Watching The Bachelor
I finished watching Monday night's The Bachelor last night. I know that it's hard to believe that I could get into that show, and I've got several buddies that give me a hard time about it, and even I feel a little soft sometimes for watching it. But if I'm being completely honest, I am a little soft, much softer than the majority would guess. I've actually always been one who believes in the whole fairy tale, "prince and princess", John Eldredge's "Beauty to Save" thing. In fact, Eldredge explains it best, and I feel good about the fact that my feelings on this area are valid and justified. From the beginning of time men have lived to find their "Beauty to Save", and I'm no different. In fact, he will tell you that recognizing that part of you is part of becoming a real man.
And that is one reason why I watch the show. Especially considering my situation and location. As a single guy living in a small town, you don’t meet women like that. Especially that many, and at one time. Where I come from, the majority of the women who are that beautiful and have that much going for them know it and act like they're too good for anyone. There are the few who have the great attitude to match, but it just seems like they either already have a man, or are attracted to the wrong men (which would lead one to believe that they don't really have it all that together in the first place). Now, I'm not foolish enough to believe that all the women on the show are as genuine as they appear while on camera, but if you watch it for the full season you can figure out which ones are and which ones aren't. And I do think that the majority of them are really as good as they appear. So, watching the show is kind of refreshing, and lets you at least partially get to know some great women, and makes you feel good about the fact that there really are some good ones out there. It does give me a little hope that maybe one day I'll meet someone like that.
The reason that I ever started watching the show is because, as funny as it sounds, I’ve been asked a million times why I don’t try to go on The Bachelor. Honestly, I don’t look like those guys, I don’t have the money or career that some of them have, and I certainly don’t have the bodies that most of them have...at least not anymore. But to get the chance to meet those women, you’d have to be a fool not to want to be given that opportunity. The shame of it is that they do pick men and women that would have no problem finding a mate (Tierra excluded, of course), and that’s not me. But I do have fun playing along with the show.
If it had been me, my final four would have been Lindsay, Leslie, Kristy, and Amanda. Those women are the reason that I watched this season. I gave up on it four or five seasons ago when they brought Brad back for a second season, which was ridiculous to me. I refused to watch that season, and hadn’t watched it since until I saw the women in the previews that I mentioned above. To me, they made it worth watching the show again, at least for this season.
You may wonder why Amanda, because she came across so negative pretty much the entire time she was on the show. The truth is, I was just super-attracted to her. And honestly, I thought she was portrayed worse than I'm betting that she really is. I'm not completely sure why she was the way that she was around the girls, but I'm guessing that it was never as bad as they made it out to be. I could be wrong, but that's my guess. Maybe I'm just hoping that because I was so attracted to her that she really wasn't that bad. But she didn't seem like she would have been a bad girlfriend, and she wasn't nearly as bad as Tierra. But then again, who was?
To get back to my original point, even though I was super-attracted to Amanda, I have always been Team Lindsay, Leslie, and Kristy. So I think that Lindsay is a great pick. And I have liked Catherine from the beginning, too. She seems very real and down-to-earth. But Lindsay’s personality is just over-the-top perfect. The way she carries herself and the way that she can look at him sometimes is pretty amazing. She seems completely genuine, and so much fun. But, given my lack of confidence in Sean, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t choose her. I’ve always been complimented on my ability to read people, so I guess we’ll see if I’ve got him pegged in a few weeks.
And I thought Leslie's personality was right on pace with Lindsay's, just in a different way. That was another girl that I thought was completely genuine and I love someone who has that bubbly personality that just seems to always be happy and smiling.
Is it a coincidence that my final four were also who I thought were the most physically attractive? Or, does their personality make them more attractive to me? I've always said that I'd prefer a great personality on a cute girl than a so-so personality on a gorgeous girl. So, does that answer my questions? Probably not.
Now, if you asked me to narrow down my final four choices to one, I couldn't do it. That's a complete toss-up, and would require me to get to know them in my own way. With those four, I don't think I could go wrong.
With all that being said, overall, I'm pretty happy with Sean's two choices. I don’t dislike Ashlee, but I do believe that she’s got a pile of issues, probably too many for Sean to handle. And that's more of a bash on Sean than on Ashlee. I actually feel bad for her because it’s not her fault. She really has had it rough, and I can’t imagine how she must have felt growing up in that situation. I think that she’s done a great job with how she’s handled it all. But, I’m not a huge fan of Sean and his ability to deal with those types of issues. He actually seems very self-centered to me, more so than the overly positive way that he is viewed by so many people. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, I just think that it’s been all about him, and he’s totally taken advantage of the power that he has on the show.
Practically all of the dates have been centered around what he wants to do, and some of them have even been very controversial in my eyes. He is constantly putting the women in situations that they are totally uncomfortable in, and sometimes even in harm’s way. The rock-climbing and drop from the top of a building were more for him than the women, but I could see that as at least being more scary than dangerous. But asking and expecting the women to jump into water that was just above freezing, and taking Sarah on the roller derby date was just plain dangerous. It was unbelievably unsympathetic toward Sarah and her disability. Some, probably even Sean and Sarah, will tell you that it was something that she would have wanted to try to tackle, and she made a very valiant effort. But just because someone is willing to try something doesn’t mean that it’s OK to ask them to. Once she was on the date, she wasn’t going to back down from the challenge, and that speaks to her character. But he should have never invited her on that date, it was just very selfish. And that speaks to his.
