As a pop culture connoisseur, I take my taste very seriously. The TV shows I watch, the music I listen to and the books I read all play an important role. I want to be the most well-rounded pop culture participant I can be.
Unfortunately, I've made a few mistakes.
Indeed, I've embraced some pop phenomena that I'm not especially proud of, specifically in my teen years. To start things off, there was a time when I was a fan of Glenn Beck.
Yes, that Glenn Beck. I know what you're thinking: how could anyone actually listen to that crazy, sobbing blowhard and take him seriously? Well, in my defense, he wasn't always that bad; this was during his CNN days.
At that point in time, he didn't shout or cry quite as much, and once in awhile he actually made an astute point. As a result, my teenage liberal self counted him as the one conservative I could trust, the one right wing voice that sounded reasonable.
Um, whoops.
Still, in order to be a fan of his, you had to look past his occasional idiotic, racist comment. I did that during the CNN days, but when he jumped to Fox and left his sanity for dead, I had to leave him behind.
You'd think that would be my most cringe-worthy pop culture interest, but you'd be wrong.
After all, when you're in your teens, you're still discovering your political ideology, so it's easy to get sucked in by the wrong guy. The field of comedy, on the other hand, is something I take much more seriously.
As someone who aspires to one day work in the comedy field, I try to take influence from only the very best. Unfortunately, I failed miserably at that in the summer of 2005, when I was a diehard fan of both Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia.
Pretty embarrassing, I know.
To this day, I'm not sure how it happened. Maybe Dave Chapelle's trip to Africa had left me so starved for comedy that I was willing to laugh at anything. Maybe the concept of the "Superfinger" had momentarily reeled me in. Maybe when you're 15, your taste in comedy is underdeveloped enough that you'll laugh at anything, no matter how unfunny it is.
Whatever the case, I'm glad to have those two out of my life for good.
Even in the field of music, which I consider to be my area of expertise, I've made some egregious errors. There was a time when I listened to Nickelback and Creed. What can I tell you, I guess when I was 11 I was dumb enough to think "With Arms Wide Open" and "How You Remind Me" were beacons of songwriting genius.
Thankfully, I know better now.
Even as I got older, I still had some excursions into mediocre music. During my junior year of high school, I briefly became much more of a Fall Out Boy fan that I'd like to admit. No, it wasn't because I had a crush on Pete Wentz; I actually enjoyed their music. About a month later, it had worn off, although I still think "Sugar, We're Goin' Down" is pretty catchy.
Still, I count this as another cautionary example.
The point is, the things you love now may seem ridiculous to you later. Before you go getting a tattoo of your favorite band's logo, or claiming that some pundit is "like a genius, man," keep in mind you may not always feel this way. Our tastes evolve, and it's very easy to be embarrassed by the things you once cared about.
