Teenage Love Affair

Sitting there watching Taking the Stage, I had an epiphany - one of the reasons I write YA is the teen love angle. And I could say it's because of the innocence of first love or something else goopy romantical. But I'd be lying.

I like the angsty, confusion and pure schizophrenia of teenage love.

Is there ever a time in a person's life where love is so new and awesome yet so horribly confusing?

Don't say your twenties, because you know damned well what you're doing in your twenties. Most of us just fight common sense dating men who are bad for us or wrongly assuming the dude who only calls you at three a.m. is doing so because he really enjoys "holding you."

*snort*

Once we experience love for the first few times, everything else after is working to stay one step ahead of the game. And believe it or not, I don't mean that in a cynical sense. You're literally trying not to get your heart stomped even as you make moves to hand it over to someone.

But teen love is very new and curious. Willing yet cautious, but cautious because it's new, not necessarily because you expect heartbreak. Quite the opposite, I believe.

I watched tonight's ep of Taking the Stage with my heart scrambling to make a run for it. The trailers indicated that Mia would be crushing on Tyler.

Mia, nooooo!! Are you not aware he's with Jasmine, the cutest little black ballerina since Jasmine Guy fluttered across the screen in It's A Different World in one of those filmy, short ballet skirt thingies?

Lord, don't these kids gossip at all in this school?!

I prayed against all good sense that the trailer was merely building something out of nothing. Then bam, Tyler goes to a party and makes out with Mia. This after he so cutely asked Jasmine what was up between them.

::sigh::

What I loved:

- Realizing that Jasmine's best friend caught him red-lipped locked with Mia, Tyler came clean to Jasmine and asked for her forgiveness.

- He didn't just say "My bad" which for all intended purposes is not the same as "I'm sorry." But he uttered more important words. "I messed up." There you go, take responsibility, little dude.

- Jasmine was heartbroken. Now normally that would be an odd thing to love. But it was so endearing. She really likes this guy and his infidelity (?) indiscretion (?) tore her up. The pure emotion of it touched me. And no, it doesn't take much to make me cry, but whatever.

- Jasmine did NOT blame Mia. It's not Mia she was committed to, it was Tyler and her anger or disappointment was directed squarely at him. Thank god! I'm sick to death of girls who blame the "other" girl. When this age old ignorant mentality dies I will be a happy woman. Just praying it's with my daughter's generation!

Okay, but here's what I didn't love so much:

- Next week's trailer indicates that Jasmine and Mia will have a confrontation. ::groan:: Ladies, ladies, ladies. If you must confront, do so with the guilty male species person involved so he's forced to stick to ONE story. Must I teach you guys everything?

- Mia (in the trailer) says that Tyler told her that he and Jasmine weren't a couple. ::double groan and a moan:: Tyler, did you do that? Dude, no player on earth has ever successfully played two women. One of them is going to leave you and I have faith in this new gen of young women...now it's more likely that both will leave you. Ladies, Tyler's a cutie but there are other fish in the proverbial sea.

This show is refreshing because, even though we all know reality tv is more like reality-ish, I heart a show that highlights kids who are purusing a dream. There's the usual high school drama (which, confidentially speaking I adore), but already these kids know what they want from life professionally speaking, so there's a new dimension to their awareness that's very inspiring.

Taking the Stage reminds me of my own books. I don't mean that in a braggy way. But the daily trials and tribs of teen life is what I chronicle in my fiction. So watching TTS is like watching one of my books come to life.

And even though I've only spent three episodes with the real life "characters" of the show, I feel like they're my kids just like my DRB babies. I'm rooting so hard for them to make good choices.

So TTS cast, here's Miss P's wisdom, from my finger tips to your eyes:

Love is a tough gig. Dating won't be much different from the audtions you'll go onto after graduation - you'll face a lot of rejection before you get the gig you love best. So hang in there!

*mwah*