When I’m feeling stressed, I don’t just grab my sister and miraculously appear in Mystic, CT, with a conveniently pre-booked room at a cozy inn. And at 15 years old, I had never snuck off to Las Vegas to secretly attempt to get a tattoo on the back of my neck.  But then again, I’m no Kardashian…

Or any reality TV star, for that matter. Speaking of reality TV, if it’s “reality,” how can it have “stars? It’s supposed to be real. Real life. Yet we’re drawn into the privileged worlds of celebrities, who claim to live their life in front of a camera and have it be completely accurate. 

Ha.

Our view of what is normal has been totally altered due to what we’re exposed to on TV. That’s not normal, that’s exotic. If it wasn’t it wouldn’t sell. Because when it comes down to it, isn’t everyone just trying to make money out of it? (We know Kris Humphries did…) 

If reality TV is strictly “reality,” then why haven’t I seen any cameras filming around Northbrook or Glenview? Or anywhere beside the Jersey Shore and California, really? Girls are getting pregnant at 16, thinking all will be fine because the teenagers on Teen Mom seem to do just fine. Most of them are still in connection with the fathers, their families support them, and everything is “picture perfect,” TV-camera ready. Just getting an earlier start on the whole parenthood thing, right? It’s as if they have this unrealistic perception that all the other moms will be so jealous of them when they’re old, and these girls’ faces still feel like a baby’s bottom. If that’s their outlook, I would appreciate a call if the MTV vans ever show up. 

I heard a rumor that a few years ago, a group of teenage girls all got pregnant at the same time at a nearby high school. Yes, a local pregnancy pact (And in all honestly, who ever heard of this kind of ‘pact’ before a reality series about teen moms aired?). Instead of feeling distraught, or nervous, or terrified, they had hope.

But hope in a different sense. Although I’m sure they were hoping for healthy babies, rumor has it that they made known to the school that they wanted to be featured on MTV’s popular TV series, Teen Mom. 

Whether it’s true or not, the rumor itself should raise the alarm. If that’s not a flashing light, warning society, I don’t know what is. We have to remember that what we’re watching on TV is not reality—if it were, why would people bother to watch it? 

We are normal. Those 7 p.m. shows, that’s scripted fantasy. Even dangerous. Why not include a “do not attempt at home” caption at the bottom? They might as well. Hey, there’s a suggestion...