On the 12th of June, I will be a free woman. Summer vacation will begin and my first year of college will come to an end. And I’d like to think I had a pretty typical freshman year of college. I lived in the residence halls, I ate nothing but dorm food, I didn’t have a car so I walked everywhere or took a bus and I begged my parents for money every other day.

While I am excited to go from frazzled freshman to sophisticated sophomore, I will miss the excitement that was my first year of college. I experienced so many new things, I met so many new people, but most importantly I learned so much. I have learned an immense amount both in and outside of the classroom and it only seems fair to share my wealth of knowledge with the rest of the world.

Here is a list of some of the things that my first year of college has taught me:

College is not like it is in the movies. I’m pretty sure everyone already knows this, but I feel as if it is still really important to mention. While some of the aspects of college life depicted in movies are present, they are not nearly as extreme as they are in Hollywood. No one will peer pressure you to drink or smoke, say no once and they’ll leave you alone. The professors actually care about you and your success. The dorm food is not disgusting but actually pretty good. The RAs are nice and not out to get you.

The freshman 15 doesn’t exist. I’ll be honest, I was quite worried about this when coming into this school year. But it never happened. If anything, I lost weight this year. Now I have no idea if this is the case with everyone or if I’m just extremely lucky. But I’m not complaining.

Be proud of who you are and where you come from. Always. Listen, I still have no idea why but for some reason the Oregonians dislike Californians. At first I didn’t like telling people where I was from. But then it got to a point where it was so annoying that I didn’t even care anymore. People laughed when they found out I like to go to bed before 11 p.m. People made fun of me when the one time I did stay up past 11 p.m. and went to a party I wore a turtleneck. But hey, I’m a Californian who likes to go to bed early and wear turtlenecks to parties. I don’t care what you think, I think I’m pretty cool.

You will miss home for expected, as well as unexpected, reasons. There’s the typical things: family, pets, home cooked meals and not having to take public transportation. Then there are the strange ones. The way the sun comes in through your bedroom window back home, listening to music in my car alone, waking up to the sound of my dog’s footsteps outside my bedroom door, walking outside and checking the mailbox everyday. It’s those little things that we take for granted that we miss the most.

Your priorities will completely change, sometimes not for the better. It’s no secret that I enjoy Game of Thrones, but I would be lying if I said I never skipped class to watch it. While I came into college telling myself that academics should always be put first, I’m leaving with a much different mindset. And I don’t really care, Game of Thrones is just so damn good.

Roommates aren’t your thing. I had never realized how much I had valued privacy until this year where I had to share a room with another person. This was probably the most difficult aspect of college life I had to adjust to. At home, although I live with my parents and younger brother, I still have an entire room all to myself. This year in college, I didn’t have that. There was no space just for me. Nowhere to take solace in when my roommate snored too loud. Nowhere to hide so I could watch The Karate Kid and ball my eyes out when he triumphs in the end.

Having food so easily available is a blessing and a curse. Let’s just say my diet consisted of mainly ice cream this year.

It’s been real freshman year.

Congratulations to each and every one of the graduating class of 2015. Graduating from college is an extraordinary accomplishment. Now, you must enter the, “real world,” whatever that means. And it is my job to help with that transition from college student to responsible real world adult. No one else is better equipped to give you the advice that I, a college freshman, am about to bestow on you. You’re welcome.

Now that you will no longer be a college student, there are some things that will no longer be socially acceptable for you to do. Brace yourselves, here is a list of things you may no longer do:

Attend college parties. If you’re no longer a college student, then you should not be attending college parties. You are now a real world adult. You should be going to office parties that serve fancy wine and cheese. And two deli platters.

Change your major or desired profession. Listen, I hate to break it to you, but you’re stuck. It is too late to decide you don’t want to be an accountant or physical therapist anymore. Once you graduate, you are forever locked into that one particular field of study. The only way out is you burn your diploma and start all over, and I’m sure you already bought the frame for it.

