I Did the Things

A few weeks ago I shared that I was preparing to teach a class for the teens at my church (more specifically that I was putting off preparing for it). Writing that all out really did help me get going on it and I managed to get a lot done for it. The class went well, as far as I could discern. I definitely didn’t have as much material as I’d hoped to have. Which was interesting because I really did put in the time for this study. I read A LOT of websites, usually multiple times so I’d fully understand the material. I watched hours and hours of videos about various topics. I read multiple books (one of them I even read twice) and boiled all the information down into easy to read powerpoint slides while making sure I had the proper notes to explain it all. My perception was that I had over an hour of material to get through. The reality was that I didn’t have even close to that much.

I was supremely disappointed since I did think I had a lot. But I realized about halfway through the class that what happened in my head was that I thought the class would organically end up being a certain percentage of my research time. So if I researched for 28 hours then I should have like 2 and a half hours worth of material. I didn’t think about it quite that perfectly but I think that’s the general idea of how I perceived what would happen. This thought was compounded by the fact that nearly every speech I gave in high school or college ran long. So I simply assumed that I would have plenty.

I probably didn’t account for how quickly I speak and I didn’t really account for the fact that while my research took many hours, summing it up does not take that long. Which I suppose I should’ve realized since it’s something I’ve done for a long time. I can take a full length novel and give a decent summary in a page or two. So taking literally hundreds of pages of information and boiling them down to about 30 minutes, shouldn’t have been surprising to me.

This is the first time I’ve really taught a class and honestly, I loved it. It was a very small group, about six teens, which was good because I was still ridiculously nervous about it. But even before we started, I was able to talk to some of the kids who got there early and was able to ask some questions and gauge where they were. I was surprised at how much they already knew about some of the philosophies I discussed. I went into this knowing I was talking to students who mostly grew up going to church and had spent most of that time in a solid, Bible believing church. So I wasn’t necessarily floored that they were able to bring up a lot of good refutations for the inconsistencies in these topics but I was very encouraged by it. They asked a lot of good questions and I was able to answer them or explain they were things we’d talk about in the coming weeks. They gave me a few topics I hadn’t originally planned on going in depth with so that will guide my research this week.

At this point, I’m scrambling for what to do next. I know what topics I’m covering next week but I have a lot of work to do for it. After just one week of teaching I have a lot more respect for those who do this regularly. I have a very short time to prepare for next week and while I know it’s taking me longer to do these things because I’m not practiced in them, it’s still wild to think that there are people around me who do this EVERY week. I spent over a month just vaguely preparing for this class and I got one week of material out of it. Which is terrifying as I embark on getting another week of material with only 6 days in which to make it.

So that’s where I am. I’m gonna be honest and say that my posts for this month might be a little short or a little rushed. I’m going to be doing my best. I just have a lot going on and, unfortunately, hit the edge of prepared for future posts this week. I’m glad to be doing this class and I’m glad to be busy and I’m glad to have this blog where I can talk to all of you readers about this stuff. I can get this done, through prayer and study, I can do it. It’s just that I need to manage my time REALLY well over the next six days. I’ll need to get myself going on this and I can’t slow down. It’s intimidating but also a little invigorating? I’m excited even though at the same time I’m a little overwhelmed.

Pray for me as I continue in this class. I look forward to more discussions and more class time.

The Vampire Diaries: Season One Review

It’s actually a little outside my normal repertoire to write reviews (although I’ve been stepping into it a bit more recently) because I’m used to writing analysis. The difference between the two is that with analysis you assume your audience has experienced the things you’re analyzing. But with a review, at least spoiler free ones, I can’t just casually bring up major plot points and talk about how they work with the characters and story. So I guess that’s just a little caveat from me as you read this that I’m not super experienced in writing reviews yet but I hope to get better!

Anyway, on to the review. Enjoy.

This will be a spoiler free review of the first season of The Vampire Diaries, which is a CW show that ran from 2009-2017. It’s a supernatural drama that focuses on our main girl, Elena, and two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon. Despite their true ages ranging from 20-32 at the time of filming, the producers of the show really want me to believe that these actors are average high-schoolers. (They are not convincing me, like, at all.)

The pilot episode has a few things that don’t carry on to the rest of the show but that’s pretty normal. I actually have the pilot episode playing on my phone as I type this and I realized that the “diary” aspect of the show is essentially dropped entirely by the end of the season. Both Elena and Stefan keep journals for a while but I didn’t even notice when they stopped.

The vampires in the show are pretty standard. They are super fast, super strong, and obviously, super hot. Because a teen drama cannot exist without a hot love interest… or two. Or even three sometimes, who cares? Throw in six more! Okay, I jest, but it’s a teen drama. If you watch it, expect it to be a teen drama. For transparency, I haven’t watched a ton of teen dramas or any TV show dramas in general. But I’ve seen a few and I think Vampire Diaries is shaping up to be a pretty good one.

Should I rate aspects of the show? Is that a thing that real reviewers do?

