Saving Face

     In the paraphrased words of Oprah... whatever you do as a celebrity is automatically magnetized. If you are a philanthropist then you become a super philanthropist.
    In light of all the recent scandals I feel that something should be said about the power of "saving face." Which is defined by Urban Dictionary as... 

1.	save face
	When one realizes their blunder and uses a tactic to try & cover up their mistake. Whether it works or not is to be determined by the situation.

    It can also be used in a situation where someone is in an unfortunate situation where they will become the subject of gossip. They would attempt to save face by taking themselves out of the spotlight for a while in order to make the gossip less news worthy. 

    Now, obviously any scandal can fall into this category from affairs to taking drugs to making up a girlfriend. For celebrities they have managers and PR people to help them save face, but for the rest of us we have our family and friends to see us through these dark times.
  
   The importance of saving face is perhaps a southern tradition simply because come Sunday morning no matter what happened EVERYONE had better be in church. Forcing us to face the public and our scandal. If Bobby Joe was caught by the lake with Suzy Q by Martha Ann's sister (his soon to be sister-in-law) all four parties will be in church acting friendly on Sunday whether they want to or not. 

    Saving face is a tradition I personally do not want to see die. It keeps a sense of formality in play. Also, it will keep gossips at bay if you don't give them anything to talk about. 

In the words of Miranda Lambert

 "... get a grip and bite your lip just to save a little face...powder your nose, paint your toes, line your lips and keep them closed. Cross your legs and dot your I's and never let them see you cry."

No truer or better words could be said about the situation. 

Tired of Waiting

     Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and any other holiday that you might celebrate that happens this time of the year. I apologize for being away for so long, I've just had a lot going on. I have roughly a week before school starts back, and I still have to finish my grad school stuff. Plus my internship starts Monday. Needless to say it's a pretty stressful time for me.
    
     For 21 years now I've lived in the South, and one thing that withstands the test of time down here (besides sweet tea) is tradition. People wonder why the South is the last to catch on to any change it's because the South refuses to let go of our traditions. 
    These traditions are part of who we are. These traditions are "yes ma'am and no sir." Saying "y'all" when it's just one person. It's going to a friends house and immediately being asked to stay for supper. Fried okra, fried squash, fried green tomatoes, and pretty much anything fried. Where men open doors for you, and your grandmother is your best friend and worse enemy. But the tradition that conflicts me the most is having to let the guy run the relationship. 
     I am fine with stay at home moms and men being the primary bread winner. That has nothing to do with what I am saying. This is more about the beginnings of a relationship. The courting stage if you will.  What I am not fine with however is the years of thinking it was my fault that boys didn't like me. This is all going to sound very He's Just Not That Into You and that's because it is. No truer book/movie has ever been written. 
    I have officially been single a year after being in a 5-ish year relationship. While I battle freedom and loneliness daily I realize that girls are dumb. I am dumb. 
     I'm mean to the guys I like and flirt with the ones I could never see myself dating. I take for granted what little affection I'm shown and brush it off like it's a waste of my time. Like I said, dumb. All because tradition says it's done that way. All because movies and books put these unrealistic ideas in our heads. 

   Well I want to start a new tradition, consider it one of my New Year's resolutions: If I like a guy, I ask him out. I'm tired of waiting around, playing games, until the guy gets the message and asks me out. It doesn't and shouldn't have to be that hard. 

                              2013

 the year I start growing up, cleaning up, and un-              complicating my life.