“Gossip Girl” has come to an end just as my 15-year-old daughter Meg’s life as an NYC high school student has begun—and I’m glad.
Although during the run of the show she knew who all the starlets were, who they were dating, and what they were wearing, Meg never became obsessed with the saga. I’m pretty sure she won’t be seeking out the early episodes on Netflix, just as there won’t be time with “The Carrie Diaries” on the horizon or “Pretty Little Liars” as it makes its triumphant return.
Therefore I won’t have to explain why she doesn’t go to school in a limo nor have a real (or even fake) Louis Vuitton book bag. No comparisons between that ultra-privileged Manhattan life lived by a small segment of our city to the one she knows will be made; or how hers is the more typical one. She babysits, uses her MetroCard to get to school, and shops at H&M, Forever 21, and Aeropostale. Besides singing, socializing, and a passing interest in sports, she does like keeping abreast of celebs she developed girl-crushes on back when they were in movies/shows like “Freaky Friday,” “What A Girl Wants,” “Wizards of Waverly Place,” and the mother of all Disney/Nickelodeon fare: “Hannah Montana.” And that, I’m afraid, is where the problems arise.
As Meg has matured, so have her teen idols—some not for the better. And the challenge in 2012 was to try to turn the trials and tribulations and ubiquitous gossip of the young and celebrated into teachable moments.
RUMOR LESSON 1: Amanda falls from grace.
Believe it or not, Lindsay Lohan didn’t invent being a hot mess, nor will she be the last of her kind. Case in point: Amanda Bynes. The little girl who became the break out star of Nickelodeon’s “All That,” so much so that she merited her own show on the channel before leaving for a promising film career, has taken a turn for the worse. I went with the tried and true of teachable moments: No matter how glamorous someone else’s life looks from the outside, you never really know what’s going on. Clearly money and fame don’t buy good sense, dignity, nor happiness, as no one is happy standing in front of a judge begging for probation instead of jail time for a hit-and-run.
RUMOR LESSON 2: Justin on the prowl at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
I could have gone the “all men are dogs” route, but didn’t feel like being a modern day Miss Havisham, so instead I chose the “there are plenty of fish in the sea” truism. Going on instinct, not inside info, I assured my daughter that any day now we’d see the “Selena After Justin” story on E! with details of her new relationships, as well. And I advised her that it’s a fact of life: People break up. When it happens you need to get out and socialize, and be open to meeting people, as your former love interest will probably be doing the same.
RUMOR LESSON 3: Miley gets a platinum pixie cut and starts strutting in leather.
The truth is, I think Miley wanted to distance herself from Hannah the way someone having a bad hair day runs from a camera. Cyrus is changing her image, experimenting, and showing the world she’s ready to be considered for more grown-up roles. I explained to Meg that sometimes if you want life to change, you can’t wait for it to happen; you have to make the changes yourself, even if they’re superficial like a hairstyle or different clothes, to get the ball rolling toward more meaningful transformations.
RUMOR LESSON 4: The whole Kristen Stewart thing.
“This again?” was Meg’s response when some year in review 2012 countdown flashed a picture of Stewart and Pattinson in a heart with an animated crack down the middle that then repaired itself. The lesson here was forgiveness and moving on, which Meg already understood and reminded me of, rather than the other way around.
RUMOR LESSON 5: Kendall and Kylie Jenner are getting into the act.
As though there aren’t enough Kardashians sucking up air-time, littering magazine covers, and trying to separate us from our money with eponymous clothing lines, perfumes, and nail polish, the younger half-sisters are now becoming famous for…whatever. As a younger sister herself, Meg is no stranger to the older sibling who is a force of nature. With a little redirection from me, the Jenner girls became inspirations to step out of the shadows of those who came before, to blaze a trail of one’s own.
And what’s in store for 2013? The New Year was only hours old when I found out that not-yet-divorced Kim was having Kanye’s baby. I can only hope Meg learns to go her own way.
Lorraine Duffy Merkl is a freelance writer in NYC and author of the novel, FAT CHICK. Learn more about her writing at lorraineduffymerkl.com.