Wear college swag. When in college, most everyone wears their college swag. But unless you obtain a job with an extremely casual dress code, you better pack up your Duck Store scores now. That UO T-shirt won’t look good with a sport coat or pencil skirt. If this is too much for you to bear, you could always try wearing that shirt under the rest of your clothes.

Step foot on campus. Never again. You graduated. Now get out. Leave and never return. You spent the last four or so years of your life coming to this university, you don’t need to come here anymore. Goodbye. Auf Wiedersehen. Adios. Live long and prosper.

Best of luck to all of the graduates. May you go out and change the world. And seriously, never come here ever again.

@AlyshaNFerguson

A couple of weeks ago, the eleventh season of The Bachelorette aired on ABC. Now, I had only been introduced to this pop culture phenomenon when I watched my first season of The Bachelor a couple of months ago. I wrote all about that experience in a previous article. Feel free to check it out. Right now. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Welcome back. As I was saying, I have only seen one season of The Bachelor, and I found it extremely interesting. I was excited to see how it this process would work reversed on The Bachelorette. It was everything I had hoped for and more. Just as I learned many things while watching The Bachelor, I have also learned many things over these past couple of weeks while watching The Bachelorette. But mainly, I realized that I would be perfect for this show.

Here are the some of the many reasons as to why I should be the next Bachelorette contestant:

I’m single. Simple enough but also tremendously important. I am not currently involved in any relationship which would conflict with this televised quest to find love. I believe this is one of, if not the, biggest factor in choosing who should be the leading lady in this reality television show centered around love.

I’m a people person. I find it extraordinarily easy to talk to and meet people. Being on The Bachelorette, I would have to meet around 25 men and try my best to get to know each and every one of them. And let’s be honest, not all of them are going to be interesting and great. I would be the friendliest and most open person they had ever talked to in their entire lives. Just before I cut them at the knees and send them packing without a rose (insert smile here).

I’m surprisingly good at remembering names. Listen, don’t try to tell me that past Bachelorette and Bachelor contestants were able to memorize everyone’s name in one night without help from someone behind the camera. Well with me, they wouldn’t have to worry about that one bit. I’d make everyone’s job that much easier and know every name by heart before the first rose ceremony even starts. Now that’s what I call professionalism.

I naturally speak loudly. Everyone on these shows have to have microphones on them 24/7 so that every word spoken and every conversation had can be caught. I naturally talk loud, so there’s one less microphone to worry about. I just saved them money. Aren’t I great?

I’m naturally dramatic. Fun fact: I grew up doing musical theater, so I know a thing or two about dramatics. I say what’s on my mind, and I’m not afraid to cry in front of people. I would be great for ratings. And after finding me a soul mate, getting good ratings is number two on the priorities list for this show. Just imagine how great those rose ceremonies would be.

I’d be okay with being the center of attention. 25 men all competing for my hand in marriage?  A tad barbaric, but I mean, I guess I could get used to that.

Now, I know what you must be thinking. ABC get a hold of her now and put her on the show. We want her to be the next Bachelorette! But, sadly, I must inform you that the age requirement to be a part of this fantastic show is 21, and I am only 19. But if I’m already this perfect for the show now, imagine how much better I will be for it in two years. But hey, if the University of Oregon ever decides to hold its own version of the popular reality show, you know where to find me.

Tall, beautiful, confident and talented. I am not just describing myself here. I am describing the one and only Taylor Swift. With an army of “swifties” and a slew of awards and recognition, Taylor Swift is currently unstoppable. But not only is she unstoppable, Taylor Swift is running the world. And I am kind of okay with that.

When Taylor Swift first emerged into the music world in 2006, I immediately fell in love with her music. She seemed to understand what it meant to be a young girl growing up in this world, and I really appreciated that. But as I grew older, I stopped listening to her albums as I attempted to grow into my alternative rock phase. As a middle schooler, I wanted to seem cool and edgy. I mean, what middle schooler doesn’t? Taylor Swift was sappy and romantic, something I did not want to be associated with in the sixth grade. I would only dare to return to my Taylor Swift albums when I was home alone and locked in my room, sure that no one would know I was listening to “Teardrops on my Guitar” over and over again. I remained distant from her beautiful music until the release of her newest album, when my total view of her completely changed.

