The Real World

Occasionally MTV creates a show so addicting that it causes people neglect their jobs, children, spouses, and even personal hygiene just so they don't miss a minute of the action. Most recently they've had this success with the 16 & Pregnant/Teen Mom franchise and of course who could forget Snooki & friends on the Jersey Shore. All of these fantastically salacious shows would never have come to be if it were not for the 1st reality series that paved the way for party animals, pregnant teens, and Kardashians everywhere, The Real World. The series started in 1992 and the world has never been the same. They started out in New York with 7 strangers and used the same formula for each season but put the cast in a different city and each season was better than the last.....well at least for the first 10 seasons because let's face it it's been pretty sub par ever since. I don't care to remember how much of my teens & 20's I've wasted watching endless reruns of this show but I was reminded of those special times of laziness when MTV blessed me with a marathon of past Real World season's this weekend.

The funny thing about the Real World is that it bears no resemblance to reality at all. I do believe that they first few seasons were pretty real because they hadn't done it before. They made sure every race, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation was properly represented and then they turned on the cameras to see how things would play out. The first few seasons challenged people's political and religious beliefs and even broke some racial barriers. The show has since turned into a 8 week audition for VH-1's Celebrity Rehab (another show that was amazingly delicious for the 1st season and then just sad after that). Now that people know they type of characters they like to cast and the fame that can come from it, people are actually making a career out of becoming reality tv stars which takes the "realness" out of the show but you know I still watch it religiously.

Regardless of how ridiculous the show has become it has served up some great moments in reality tv history. There was of course Tami who had her mouth wired shut in order to lose weight and then was drug through the house by a towel screaming sexual harassment. She's now an ex-basketball wife proving their is life after the Real World. Ruthie left her mark on the franchise by being the first admitting alcoholic. I believe Trishelle blessed us with our first Real World pregnancy scare after hooking up with Steven sans condoms. Flora and Melissa from the Miami season...enough said. And my all time favorite the slap heard round the world when Steven slaps Irene across the face for calling him gay. Seattle was one of my favorite seasons because David dated Kira the casting director who also happened to be African-American and she gave up her job just to be with him. That was of course a foolish decision on her part but I loved seeing interracial couples on television. I also loved that season because Janet made smoking look really cool. If you really want to know London was my favorite because it had Jay Frank and I was in love with his sensitivity and general ambivalence. I was 13 don't judge me.

I must admit that a part of me would have loved to have some type of Real World experience in my 20's. When I lay in bed at night fearful of becoming my mother, it would be nice to have a memory of spending a summer in a tricked out house with 6 gorgeous roommates pretending to work for a food stipend, and making a series of bad decisions while drinking grey goose straight out of the bottle. Sure it may cause a problem if any future potential employers were to google me before deciding to extend a hire offer but maybe it would afford me free appetizers at Chili's if someone on the waitstaff were to remember me.

This week's obsession are these beautiful satin cap toe pumps from J.Crew. These scream adult girliness to me so naturally I had to have them. I will admit that I originally purchased them at only 15% off out of fear that they would sell out. It turns out that the size I ordered was too snug so I return them and when I went to order the next size up I found that they had been marked down 25% and then I got an additional 30% off of that price because they were running a promotion. I believe that was God letting me know that I needed them. These beauties are sitting in my closet patiently awaiting a proper spring day so that they can be seen in all their glory.