Damsels in Distress: I'm done with you.

I love Disney movies. I love fairytales. I love hot boys who look good. I really love cute dresses and the long blonde hair look. But I am absolutely finished with wimpy main characters.

I'm tired of one dimensional characters who can't seem to rely on themselves. It's boring, authors. I don't want a page about how the main character looks, I want a page about how she's going to get herself out of a huge stupid love triangle-y mess that she's made. No tears. No woe is me dialogue. No crying out about how her heart can handle so much. ( I'm talking about you, Bella Swan. You disappoint me.)

And Kristen Stewart is a terrible actress. Robert Pattinson needs a cold shower. I'm tired of all of that crap. It's old, it's overdone, and too many people have complained about it by now.

And really, especially within the Young Adult genre of books, it needs to go. Too many young girls read books like Twilight or Fallen (yes I did read it, and yes I did hate every part of it.)

These books paint a unrealistic picture of what a

romantic relationship should be, versus what is real. The main character is a girl who is unsure about herself, looking for someone or something to complete her. The boy swoops in, dashingly good-looking and a little too misogynistic for my taste. He tells her that he can save her, and the girl immediately does anything for him. Fight here, fight there. She almost dies, and BOOM! He saves her, and happily ever after.

That's how all of these damn stories go.

I think it's ruining the young minds of America. Wanting to find something like Edward and Bella or Daniel and Luce have is impossible. And not just because Edward is a vampire, and Daniel is an angel. Finding that kind of relationship is impossible because they are too perfect. But 14 year old girls have no idea that they shouldn't been looking for that, because they are freshmen in high school and absolutely no clue about anything other than what to wear on picture day.

I wore the same exact shirt as my frenemy on picture day freshman year. You can see me seething with unspoken hatred at her in my picture. Also my hair was frizzy and big.

This isn't me.

Anyway, my point is, you can write a high fantasy novel about vampires or werewolves or angels and demons.

Or zombies. As long as you keep the main character as realistic as possible, it will be fine. No crazy romances ending in half breed mean babies. Write about girls that young girls can look up to.

When in doubt, read Harry Potter. (Image dedicated to Ana Lastra).

To Read, or Not to Read? And zombies.

I know. This first post seems totally cliche. Everybody knows by now that reading is clearly better for your intelligence and exercises your brain, while television turns you into a mindless

zombie.

Just kidding. But really. What if television did turn you into a zombie?

I'm not going to pretend to tell you that I know all of the facts that research has provided us over the last 30 years about watching TV vs. reading, but I do k

now why people prefer to read and how television is ruining your creativity.

You see, I love to read. A lot. I also enjoy watching television. Preferably something trashy like Cops or Dog the Bounty Hunter. But if I had to pick just one to sustain me for the rest of my life, I would give up the television in favor of books. Even though there is almost nothing better than watching Dog the bounty hunter cuss at his intended prey, mace them, and then tell him that he loves them and has a come to Jesus talk. Preferably with nachos and a coke.

But I digress. All I'm trying to say is that I do enjoy watching television, and on occasion, I think it can be productive. But nothing compares to reading. When I read, I can set up the scene in my mind. I can be the book's illustrator and I can decide what the characters look like, and how they change and grow as the book goes on. I am in charge of everything about the look and feel of the book, and I love it.

Which brings me to my next point. I know that children don't like being forced to do anything. They tend to ignore authority and rebel against advice that older people give them about liking things. But why don't schools attempt to make them understand how to love reading? Required reading doesn't cut it to me. I don't want to have to read Moby Dick and talk about the symbolism of the white whale and the evil nature of Captain Ahab. I want to read about something that I am genuinely interested in. And I know that other readers feel the same way. So while I appreciate teachers trying to force us into reading books that will increase our knowledge and that are considered classics, I think it's almost a waste of time. If we allowed students to pick books that are more suited to their tastes, I think that reading comprehension would increase in school. Especially in the younger grades.

The fact is, nobody cares about something unless they feel connected to it. Therefore, no student is going to care about reading a classic unless they are interested in it.

I think that the best option for required reading in school is more silent reading, or DEAR time. That way students can pick their own books to read, and actively engage in the story rather than sluggishly plow through it and not learn a thing.

What do you think is the best option to get students to learn? Are you worried about a zombie apocalypse? These are both extremely important questions.