Resolutions

I should have written one of those "Looking back at 2008" or "Looking ahead at 2009" posts at least two days ago. But unfortunately, now that college apps are done, I don't plan on being very reflective for at least a month. Sure, maybe 2008 stunk for some people, with the economic woes and whatnot. But I think I got to know my friends a lot better in 2008 than before.

The dinner party at Rouge's house was fairly interesting. Especially that 20/20 program on ABC. That was probably the most bizarre program I have ever seen. Apparently the theme that evening was childbirth and parenting, and basically they packed the weirdest things you've never cared to know about childbirth/parenting into one hour of television.

Want to know what was on the program? First, they talked about how childbirth isn't earthshattering painful for everybody, because apparently some women learn how to orgasm during the process. ("It's basically the same; you have something coming out one way, and in the other situation, you have something coming in the other way!") Then, they featured these childrenless women who spend around 1400 dollars on a baby doll, which they care for like a normal baby by changing its unsoiled diapers every few hours, taking it out for walks in public, and buying baby clothes for it.

Which I fail to understand, because 1) The woman they featured said she tossed out the idea of adopting because it cost too much money -- and then you look behind her and you see five of those freakish dolls behind her, 2) This unfortunately reminds me of G, who said that babies are cute until they turn about 2 years old and start acting really annoying... so do these women buy these dolls so that they never have to deal with barf, whining, pee, poo, and the other little joys of motherhood?, and 3) MY GOD THEY'RE BAKING THE DOLL!!!!

Then they moved on to women who were still breastfeeding children who had already grown teeth -- like one woman who was still breastfeeding her eight-year-old son. Then they focused on surrogate mothers -- one woman is paid to go through the pregnancy and such. This one I didn't find as strange, because I've already heard about this happening before. And I think there was some other section, but I don't really remember because by then my eyes were dead tired.

Anyways. Disturbing as it was, that program was really fun to make fun of.

Personally, I can't even contemplate the idea of having a kid at this age. If you think about it, if I had been born a couple centuries earlier, I'd probably already be wed off and already raising children by now. And that I can't even imagine.

Then I think about Bristol Palin, who just gave birth to a son. I'm not going to get into anything political or potentially nasty, but whenever I hear about her, all I can think is that she's practically the same age as me. Obviously she didn't plan to be pregnant, but that doesn't matter -- what matters is if she's ready to be a mother. If she's anything like most of the girls at my school, me included, she's going to have to grow up fast.