It's been a rough week, okay? I did not perform well on my midterms, and everyone ditched school this weekend, leaving me alone, without a car, and bored as heck. I could have spent last night getting ahead in my homework, like a smart person. However, I was frustrated, bored, and unable to think about Calculus without throwing my book out the window.
So I watched a movie instead. Specifically, I watched "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." Fun fact - my first ever CD that I bought was the soundtrack to this movie. I feel so old. Do kids even use CDs anymore?
Anyways, aside from learning that early 2000s fashion was awful and deserved to die young, the movie also taught me some essential lessons about life.
1. "There is absolutely no point in being negative about things you just can't change."
In the movie, Lola (Lindsay Lohan), is forced to move from New York City into the suburbs of New Jersey. While she pines for the hustle and bustle of the city, Lola quickly accepts her new life and strives to make the best of suburbia. In the same way, we could all strive to make the best of an unpleasant situation. Instead of dreading calculus class, look forward to understanding the secrets of the universe. Or at least, don't complain about calculus too much, even though it sucks.
2. Honesty is key.
Lola attempts to make herself more interesting by fibbing about herself. However, when the truth comes out, she makes a fool of herself and nearly loses a close friend. Build friendships upon the foundation of honesty and mutual respect, or the whole relationship will collapse when met with bad weather.
3. Don't let the mean kids get you down... but don't let them win either.
When resident mean girl Carla tells Lola to dump Ella in order to fit in with the popular clique, Lola stands up for her new friend. Though Carla spends the whole movie mocking her, Lola does not back down. Lola proves herself capable of taking on a mean girl without stooping to her level; both girls gradually come to respect each other by the end of the movie. When someone behaves like a jerk to you, don't let them get to you. But don't be a jerk back either. Just move on with her life, and hopefully, they'll move on too.
4. People aren't always what they seem.
Lola finally gets to meet her lifelong crush, Stu Wolff, from her favorite band. However, Stu stumbles out of his own house, drunk beyond belief. Though Lola keeps defending him, he is unable to live up to her expectations, even admitting that he has no idea what his own music is about; he just makes up rhymes and pretends they have a dark meaning behind them. We put our heroes on pedestals, but people are often unable to live up to our ideals. We should not be surprised when people let us down; they are only as human as we are.
5. Your parents are usually right.
That last one physically hurt me to type - I hate admitting when my parents are right. Though Lola thinks her parents are the lamest people ever, and Ella lives in fear of her parents' judgment, both sets of parents act reasonably. In fact, both sets of parents are cool! Though she was convinced her parents would say no, Ella's family lets her go to the concert. Lola's father handles his daughter's arrest with good humor and even takes her a party after. We shouldn't be afraid to be open with our parents; even if we don't get what we want from them, there's usually a good reason why.
Though Lola never stops being a Teenage Drama Queen, she does grow from being indignant to suburban life to thriving in her new environment. So the next time you find yourself feeling like a fish out of water, take a thrill ride back to the early 2000s and let old Disney movies get you back to feeling fresh.
