I watch a lot of random TV And by random I mean, all over the spectrum. Some nights, I'm indulged in "American Pickers" with my dad - wishing it was acceptable to be a hoarder - and other nights, I can't stop watching the car crash that is "Jersey Shore" and suddenly finding myself craving Jagermeister and Red Bull.
I like to consider this "culturing" myself within the television realm, others may have a different opinion.
I've always been the type of person who keeps up with trending things, including TV I'll always want to check out a show after hearing some hype about it just to say, "Oh yeah, I watched that."
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So, after MTV bombarded me with commericals about "Awkward." last year, I was immediately hooked. First of all, the title couldn't be better. This comedic show - I guess you could call it "drama" - is based on the life of Jenna Hamilton, who's life is a series of very unfortunate events. The show starts out with Jenna breaking her arm, but it looks like a suicide attempt. Jenna takes pain relievers out of her bathroom cabinet, slips in her bathroom and sends the pills flying everywhere. The entire school is talking about this and Jenna is sent to a counselor, Valerie Marks, who is anything but what you would expect from a guidance counselor.
There are numerous occurrences where the show lives up to it's title, including on Jenna's birthday where she not only fails her driver's test, but the show's bully, Sadie Saxton, spills a coffee drink on Jenna in front of the entire school, ending the meeting with her trademark phrase, "You're welcome." (That's my favorite line from Sadie, but I'm still pretty sure I'd try and beat her up if she went to high school with me).
Sadie's little appearances throughout the show are some of my favorites too because she always insults Jenna, whether she calls her a "suicidal slut," or tells her that her mom should have aborted her (OK, so that may have went a little too far, but it just shows how downright ROTTEN Sadie is).
Several other things factor into Jenna's life, including the fact that she lost her virginity to Matty McKibben - only the school's hottest guy - and he doesn't want anyone to know. She's in love with him and is constantly second- and-third-guessing herself about interactions with him throughout the show. In one episode, Jenna writes in her blog (which she thinks no one reads) about the eight times Matty has looked at her since school started and as an audience, we get a visual of each and every one of these glances. Jenna has the inside mushy-gushy high school crush feelings, but keeps it completely cool on the outside.
That's why I love this show. Jenna is a plain Jane. They don't dress the character in trendy clothing, she doesn't really wear makeup and 99 percent of the time, she has her hair in a low ponytail. I'd be friends with her. And I'm pretty sure that's what MTV was aiming for when they started this show. The show is seriously funny. You can't help but laugh at the awkward things that happen to Jenna. But she still keeps it surprisingly cool. And I completely forget the fact that this is set in high school and I'm two years out of college. I identify with Jenna, I root for her, I want her to succeed.
But, as with most things in my life, I have a hate side for this show as well. There's this little problem of ... Jenna's mom. I CANNOT STAND HER. She's a hot mom, calls herself a "M.I.L.F.," (I'll let you Urban Dictionary that one) and supplies Jenna with alcohol and sometimes drugs to aide in making her "cool." Lacey Hamilton cannot stand the fact that her daughter is not popular, is not a cheerleader and at every chance she gets, she tries to mold her into a clone. Surprisingly, Jenna goes along with most of mom's ploys to make her cool, but I guess that just plays into the "awkwardness."
Part of me thinks MTV has quite large balls for showing this side of teenagers. The whole, sex, drugs and partying aspect of high school life is something that has been brushed under the rug for a while. The public was in an uproar over MTV's "Skins," which showed, once again, teenagers engaging in a lifestyle that was not exactly role model material. So, what's so different about "Awkward."? Maybe it's MTV's way of saying, hey, this is how teenagers are, get used to it. I can't help but frown upon that message as these shows are mixed in with "Live Above the Influence" commercials. Mixed messages, anyone? No wonder today's youth is so crazy!
As for me, I can't wait to see what the second season of "Awkward." has in store for Jenna. I love her. And, just saying, I really hope she ends up with Matty McKibben. But I guess I'll have to keep watching along with most of America as Jenna wades through high school life.
You can catch "Awkward." at 10:30 p.m. Thursday nights on MTV, right after that little gem of a show, "Snooki and JWoww."