My respect and admiration for Swift has only increased over this past year. While it was once easy to make fun of her for her many gentleman suitors, her confusion as to what it meant to be a country artist, or her awkward dancing at award shows, Swift has grown into a world wide icon. She is strong, independent and understands what she wants in life. At the mere age of 25 years old, Taylor Swift has accomplished so much more than I will ever accomplish in my entire life (and an online quiz told me I would live past 100). I can’t even be jealous of her, I am just completely and utterly mesmerized by her and her entire existence.

But having this admiration for such a famous and successful woman is not always easy. I remember that painful time when she removed all of her music from Spotify back in November. A proud Spotify user myself, at first I was angry, upset, and betrayed by this action. How could you do this to me, Taylor? How do you expect me to react to this, Taylor? What am I supposed to do now, Taylor? After many heartbroken nights, I finally gave in and bought her newest album “1989” off of iTunes. And it was then that I finally understood.

Taylor Swift viewed herself as a woman whose music is worth paying for. Maybe that was selfish and greedy of her, but I didn’t care one bit. While I was sad to see that money leave my pocket and find its home in hers, I appreciated Taylor Swift and her music more and more. She is not only a singer but a business woman as well. She has a brand of Taylor Swift Kool-Aid, and I am addicted to every single flavor.

No matter where you are or who you talk to, everyone knows who Taylor Swift is. Everyone knows at least one of her songs. Everyone knows at least one of her ex-boyfriends. She has left her stamp on this world, and it is impossible to escape her presence in pop culture.

Taylor Swift is ruling the planet with a sweet smile and an iron fist. I would not be surprised if she overthrew the monarchy and was crowned queen sometime later this week. May her reign be long, lovely and perfect. Just like her $40 million insured legs.

While I may hate to admit it, I do in fact love Taylor Swift and her music oh so very much. I respect her too damn much to keep it a secret from the world. Taylor Swift is an excellent role model to follow, and I hope to be half the woman she is. Especially because she is practically 12 feet tall.

As the last weeks of the term slowly begin to creep into sight and that itch for summer vacation starts to become unbearable, there is only one thing clouding my already stressed-out mind. I get to go home. I get to go home to California.

The only problem is that California is lacking something very essential to life: water.

California is currently in a drought, and if they are anything like me, I’m sure all California natives are concerned about leaving the misty state of Oregon to return to the dryness that is our lovely home state.

I imagine my return home to be like that episode of Spongebob Squarepants where Spongebob enters Sandy Cheek’s treedome without any protection from the air inside. Spongebob slowly begins to dry out from the lack of hydration, and his raspy voice repeats the word “water” over and over. While this may seem a bit over dramatic, it is still a recurring nightmare of mine.

So that we do not end up like our dear friend Spongebob, here is a list of ways in which Californians may prepare for going home to a drought this summer:

Convert to using plastic utensils and paper plates. Washing dishes requires water, so the most logical step to take here is to stop washing dishes. Instead of using reusable plates and such that require washing between uses, visit Costco and buy paper plates, paper cups, and plastic utensils in bulk. You just rid yourself of a pesky chore as well as reduced your use of water. High five to that.

Reduce the amount of showering you do. In case you were unaware, showering consumes a large amount of water. Bet you never noticed that before. Now, I understand that not showering completely seems slightly absurd, so I recommend taking it step by step. If you shower every day, try showering every other day. If you already shower every other day, try placing two days between each shower. Keep this up until you no longer shower. Dry shampoo, deodorant, colognes and perfumes, and scented lotions were invented for a reason. Use them and no one will notice that you’re last shower was weeks ago.

