It's My Prerogative

Last week I watched the Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." I'm late once again, ya'll. And for all of you that haven't seen the movie, it's basically about two girlfriends who spend the summer in Barcelona on holiday. One, Vicky, is very reserved, self-assured, and confident that she knows exactly what she wants out of life, which happens to be married to her equally level-headed, yet boring fiancee she left behind in the States. Then, there's Cristina (Scarlett Johannson) who is a beautiful (though both women are attractive-no homo), free-spirited woman that doesn't know what she wants out of life, just what she doesn't want. So, there we have two seemingly different women who are soon to find a common factor between the both of them, a Spanish painter, Juan Antonio, who they both develop feelings for. Vicky, being the rational one of the two, is very suspicious of Juan Antonio's forward nature, quickly writing him off as some "Don Juan" who wants nothing more from the two women than to warm his bed. But Cristina, the daring and might I add loose one is instantly drawn to him, eager for the opportunity to get close to the man.

Eventually, though, Vicky unexpectedly warms up to Juan Antonio and develops feelings for him after a night of indiscretion, only to keep it concealed from Cristina. Feeling guilty about betraying her fiancee and noticing the blossoming romance between Juan Antonio and Cristina, Vicky decides to put her feelings for him on the back burner. Soon after, Juan Antonio and Cristina become a couple and Cristina decides to move in with him. Their relationship is great until Juan Antonio's temperamental ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) abruptly re-enters the picture.


After the initial resentment of Maria Elena's return, Cristina becomes comfortable with her presence, and she, Maria Elena, and Juan Antonio become lovers. Meanwhile, Vicky's fiancee flies to Barcelona, convincing her to agree to an early wedding. In my opinion, she marries in an attempt to forget about Juan Antonio and because she's afraid to deviate from her "responsible" ways to pursue a man she spent only one night with who happens to also be the boyfriend of her best friend. Anyway, eventually the threesome becomes too much for Cristina, and once again in her life she decides that that type of relationship is something she doesn't want. So, they break up.

Later Vicky and Juan Antonio meet by happenstance at a party and it's almost like a second chance for her. She had the opportunity to seize the relationship she really wanted but chose not to out of fear of what she couldn't even name.

I'm getting to my point now.

By this time the summer had come to an end and both women returned home the same way they came. Vicky returned to the States a woman driven by rationale and reason. But what the viewer learned was that although Vicky knew what she really desired (Juan Antonio), she didn't go after it. On the other hand, Cristina the adventurous one, once again involved herself in a whirlwind affair only to find that it wasn't what she wanted. And I had the feeling that that type of situation would only be a re-occurrence in her life.

Conclusively, my thoughts about the film are that though I don't condone infidelity or multi-partner relationships, Vicky, especially, forwent an opportunity for true happiness and contentment. We only have one life to live, people. We might as well go for the things we really want because if we settle, we're not only being unfair to ourselves but to the people who are actually content with us. And in Cristina's case, if we don't figure out what it is in life that we want, we probably will never find it.

Think about it.

Chrisette Michele is Back . . . And I'm Late Again

Is anyone else feeling Chrisette Michele?! I know I'm maad late for just now giving her a shout out, but I had to share my excitement about this chick. To be honest, prior to late September of last year I hadn't really listened to her music at all. I knew who she was, but I couldn't call myself a fan, not by a long shot. But after that day listening to her all the way from Nashville to Huntsville, I fell in love with her voice, her style, her lyrics. Oh, and that new haircut and color she's rocking is fab:) She's just . . . cool. Her music takes me to a sunny, calm, content place. I've always appreciated artists whose music I'd still love to listen to years and years from now, like India Arie (that's a whole 'nother post in itself), and I think Chrisette is about to put herself in that category. I listened to her forthcoming album's title track "Epiphany" and I like it. More than anything though, the refrain just won't stop rerunning through my head! Though it's a slight digression from the style she's known for, I'm excited to see (listen to) how she'll reveal another side to her musical ingenuity. Her album is hitting stores March 31st. Review soon to follow . . .

Take a listen. Are you feeling it?

I'm back on the scene. Well, not really. I've been miserable these past few weeks without writing here. I haven't forgotten about you. It's just that I've been uninspired and I hate that feeling. It's been a dry spell but now I'm back forcing myself to stretch my mind and create a conversation-worthy post . . . OK, it's not working. Hopefully I'll find some inspiration during my Spring Break in ATL. I'll be back . . . I always come back. Sit tight.

What's the Point?

Tonight while sitting a basketball game I wasn't paying attention to, one poignant question had me deep in thought: What meaning does your life hold? Entranced by the this question, I couldn't quickly find an  acceptable answer to temporarily subdue my melancholy nature. At that point, the game had become completely disinteresting. Since I couldn't come up with one good meaningful activity going on in my current life (I look too deeply into things sometimes) I figured I needed to leave and at least come up with a game plan to make my life more interesting, more purposeful. I left the game at half time oblivious to others around me as I walked to my car. As I've already told you, I have a LOT of free time on my hands this semester. All of my work for my single, solitary class and my magazine internship can be done from home, so I have few reasons (currently) to leave my apartment. Starting tomorrow that's going to change, though. 

A few posts ago I came up with a list of hobbies I was interested in taking up during this semester, but due to low funds I haven't really gotten into any of them yet. I will, though because I promised you pics! 

Anyway, now that I'm completely bored with being home all day (despite my homebody nature) I'm taking advantage of this free time to do the things I've always complained that I couldn't do before. This time what I want to do won't cost me a dime. Starting tomorrow I'm going to start working out again. It's great for helping me to clear my mind, and not to mention, it helps to keep my body right;) I also found that the Huntsville Museum of Art is hosting several FREE upcoming exhibits. I really want to check them out. 

A bad case of cabin fever could have inspired this post, but I think it's perfectly healthy to stop, step back and ask yourself if the things you spend your time doing are worthwhile. Now that I have a game plan, next time I ask myself that question, I'll be able to say yes without hesitation. I hope you'll be able to say the same. 

What Happens to a Dream Deferred (Dismissed)?

Tonight while having a phone conversation with someone, he offhandedly summed up my explanation of my future career in magazine journalism as "So, you want to write about other people's lives." I was almost offended by that generalization. At the time, I just brushed it off and continued with the convo, but later when I talked to another free-spirited friend (He's a bomb music producer), I brought the statement up and asked him if I was trippin' or if what dude said was kinda rude. He believed that though dude probably wasn't trying to put me down, his statement was kind of rude. That conclusion resurrected within me the question as to why people on "steady" career tracks tend to dismiss or belittle the idea of others who aim to make a career out of interests involving the arts.

Why don't some people take us seriously? I'm not going to lie. I worry from time to time how well off I will be (considering my taste) with a career in (but not limited to) writing because generally journalism isn't a very lucrative field. On the other hand, I could write a long list of reasons why I should pursue a more "serious" career, but at the end of the day writing is what I love. It's my passion. And now that I've discovered what makes me tick, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I'm the best at it that I can possibly be.

I just want to encourage everyone that has a dream that seems ridiculous to go for it because when you're on your death bed, you'll be the only one who regrets not taking the route that truly made you happy, either because you were scared or because you cared too much about what people thought. Don't think twice about going for yours. If you want to dance, dance. If you want to sing, sing. If you want to make music, make music. If you want to paint, paint. And if you want to WRITE, do just that.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, please allow me to introduce myself:

Hello, my name is Shari Myles. I interview and write fabulous stories about famous people for a living. I'm good at it and it makes me very happy. Get over it.