So, to wrap this up, let's just say that this season has been a fun watch for me. I've enjoyed getting to know the ladies on the show. We'll see who the next Bachelorette is going to be before I commit to watching that season. Here's my guess, it will be Lindsay. And if it is, then I'll watch it and enjoy it, no matter how much of a hard time I get....
And that is one reason why I watch the show. Especially considering my situation and location. As a single guy living in a small town, you don’t meet women like that. Especially that many, and at one time. Where I come from, the majority of the women who are that beautiful and have that much going for them know it and act like they're too good for anyone. There are the few who have the great attitude to match, but it just seems like they either already have a man, or are attracted to the wrong men (which would lead one to believe that they don't really have it all that together in the first place). Now, I'm not foolish enough to believe that all the women on the show are as genuine as they appear while on camera, but if you watch it for the full season you can figure out which ones are and which ones aren't. And I do think that the majority of them are really as good as they appear. So, watching the show is kind of refreshing, and lets you at least partially get to know some great women, and makes you feel good about the fact that there really are some good ones out there. It does give me a little hope that maybe one day I'll meet someone like that.
The reason that I ever started watching the show is because, as funny as it sounds, I’ve been asked a million times why I don’t try to go on The Bachelor. Honestly, I don’t look like those guys, I don’t have the money or career that some of them have, and I certainly don’t have the bodies that most of them have...at least not anymore. But to get the chance to meet those women, you’d have to be a fool not to want to be given that opportunity. The shame of it is that they do pick men and women that would have no problem finding a mate (Tierra excluded, of course), and that’s not me. But I do have fun playing along with the show.
If it had been me, my final four would have been Lindsay, Leslie, Kristy, and Amanda. Those women are the reason that I watched this season. I gave up on it four or five seasons ago when they brought Brad back for a second season, which was ridiculous to me. I refused to watch that season, and hadn’t watched it since until I saw the women in the previews that I mentioned above. To me, they made it worth watching the show again, at least for this season.
You may wonder why Amanda, because she came across so negative pretty much the entire time she was on the show. The truth is, I was just super-attracted to her. And honestly, I thought she was portrayed worse than I'm betting that she really is. I'm not completely sure why she was the way that she was around the girls, but I'm guessing that it was never as bad as they made it out to be. I could be wrong, but that's my guess. Maybe I'm just hoping that because I was so attracted to her that she really wasn't that bad. But she didn't seem like she would have been a bad girlfriend, and she wasn't nearly as bad as Tierra. But then again, who was?
To get back to my original point, even though I was super-attracted to Amanda, I have always been Team Lindsay, Leslie, and Kristy. So I think that Lindsay is a great pick. And I have liked Catherine from the beginning, too. She seems very real and down-to-earth. But Lindsay’s personality is just over-the-top perfect. The way she carries herself and the way that she can look at him sometimes is pretty amazing. She seems completely genuine, and so much fun. But, given my lack of confidence in Sean, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t choose her. I’ve always been complimented on my ability to read people, so I guess we’ll see if I’ve got him pegged in a few weeks.
And I thought Leslie's personality was right on pace with Lindsay's, just in a different way. That was another girl that I thought was completely genuine and I love someone who has that bubbly personality that just seems to always be happy and smiling.
Is it a coincidence that my final four were also who I thought were the most physically attractive? Or, does their personality make them more attractive to me? I've always said that I'd prefer a great personality on a cute girl than a so-so personality on a gorgeous girl. So, does that answer my questions? Probably not.
Now, if you asked me to narrow down my final four choices to one, I couldn't do it. That's a complete toss-up, and would require me to get to know them in my own way. With those four, I don't think I could go wrong.
With all that being said, overall, I'm pretty happy with Sean's two choices. I don’t dislike Ashlee, but I do believe that she’s got a pile of issues, probably too many for Sean to handle. And that's more of a bash on Sean than on Ashlee. I actually feel bad for her because it’s not her fault. She really has had it rough, and I can’t imagine how she must have felt growing up in that situation. I think that she’s done a great job with how she’s handled it all. But, I’m not a huge fan of Sean and his ability to deal with those types of issues. He actually seems very self-centered to me, more so than the overly positive way that he is viewed by so many people. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, I just think that it’s been all about him, and he’s totally taken advantage of the power that he has on the show.
Practically all of the dates have been centered around what he wants to do, and some of them have even been very controversial in my eyes. He is constantly putting the women in situations that they are totally uncomfortable in, and sometimes even in harm’s way. The rock-climbing and drop from the top of a building were more for him than the women, but I could see that as at least being more scary than dangerous. But asking and expecting the women to jump into water that was just above freezing, and taking Sarah on the roller derby date was just plain dangerous. It was unbelievably unsympathetic toward Sarah and her disability. Some, probably even Sean and Sarah, will tell you that it was something that she would have wanted to try to tackle, and she made a very valiant effort. But just because someone is willing to try something doesn’t mean that it’s OK to ask them to. Once she was on the date, she wasn’t going to back down from the challenge, and that speaks to her character. But he should have never invited her on that date, it was just very selfish. And that speaks to his.
So, to wrap this up, let's just say that this season has been a fun watch for me. I've enjoyed getting to know the ladies on the show. We'll see who the next Bachelorette is going to be before I commit to watching that season. Here's my guess, it will be Lindsay. And if it is, then I'll watch it and enjoy it, no matter how much of a hard time I get....