UPDATES from me! Hannah's season, etc.

Greetings, lovebugs!

I sort of fell off at the end of last season, when Colton dropped the 2 remaining ladies who wanted to marry him, and instead, chose to end the season and go back to passive-aggressively attempt to woo Cassie by informing her that he had canceled the whole damn show and ONLY wanted her.

Can you tell that I have mixed feelings about this?

I mean, all's well that ends well, those two crazy, photogenic, blonde kids are together now and happy and seem to be exerting healthy boundaries for a change (did you notice that Colton is NOW saying that he is unwilling to share updates about his virginity? I bet Cassie was like, "hey guy, you can exert a thing called boundaries and you don't owe anyone an update on your personal journey or benchmarks" and bless her for teaching Colton that--I LOVE BOUNDARIES!!!) BUT, I was somewhat put-off by Colton's Hail-Mary move for Cassie (cancelling the ENTIRE show and then showing up at her doorstep). It just felt a bit unfair to Cassie. Colton's showed up at her doorstep just sorta like, "Hey girl! You said that you're not interested in me but I am NOT going to respect your wishes, so here I am, having cancelled the entire damn show and hoping that you will feel pressured and obligated to give me a chance." It all just seemed like a bit much and sort of manipulation.  Anybody else?

Then it was announced that Hannah would be the next Bachelorette: Alabama Hannah (a former pageant girl) who was involved in some DRAMA during her time as a would-be girlfriend of Colton's. BUT, I really liked how well she was able to explain herself to Colton (remember when she took Colton aside and was like, "do you really SEE me? I need to know that, outside of all this strange drama, you understand me and see me.")  She seems self-effacing, silly, she's gorgeous, and she WANTS to get married for sure, so a natural choice as the next Bachelorette.

Last week the show aired a Bachelorette reunion episode and I watched part of it (had to get in a workout first, though, because bikini season is almost here). They showed some clips, revisited former Bachelorettes, and Chris Harrison charmed everybody. As I was watching these clips, I was stunned by how long ago so much of it was. One clip, specially struck me, which was Ashley Herbert accepting JP's proposal--season 7, and in the year 2011.

2011!!

That was 8 years ago! And I recapped it!  In fact, I started writing these recaps even before then, which is insane to me. But it makes sense.  I wrote a book for HarperCollins and it was published in 2013 (THE NEW RULES FOR BLONDES which is still on sale somehow) and I got that book deal from this here blog!! Yes, remember when that could happen!? Haha those were some halcyon days in publishing.

For years and years I have loved writing these silly recaps: snarking on people, sharing how much I love a mermaid cut gown, commenting on hair and make-up, joking around about who "didn't come here to make friends," and all that jazz. But as I look back, I'm stunned by how long I have been doing this! Since before 2011! Good Lord!

And, to be totally honest, I'm just not really feeling it anymore. And in some ways, I'm sort of shocked that I'm not feeling it anymore BUT then also, it makes sense: sometimes you're just not that inspired about a project anymore after too long. Not every project needs to be forever and it's important to listen to your own heart: Am I still enjoying this? Does this still serve me? Am I, the writer of this blog HERE for the right reasons (natch).

So my plan for Hannah's season is to tune in to the TV show occasionally if I have a free Monday, maybe live tweet it (@selenacoppock), but not write lengthy recaps any longer.  I may write up a few thoughts/opinions on this blog, but I won't be doing a detailed blow-by-blow as I have in the past. I'm just not that into it anymore and I'm a big believer in knowing when a project has reached its end.

Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Gilbert's BIG MAGIC??  This book is a revelation: everyone should read it.  My sweet pal Giulia introduced me to it.  I'm addicted to this book in the way that I used to be obsessed with Pema Chodron's START WHERE YOU ARE.

BIG MAGIC is a book about creativity, art, inspiration, and so much more. And in BIG MAGIC, Gilbert says how important it is to listen to your inspiration. Perhaps a book that you wanted to write or a project that you wanted to do or a painting you wanted to paint was SO inspiring to you at one point and then you had to set it aside for whatever reason (a move, a job, a life change), then when you pick it back up, the inspiration is simply gone. Or maybe a certain type of inspiration graces you for a few years but then after long enough, you feel drawn to something else. It's a book about giving yourself permission: permission to make art even if you don't think that you are an "artist," permission to set aside a project if it no longer serves you, permission to not demand that your art pay your bills--stuff like that.

That amazing book has made me think about my projects.  I've been doing standup and storytelling for a long time, with other stuff thrown in: recapping The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for years and years, co-hosting a Bach/Bachelorette podcast for a few years, co-hosting a Guns N Roses podcast for a few years, being a tour guide on the Sex & the City bus tour for about 4 years, co-hosting and co-producing a weekly show at Luca Lounge for a few years (goddamn that's a young man's game) before the Dept of Health closed down that venue (classic!), then co-hosting and co-producing a show every 2 weeks then show once a month at a bar in Murray Hill.

And I have taken on new projects and created new things: my album SEEN BETTER DAYS which I released about a year and a half ago (and is available on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora), @NYTVows, my parody Twitter and Instagram account where I pretend to be the New York Times Wedding Section, TWO WICK MINIMUM, my silly and bonkers podcast about candles. And still doing standup and storytelling, plus working full time as a Managing Editor at a publishing house.

So I am giving myself permission to take a left turn and set aside an art project that isn't serving me anymore (is it pretentious as hell to call reality TV recaps an "art project"? Hahah sure it is and I aint ashamed). It was SO much fun for so long, but I just don't have the energy or inspiration anymore.

I hope you all understand and I appreciate all of you for reading my recaps for so long.  I may be posting things here and they may be Bachelor/Bachelorette related, but I just can't dedicate all of the time I used to: 2 hours every Monday night watching and taking notes, then 2-3 hours on Tuesday writing and rewriting a full recap with photos and jokes.  I don't want to keep writing recaps of this show out of a sense of obligation and during Colton's season (and, hell, even before that) it began to feel that way. And that's no fun for anybody.

So this is where we are, pussycats. I appreciate you all and adore you so much and over the years, it has been so fun to host watch parties at QED and meet some of you face-to-face, to read your comments and know that somewhere out there, at the other end of the internet, is another cool assed lady who shares my bewilderment at how anyone does a fishtail braid and deals with her roots growing out while she is stuck living in STD Shack aha The Bachelor mansion.

Please do support my other projects: I'm super proud of and presently inspired by @NYTVows, and my album SEEN BETTER DAYS, and Two Wick Minimum (season 2 coming soon). And hell, come see me live! I update the "gigs" page on my website regularly. And thank you for giving me a crew to talk Bach with--these silly recaps got me a damn book deal and sometimes I pinch myself to think about how much I have done over the years.  But I am excited to follow Elizabeth Gilbert's advice and set aside a project that isn't really inspiring me anymore. As hippy-dippy as it seems, you gotta listen to the universe, and follow your bliss, and right now, those currents are pushing me into new directions.

Thanks for reading this long and much love.

xoxo,
Selena