Get used to not washing your clothes. Newsflash: washing machines use water as well. If this seems insane to you, use the same system mentioned in the previous tip. Do laundry once a week? Now you do it every other week. Use this system until you stop washing your clothes completely. Use as much Febreze as you need to keep your clothes smelling fresh. Febreze not enough? Buy new clothes. Simple as that.

Build a resistance to saltwater. This is a trickier tip than the past ones, but just as helpful. While California may be in a drought, we still have a whole coast full of ocean access. Freshwater and saltwater are practically the same thing anyway. Now, I am aware that salt water is an acquired taste, so begin getting used to it now. And slowly. Each glass of water you use, add a spoonful of salt. When you get used to one spoonful, begin adding two. Keep going until your water is mostly salt. Now you’re ready to drink ocean water. You’ll never go thirsty again.

Take what you can from the water-filled state of Oregon. If the saltwater thing is a little too far-fetched for you, stock up on as much freshwater as you can. Oregon has plenty to go around. Buy as many reusable water bottles as you can, and begin filling them up now. When it rains, carry an umbrella upside down so as to catch as much water as possible. Ship what you can back home to your parents. Now you’re ready for summer.

Stop drinking water. Just stop. Completely. You have soda, juice, milk. And don’t forget about 7-Eleven slushies. Water is so boring anyway. Your life will be so much more exciting without it. People say that you will die if you go three days without water, but they’re just saying that so there will be more slushies for them. Don’t let them trick you.

Use these tips, and your California summer will be the best one yet.

After a long day of classes, you finally make it back to your place. You take off your shoes, put on some comfortable sweat pants and get ready to start that homework you wish didn’t exist. You check each classes syllabus and try to determine what is due tomorrow and what can wait. Oh boy, that paper for your political science class is due tomorrow. You’ve been dreading that for weeks. Before you devote the remainder of your day to this paper, you decide to allow yourself a couple of minutes of freedom from homework. You check your Instagram and Twitter. That’s when you see it. That’s when the rest of your day is doomed to the land of procrastination.

All it takes is one little mention of it to distract you for hours upon hours. You see someone’s tweet about some show you’ve never seen but have always wanted to watch. It comes out of left field: “Just watched the last episode of Game of Thrones, wow so good!” tweets Jimmy from accounting class. You respect Jimmy, you think he’s a good guy, you value his opinion. Well, Game of Thrones has been on your to-watch list for quite some time. It wouldn’t hurt to look into where you could watch it online. This can’t take more than a couple of minutes, then it’s time to start that paper.

You make your way to HBO’s website. Wow, all of the episodes are on there. Oh, but you need to have an HBO subscription to watch them online. Do mom and dad have an HBO subscription? You’re pretty sure they do, they always talk about Game of Thrones. It couldn’t hurt to give them a call. You have been meaning to talk to them for a while, so it wouldn’t be too much of a waste of time. So you give the parents a call.

Twenty minutes or so later, you finish catching up with mom and dad. Everything’s going well at home and the family sends you their love. But most importantly, you now have the account information needed to get an HBO Go account. You check the clock on your phone. Okay, you’ve only pushed off this paper for about half-an-hour. That’s not too bad. You can get away with turning that thirty minute break into an hour one.

You create the HBO Go account and you’re in. Alright, this is pretty neat. You browse through some shows and movies available. You get to the coveted Game of Thrones page. Hmm, the first episode is only fifty minutes long. It couldn’t hurt to just watch one episode. You do only have one paper to write. It is only supposed to be two pages long, and that’s at most. You can get away with watching one episode, but just one. Then it’s time to get to work. So you press play.

Fifty minutes later, you are left in complete awe. Wow, this show is freaking amazing. You need to keep watching. Now. But wait, there was something you had to do. Oh yes, that political science paper. You exit the HBO Go website and open up a new word document.

