A Cynical Post About How TV Gives Us False Expectations About Friendship, People Only Care About People Who Die Young, and Spotify Having Too Many Commercials

I've been feeling cynical lately. Really cynical. I keep trying to write but every time I go to write they just become cynical pieces on why TV gives us false expectations of friendship, people only care about people who die young, and spotify having too many commercials. So I gave up and went with it.

Television gives a false depiction of friendship. I am an avid Netflixer, TV watcher, media absorber. Sometimes I think of my life as a TV show. It would probably get terrible rating. One thing I’ve noticed is that every TV character has is a great group of friends. Even the scummiest, the most socially stunted, the weirdest people have scummy, socially stunted, weird people to rally around them. If a character is in trouble everyone in their inner circle drops everything in their lives to help. Every Friday night they’re in a bar laughing and discussing their lives. When there is a fight, they resolve their issues by the end of the episode, because they're not friends, they're family, and nothing can tear them apart. Then there is real life. People fight, and don’t make up by the end of the episode. People don’t rally, they give up. People come in and out of life so easily. Friendship is never as simple as it’s shown on TV. You don’t instantly connect with people. It takes a lot more work. People have busier lives and multiple groups and higher priorities than one singular ensemble cast.

Recently a girl in my class passed away in a skiing accident. She was young, successful, well liked. News outlets all over Ohio are running her story. The president of her university tweeted his condolences. When I was in high school, my senior English teacher died of a brain aneurysm. It was entirely unexpected. They had to have 3 calling hours to accommodate all of the people who wanted to pay their respects. All these young people with so many prospects, so many people to care about them. Then there are older people, who are expected to die. No one cares when they die. Half of them don’t even have services. They run a nice short note in the local paper so all the other old people can see which classmates have passed. I don’t want to sound like I am belittling my classmate, because I’m not. Her death is a loss for my schoolmates, and for her family. But, they say only the good die young, I say only the young die remembered.

Why are there so many commercials on Spotify lately? Every three songs there are three commercials. It seems excessive.

Oh, and I have another Shirali pic.

~Noelle