2008 Woodie Awards
Never Settle
Danielle Christiansen
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Opinions
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… But wait, maybe we shouldn't want to. Maybe what we've been taught to do is in
actuality way off base. I will explain. You've seen it all before - those cheesy chick flicks where the classic girl-next-door that got recently dumped drowns herself
in Ben and Jerry's chunky monkey death by chocolate overload while watching reruns on the old time movie channel. Suddenly, one day she gets up, actually showers, yes washes the utter desperation from her hair, changes the pajamas she's been living in for
the past two weeks and welcomes the world with open arms again.
Is that reality? Did she really just wipe her memory clean of that past loser in a span of a mere few days? And what is the standard mourning period for a break-up
anyway?
I got to thinking the other day, if you really cared about someone so much, is it possible to ever fully move on from them?
Is it really possible to completely and totally eradicate their entire existence and memories from your little mind? Do we really
"get over" someone when it's over? Fully and truly?
After the initial break-up depression that ensues in some varying degree, there comes that stage of fierce independence and nonchalance. Could this be a true indication that we are now ready to move on, or is it simply a defense mechanism to shield ourselves from the recent and raw hurt we have just experienced?
I think the answer is a mixture of both. It seems in order to heal enough to carry on with the rest of your life, you have to let go of some memories that might be the most personable and therefore the most painful. But because that person has been a part of your life for so long, there is no way to completely remove them from you mind. They are embedded. And why wouldn't you want to
remove them completely, you might wonder?
Let's relate this to a little pop culture. In relation to this concept, a movie that comes to my mind immediately is "Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." For those of you who haven't seen it, the main characters, who have recently experienced a bad breakup, attempt to clear their minds of
actuality way off base. I will explain. You've seen it all before - those cheesy chick flicks where the classic girl-next-door that got recently dumped drowns herself
in Ben and Jerry's chunky monkey death by chocolate overload while watching reruns on the old time movie channel. Suddenly, one day she gets up, actually showers, yes washes the utter desperation from her hair, changes the pajamas she's been living in for
the past two weeks and welcomes the world with open arms again.
Is that reality? Did she really just wipe her memory clean of that past loser in a span of a mere few days? And what is the standard mourning period for a break-up
anyway?
I got to thinking the other day, if you really cared about someone so much, is it possible to ever fully move on from them?
Is it really possible to completely and totally eradicate their entire existence and memories from your little mind? Do we really
"get over" someone when it's over? Fully and truly?
After the initial break-up depression that ensues in some varying degree, there comes that stage of fierce independence and nonchalance. Could this be a true indication that we are now ready to move on, or is it simply a defense mechanism to shield ourselves from the recent and raw hurt we have just experienced?
I think the answer is a mixture of both. It seems in order to heal enough to carry on with the rest of your life, you have to let go of some memories that might be the most personable and therefore the most painful. But because that person has been a part of your life for so long, there is no way to completely remove them from you mind. They are embedded. And why wouldn't you want to
remove them completely, you might wonder?
Let's relate this to a little pop culture. In relation to this concept, a movie that comes to my mind immediately is "Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." For those of you who haven't seen it, the main characters, who have recently experienced a bad breakup, attempt to clear their minds of
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