It was brought to my attention today, by one of my very fashion forward colleagues, that apparently there is a 13 year old girl wondering about Chicago who puts my life to shame. Yes, I said 13. And what is it about her that makes my skin crawl and my stomach churn? Probably the fact that:
1) She’s 13 and I’m a decade older than her and let’s face it, as a woman, that makes you bitter enough.
2) That she has a very successful fashion blog.
3) That she gets paid to blog.
4) She got invited to Fashion week, Bryant Park.
5) That not only does she have more fashion sense than I did when I was 13, but more than I do now.
6) I would kill to have her closet. OMG, I think i just puked in my mouth. I can’t believe that I just said that I want a 13 year old’s closet.
7) She’s on the cover of “POP.”
8) And oh yeah…did I mention that she is 13!!!!!!!!!
I mean for christ sake, now I have to compete with a 13 year old? Do I not already have enough to worry about that I now have to worry about being beat out by someone who isn’t even out of middle school? When did this happen? When did kids start competing with adults for a piece of the “American Dream?” Is this what it has come to now? LITERALLY every man/woman/CHILD for themselves and tough s*it if your own kid happens to beat you out. Is this what happens when Liberals have finally gotten their wish? A completely equal society across the board? Which, I mean, hey, as a woman I’m all for equal rights and all that jazz. But, when it comes to a point that one day I may be doing the chores and my kid will be footing the bills, I don’t know how down with Mr./Mrs. Lib I really am.
Ok, I realize that I am being a bit dramatic here but the point is, how in the HELL am I supposed to cope with the fact that some kid who probably hasn’t even hit puberty yet is not only more successful, but also probably making more money than me? When I was 13 I was hanging out with friends, doing sports, acting in plays, and well, just being a kid. I don’t even think I ever thought it was a possibility that a kid could become an overnight sensation. I never dreamed about being whisked off to New York, Milan, or Paris to be involved in Fashion or what have you. It was different when I was a kid. And what’s even more odd, is that it wasn’t even that long ago. In ten years, one decade, it went from what do you want to be to what can you do now. It jumped from kids working up to their dream, to living their dream. Which, I guess when you think about it, doesn’t sounds like such a horrible upgrade, but then you have to ask if a childhood is even worth being had. If you were able to have the whole world at your finger tips and chose whether or not you could remain a kid, what would you chose? Would you remain a “normal” adolescent or would you chose to fly amongst the elite of the world, living out your dream at a young age? I honestly don’t know what I would pick. Actually, no, I know what I would pick. I’d keep my childhood. I think it’s essential, you know? I’d rather f up as a nobody, than f up as a somebody!
As far as Tavi’s generation is concerned, the Internet has opened up a whole world for them. They are exposed to things that I never even thought of until I moved to NY. Fashion, Culture, the Arts, it’s all an enter button away. I think the biggest fashion label that I even knew about when I was a kid was American Eagle and Abercrombie. Marc Jacobs, Prada, all of that wasn’t even a part of my vocabulary as it is Tavi’s. While she has Wireless Internet, I had Aol 1.0! A.k.a the red-headed step child of the Internet. The dial-up so slow that you could go to Europe and back in the time it took you to upload a photo. There was no Myspace, Facebook, or Skype. There was A.I.M and that was about it for most of my high school years! Tavi, on the other hand, is growing up in a world where anything she wants is just a mouse click away. Hungry? Order online. Need to write a paper? Wikipedia. Want to have a package picked up? Ups.com. I mean, we’re one short click away from being able to locate a doctor and give birth by internet.
The first time I even heard of blogging was when I was 21. 21! My Journalism teacher told us it was going to be the next big thing. That it would virtually replace newspapers and that blogging was going to become our main form of news, gossip, and all general information. Like an idiot, I totally disregarded it. I was actually somewhat perturbed by it. I didn’t want newspapers, books, or magazines to get replaced by cyber-space writers. I didn’t want to see the traditional way of getting my information fold. I liked print. I liked having that physical paper in my hand and see it written in bold letters, almost justifying itself to the world, saying, “I am Print! I am News!” I know, I’m silly, but there’s just something about having that physical piece of paper in front of you while you sip on a hot beverage to start your day off. It just seemed like the Journalism I had so looked forward to being a part of was collapsing under my feet and now I was forced to mold myself to this intangible, unglorified mode of communication. I’m being harsh, but that’s what it really felt like. I was totally crushed. Here I am, in NY, not only trying to be this great actor that for some reason I thought would happen, no worries, but now I’m trying to give myself a back up plan, which by the way, I can’t even go into right now how much it makes me ill to think that I will have to tell my Mom that she was right about having one, that now seems to be backfiring. I really think my generation got the short end of the stick. We have to adjust to EVERYTHING! Nothing is easy for us, I swear and if you disagree, please tell me because, to me, it seems as if my generation is destined to struggle.
Obviously, I have adjusted and found that blogging can be a helpful tool not only to help with career, but honestly, just to get out whatever needs to be gotten out of you. Yes, a 13 year old has one up on me, but then again, I’m taller and I can legally drink.
Tell me this girl doesn't have style?
O, btw, did I mention also that she has has her own tees?
Very Andy Warhol
I am not jealous of a 13 yr old…I am not jealous of a 13yr old…
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