Dialogue: 8/10

There are some GREAT one-liners in this show. Some very straightforward talks and fun conversations. But there are still a lot of lines that are too on-the-nose or a bit clunky. Overall decent.

Realism: 7/10

Obviously, vampires aren’t real. But the supernatural elements are pretty realistic as far as they go. I can suspend my disbelief for the way the world is built. But one thing to prepare yourself for if you watch this is injuries don’t matter. Unless they do. Because sometimes a vampire bite to the neck is instant death but other times a character could have half their blood drained and just walk it off like nothing. I think the only thing making the final decision on how serious an injury is in this show is the plot.

Character Development: 8/10

This category surprised me, because the dramas I have seen lack substance in this area in particular. Characters tend to act the way the plot demands, not how they might realistically behave. While The Vampire Diaries has these moments, they were few and far between. Even side characters acted reasonably, for the most part. One character in particular stands out as having the most development but I’ll let you figure out who that is on your own.

The D R A M A: 8/10

I’m rating this high because my biggest pet peeve in dramas is overly manufactured drama. That’s the kind of drama that feels fake even within the confines of the story. In this show, characters actually talk to each other. They treat each other like real people instead of stereotypes and plot points. I like that. They also don’t forget things too much. Sometimes, if a plot point becomes too difficult to deal with, writers will just have the characters forget about it or at least some of it so it’s easier to fix. There’s definitely some concepts that fall off radar as the season progresses but I can’t think of any story parts that are suddenly ignored. This category is only an 8 because I still couldn’t always keep track of when Stefan and Elena were broken up or together.

I guess I should rate the story: 8/10

The plot is coherent and well put together. I think this relates back to the characters because the story feels character driven. It’s nice. I like that.

Okay, I think that was enough arbitrary categories by which to judge this show. I would recommend this show to people who already like dramas and to anyone who likes supernatural/teen dramas specifically. If you’ve already seen the show (considering I’m roughly 3 years late it’s likely some of you have) let me know your thoughts! I’m pretty excited to keep going with the series and see what they do next!

Teenagers Are People Too

When I was but a wee baby teenager I had a realization that adults have no idea what it’s like to be a teen. Even at the time I didn’t think it was their fault, they had just forgotten. It’s not like they were actively trying to make my life terrible, they were just doing what they thought was best for me and themselves. In all honesty, it probably was the best thing for me at the time. But it was still frustrating.

I said to myself at 16 that I would never let myself forget what it was like to be a teenager. No matter what happened, I would refuse to treat teens like children.

Now that I’m 23 I’ve realized something:

TEENS ARE STILL TOTALLY CHILDREN.

They make stupid decisions and they’re all wrapped up in their own little worlds. They lack perspective more than anything else.

BUT

I still refuse to treat them like children. Because someone has to help them into adulthood and I can tell that plenty of adults are not doing that. When a teenager walks up to my register at work I give them all the same information I would give an adult. I treat them with the same courtesy and have the same expectations of decorum for them as I do for an adult.

Not to say I advocate throwing teens into full on adulthood or that they should be left with no supervision all the time. I just think if you’re telling someone they should be as responsible as an adult then maybe you should also give them opportunity to exercise that responsibility. There are plenty of responsible teens and also plenty of irresponsible teens. But there are plenty of teens who just want a chance to prove themselves.

Teens lack the perspective of adults and that’s pretty much fine. But it doesn’t make their perspective necessarily wrong. A child is not wrong because they don’t understand how to file taxes or because they haven’t struggled to pay medical bills. When they pitch a fit over their favorite shirt being in the wash it’s because they’re still learning how to experience life. This may be just a blip on your radar but to them it’s a life changing event.

So it is also that teens are still learning how to experience life. They’re still gaining understanding and having to work through plenty of problems on their own. Don’t just discount them as unproductive because they’re not as knowledgeable of the world as you are. You have a few years on them.

Sometimes it blows my mind how different people are. My siblings and I grew up in the same house, raised by the same parents, yet we are each very different individuals. Every person you ever meet, regardless of age, is experiencing life differently than you are. Sure there are some similarities across the board and we share the same feelings with others at times. But we are each human and each deserve respect.

I suppose that’s what all this comes down to: respecting others, regardless of age. If you respect someone, you don’t laugh at their feelings even if you think they’re overreacting. Instead of being obnoxious about it you gently correct or offer your own thoughts on the situation. If you’re like me, you’re pretty straightforward about the whole thing but still respectful.

In general, I try to extend respect to everyone and only take it away if they don’t deserve it. Teens may be children but they’re not necessarily stupid or inherently obnoxious just for being young. And neither is any young adult either. Age does not define how much respect should be extended to a person. Even if you don’t remember what it was like to be 16, you probably remember that no one seemed to take you seriously. Even if you don’t remember what it was like to be 23, you probably remember at least one time where you were seen as less competent because you were young.

As a rule, don’t judge a teenager for being a teenager. They have a lot to contribute to the world and it would be a shame for us to lose the next Nobel Prize winner because someone refused to listen to a person just because they were young.