing to her.

I felt bad for the mom in the show, as I think Mariana could have handled the situation better but again, this is something that happens in real life. Not all adoptees have this mind set but some do. Back to what I said above ^ the family I have IS my family. That doesn’t go to say I wrote off my biological mom or dad or siblings but, I don’t know them personally and they don’t know me. They’re strangers to me just like a random person on the street is.

Overall the show provides something for every type of person–whether they’re adopted, a member of the LGBTQ community, a foster child or parent, a divorcee or child of a divorcee, etc.–there’s something every person can enjoy about this show. Like I said earlier some of these elements may be too mature for some kids now but that doesn’t mean this won’t be something they learn about as they get older. If you haven’t watched it yet I would highly recommending watching both the first and second season and hopefully the third if/when it airs. It’s a phenomenal show and one of my favorites that I can’t get enough of–second to Pretty Little Liars. Thank you to ABC Family for giving The Fosters the chance it deserves and sticking true to your motto: “A new kind of family.” That’s exactly what The Fosters is.

For more information about The Fosters check out the links below:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262532/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Fo sters_episodes

http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/the-fosters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fosters_(2013_TV_series)

Until next time…

– Ana

Tag: Pretty Little Liars

Hello, 2015!

REVIEW: ABC Family’s ‘The Fosters’ is a new kind of family welcomed by many