Ten minutes later, you have your name and a title on the paper and that’s all. You’re finding it hard to focus. You just want to go back to watching Game of Thrones. That’s like political science, isn’t it? There are different kingdoms and people trying to take over the crown. Maybe you could relate that to your paper somehow. You know that’s a bit of a stretch, but you just really want to watch your new show. Okay, how about this: make an outline and you can watch another episode. That should work, right?

Wrong. On a piece of scratch paper, you write down nothing but roman numerals and the words introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. But you don’t care. You’re watching Game of Thrones.

One whole season later, you finally look up from your computer. The clock reads 3:00 a.m. You look back at your paper. Name, title and then nothing. This paper is due in five hours, during your 8 a.m. class. You finally get to work.

You finish about an hour later and you feel decent about it. But you don’t really care. All that runs through your mind are these words: winter is coming.
Based on actual events.

Quick heads up: In his interview with Diane Sawyer, Bruce Jenner allowed the use of masculine pronouns for himself (he, him, his). Because of this, I will also be using those same pronouns when referring to Jenner in this article.

On April 24, famous Olympic athlete and Kardashian stepfather Bruce Jenner made an incredible public statement to Diane Sawyer on national television. Jenner revealed that he identifies as female and is transgender. While there has been much speculation on this topic for a while, Jenner had never officially revealed this information himself until the two-hour special with Sawyer on ABC. While many believe that the news itself was the most important aspect of Jenner’s revelation, the response received afterward is just as noteworthy.

By allowing this part of his life to become public, Jenner has become a hero for transgender people everywhere. Jenner’s courage itself is heroic as he reveals his decades long struggle to accept his identity and who he is. By allowing his story to be made available to anyone with a television, Jenner has proven how satisfying the act of coming out can be. By sharing his true identity and discussing his joy at being free from hiding, Jenner shows firsthand how liberating it can be to tell others who your true self is.

Aside from his own bravery, the support given to Jenner is just as inspirational for trans people. The public support and encouragement Jenner has received shows that there is support for everyone, and no one is ever alone.

After the airing of the interview between Jenner and Sawyer, the internet was filled with nothing but support for Jenner. Celebrities and normal folk alike were tweeting and instagramming their love and encouragement towards Jenner and his journey to becoming “Her” – what Jenner refers to himself as because he has not yet shared a new name. A hashtag was even created for Jenner – #PaintYourNailsForBruce – after he mentioned in his interview that he hopes to one day be able to have his nails painted for a long enough time that they begin to chip. Apart from his family, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith, Rob Lowe, Jimmy Fallon, Ellen DeGeneres and many other celebrities tweeted in support of Jenner.

While not every trans person has the same celebrity status that Jenner may have, they should know that there are an abundance of people who are there to support them for who they truly are. Just as Jenner was accepted with love and praise, so will every trans person who is open about themselves. While not everyone in the world is as loving, there are enough supporters out there to make up for the ones who are not as accepting. No one should be afraid to share with the world who they really are.

Anyone struggling with coming out as trans should look to Bruce Jenner for motivation. While Jenner’s athletic abilities may have earned him medals and fame, it is his self-acceptance and openness that makes him a true hero. It is a difficult thing to admit not only to others but to yourself as well, and Jenner has handled it with so much strength.

As Laverne Cox – another famous trans person – says, “It is revolutionary for any trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist.” Bruce Jenner is revolutionary, and anyone who follows in his footsteps is also revolutionary themselves. While Jenner may not know what his next step shall be in life, this step itself is the most important one he could ever take. And while Jenner may not yet have chosen a name, he knows for certain it will not begin with the letter “K”.

While sitting in LLC dining the other day, a bright poster distracted me from my lunch. Nothing ever distracts me from food, so that in itself was a miracle. The poster was advertising a free drag show to be held on campus at 8 pm on May 7th in the GSH great room. My heart stopped and excitement filled my entire body, it felt like Christmas morning. I had always wanted to attend a drag show for as long as I could remember because drag queens are my heroes. Drag queens are the most inspirational people on the planet.

