:: Momentary Flash of Genius ::
What's in this section?
These are little grains of genius that strike at unexpected moments. Keep in mind that what I consider "genius" may not be quite up to snuff with what *you* consider genius!
"How to Bond With Your Teen" - a seminar
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Feeling that you just don’t understand that teenager (your child, your roommate, or your underaged girlfriend) in your life? I can help!
It all begins with the MTV VMAs. I know I know, the MTV Video Music Awards are such a, well…(you fill in the blank) thing – how can they possibly help?
As you may or may not know, my roommate is about 19 years old and a performing arts major who wants to work on Broadway. I was afraid that we’d have nothing to talk about. When we do talk, it’s great. We’re very friendly and such, but it’s easy to become UNeasy when you don’t interact for awhile. In fact, we have completely opposite schedules. She has morning/day classes and I have night classes and engagements, so I don’t get up til late and stay up all night. By the time I get home, she’s already in bed. She also leaves earlier than I wake up.
I was trying to find a non-awkward way of spending time to bond a little. I was thinking about inviting her out to dinner or something. Well, as it turns out the VMAs were a great bonding moment for us. There were so many strange acts and antics that we had a lot to comment and talk about. I had cooked earlier while she was asleep, so I offered her some of my humble humble and I mean really humble food. So we had dinner together after all. Voila! Instant bonding over food and pop culture! You can’t get much more authentic than that!
Good stuff, the VMAs. Really, parents, roommates, lecherous older boyfriends, next time you want to bond with your teen and see what’s going on in their lives, sit down and watch the VMAs with them. It’ll be an eye-opening experience.