Super Hopeless Liar.

I help a bit with the Young Women in my church, and so I am kept abreast of the latest fads. I listen to their music, read the books they're raving about, watch the movies they love. They think I'm incredibly cool to be interested in the stuff they are. The truth is, that I'm not really interested in the "stuff", but I am interested in them, and when it comes to teens, if you don't share their experiences, they don't share their thoughts.

In October, all they wanted to talk about was the "My Super Hopeless Romance" blog. You've heard of it, I'm sure. I don't even need to insert a link here because either y'all have it on your blogrolls or you're a follower, and if you're too proud to admit your addiction publicly, it's at least bookmarked. It seems that EVERYBODY (well at least every female) has read this blog, at least in part. Because admit it, ladies, this blog fed not just drama addicted teenager's appetites for a good romance story, it also fed a lot of grown Mormon women's appetites for a good romance story. It was sad, it was sweet, it was funny, and it was even real, the poor girl!

Except it wasn't. Turns out a very influential Mormon mommy blogger with romance novel aspirations made it all up, just to "test the market", then after a month of deceiving the entire m.m.blogging community, gave in to the mounting guilt and confessed. The Sunday afterwards, that's all the girls wanted to talk about. Some of them were angry that she had lied, a few were disappointed but indifferent, and one girl was devastated. She had identified with the main character to the point that she felt terribly betrayed and despondent over the revelation that the blog was fiction. I worry about her a bit because she's not terribly emotionally healthy in the first place. Of course, what teenager is, right?

It made me sad, and more than a little angry at the blogger and her fabrication that had hurt my young friend so much. So I laid my prepared lesson aside and we spent the remainder of the hour talking about popular media and how we have to be careful what we believe about the things we read/watch/listen to, because they can deceive and hurt us. We talked about the consequences of dishonesty, and how not only had the author of the romance blog hurt many of her readers with her deception, but she had also destroyed her own credibility; people will always wonder if she's lying to them as a result of this. We discussed what the popular definition of love is as opposed to the scriptural definition. We talked about how the messages taught by current pop music and movies aren't always healthy: "I can't live without you" and "If you leave me I'll be nothing" are not only false statements, but they aren't even about love, instead indicating unhealthy obsession and low self-esteem.

Near the end of our time together, one of the girls asked me if I personally was disappointed that the blog wasn't real. I replied, intending humor, that I never believe anything anyone tells me; that way I don't get hurt. She missed the joke, and said, "Gosh, Sister Stupid, that's a pretty sad and lonely way to live, don't you think?"

She has a point.