At the mere age of 12 or 13, RuPaul’s Drag Race was introduced into my life. My mom, a RuPaul fan herself, introduced me to the concept and asked me if I was interested in watching with her. This whole show entirely about drag queens quickly found its way into my weekly watch list.

I tried telling my friends about this amazing show, but they all told me it wasn’t right to watch something like that. One friend even told me I was going to hell because I enjoyed watching a show about gay men. You see, I grew up in a painstakingly conservative city. Being a loud and obnoxious middle schooler, I was always comfortable sharing my opinions. Sadly, my opinions were quickly deemed as wrong. So I began to keep them to myself.

A year after RuPaul’s Drag Race graced television with its presence, a spin off was created with the title Drag U. In this show, RuPaul would invite three women onto the show to be given a drag makeover by past contestants of Drag Race. These women typically felt insecure about some part of themselves, and the coaching queens would help them to find their “inner diva” and feel more confident about themselves overall – inside and out. While I didn’t enjoy this spin off as much as the original, the concept was truly incredible. It was able to introduce to a larger audience to how inspirational drag queens are and revealed to this new audience just how amazing they truly are as well.

On every episode of both of these shows, RuPaul will always share the same piece of advice: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” Drag queens exemplify what it truly means to love yourself. Contestants of Drag Race will typically share their life stories with one another while on the show, and many face an abundance of adversity throughout their life. They discuss anything and everything from family neglect after coming out, being bullied, to even attempting suicide. But after everything they’ve been thrown in life and everything they’ve experienced, these queens are always able to say that they are incredibly happy with who they are and how they ended up.

Drag queens are beautiful inside and out, and they inspire me to be confident each and everyday. I have learned so much from watching these drag queens on television. They have taught me what it means to love yourself for all of your perfections as well as your flaws. They taught me how to be strong and take life as it comes. They taught me that not everyone will like you or the way in which you live your life, but you cannot let them stop you from being who you are. I no longer feel ashamed to share with my friends what my favorite television show is, as I once did in middle school.

I just want to personally thank every drag queen out there. I strive to live my life with as much self confidence, uniqueness, and love for life as you all possess. As well as as much beauty. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a drag queen that was prettier than myself, I would have enough money to buy enough wigs to become a drag queen myself.

Follow Alysha Ferguson on Twitter @AlyshaNFerguson

A video of Oscar award-winning actress Anne Hathaway swinging on a wrecking ball already has over 13 million views on YouTube. How did this happen, you might ask. Hathaway found herself on that wrecking ball as she competed in a fight to the death. Hathaway was involved in a lip sync battle.

On April 2, Spike unveiled its newest show: Lip Sync Battle. Hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen, Lip Sync Battle pins two celebrities against each other as they strive to be crowned the lip sync champion and win the gold belt that accompanies the title. But where did the lip sync battle originate and what does it take to be a true lip sync artist?

The lip sync battle is not for the faint of heart. It is a challenging and calculated art form. The more popular versions include each participant choosing their own songs before hand and performing it solo in front of a crowd as well as their competitors. These battles may include anything from back-up dancers, costume changes, props or even appearances by the original singers themselves. The lip sync battle takes skill, natural born talent and a burning passion for winning. Honestly, presidential candidates should have to compete in a lip sync battle to determine who may run this country. Just saying.

The lip sync battle made its first appearance in 2009 on television as a part of RuPaul’s Drag Race, a logo reality TV show which aims to find the next drag superstar. The two drag queens who performed the worst in that particular episode faced off in the dreaded “lip sync for your life.” They performed the same song (pre-chosen by RuPaul), at the same time on the same stage. RuPaul herself then chose which of the two queens deserved to stay in the competition and which must “sashay away.” Drag Race is currently on its seventh season and the “lip sync for your life” has become one of its most iconic attributes.

While RuPaul may have originated the idea, the concept would not become mainstream until five years later. In 2014, then Late Night host Jimmy Fallon was approached by British comedian and writer Stephen Merchant. Merchant, along with actors John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, created the concept for Fallon to incorporate into his show. Merchant, Fallon and Late Night guest for that night Joseph Gordon-Levitt competed in the first lip sync battle thrown by Fallon. The segment quickly became extremely popular and even carried over with Fallon to The Tonight Show that same year.

Which then brings us to LL Cool J and Lip Sync Battle. Seeing how popular the segment is on his show, Fallon believed the lip sync battle deserved its own show entirely. He pitched the idea to NBC, who declined since they already had The Voice and America’s Got Talent so there was no room for another music competition show. Spike was lucky enough to have picked up the show and is now reaping the benefits of its success. Lip Sync Battle has become so popular, celebrities are now contacting the show asking if they may perform on it.

May the art of the lip sync live on forever. May wars be fought not on battlefields, but on stages. May we fight with microphones rather than guns. May we determine who is fit to lead a nation with strategic song choice instead of with campaigning and slandering our opponents. May students not be defined by their SAT scores, but by their devotion to memorizing song lyrics. The lip sync battle shall revolutionize the world as we know it. And if it does not, then so be it. Call me a dreamer.

At least it will revolutionize my DVR.

March 19, 2015. A day that shall live in infamy. Don’t know what happened on March 19th? Well, sit down because it’s a doozy. That was the dreadful day that Zayn Malik left One Direction. You don’t care? It’s okay because I didn’t either. But to millions of young girls this was the end of the universe. Videos of crying, screaming fans flooded all facets of social media. And yes, it was easy to laugh at how much they had overreacted to something I didn’t care about.

Now flash forward to April 4th. The undefeated men’s basketball team of University of Kentucky lose to Wisconsin in this year’s March Madness. Now what does this have to do with One Direction and crying girls? Much like directioners, Wildcat fans were angry, crying over the loss of their beloved team whom they felt deserved to win. While 1D fans may not have rioted the streets like Kentucky fans did, the similarities between the two are pretty extraordinary.

Young girls and grown men react almost identically to very different situations. But only one of those groups is told they are overreacting. Can you guess which one? Society has allowed male sports fanatics to act the ways in which they do, saying it is natural and normal for them to have that reaction. For example, whenever I attend a baseball game at Dodger Stadium, I can always expect screaming, cursing men and at least one or two fights to break out. Their reactions are expected. Adult men can be seen crying hysterically – or even worse, in a fit of anger and rage – after their favorite sports team loses. And it happens among all the sports: soccer, football, baseball, basketball, you name it.

Society perceives these reactions as completely separate, never relating the two to each other. Even though the reactions have exceedingly similar aspects to them, they are always categorized as two extremely different entities: normal and not normal. We may not even realize that we perceive them this way. I know I never did until I really stopped and thought about it. You might have never thought about it until you saw this article.

When thinking about the two, I’m sure that a majority of people would have a conversation with themselves that sounds something like this: “Well it’s perfectly normal for these sports fans to be upset, I mean their favorite team just lost the big game. They were so deserving to win. They worked so hard, and it slipped through their talented, athletic fingers. Now on the other hand, it’s not normal for these young girls to be so upset about what’s-his-face leaving the band. Who even cares? Why are they overreacting? It’s just a boy band. Those girls and their crazy hormones need to calm down.”

Why do we do this? I’m not even entirely sure, but I bet that age and gender seem to have a play in what is deemed as appropriate and what is deemed as irrational. But reactions happen and emotions are natural, we may think that some are a tad bit crazier than others, but we need to accept all of them. If society allows one group to react a certain way, then it should grant others the opportunity to react in the same way.

We don’t need to pick sides because I don’t believe this is an issue that involves picking sides. If men want to cry over their sports, then let them cry. If girls want to cry over their favorite band, then let them cry too. Both reactions are valid, no matter the age, gender, or reason behind the reaction.

If people want to cry, then give them a box of tissues instead of telling them they’re overreacting. And no I’m not crying, I just have a bit of society’s expectations stuck in my eye.