To Thine Own Self Be True...

A couple of years ago, I signed up with a market research agency to attend focus groups a few times a year to discuss a variety of topics and products.  It is really interesting and fun and it pays well.  One time I was picked for a candy study and I tried a few new candy prototypes from a well-known candy (red licorice) maker...I am not a candy buyer (except for good chocolate of course!!), but it was interesting to see what new candy ideas this company had come up with.

Recently, I was picked to be a part of a focus group on reality-based TV shows, which turned out to be reality-based wedding shows, mostly featured on channels like TLC. The focus group was about 20 women, some with kids, some without, some married, some single.  We went into a room that had amazing views of downtown (we were on the 26th floor) and sat around a very large round table.  The man who was leading the group told us to tell everyone our name, what we do & what our favorite reality-based TV show is.  I immediately thought of my favorite show, "House Hunters International."  I like this show for a few reasons, but mostly because it is on a channel that I can actually watch with my 8 year old around and not have to worry about something inappropriate coming on.  I also really love this show because I like to see how other people live around the world, how they design their homes and what different cities look like, plus it makes me want to travel more!! 

So, back to the focus group....I tend to get a bit nervous when I am in a group of people that I don't know.  This is definitely a case of adult onset shyness, because I never considered myself to be at all shy, but I am now in situations like this.  When my turn came to introduce myself, I said my name, that I am currently a stay at home mom and I have an etsy business, and then I said this, "...and my favorite reality show is "Keeping Up with The Kardashians."  What??  Admittedly, I used to love Keeping Up with The Kardashians, but since we changed from satellite TV to the free bunny ear TV, we don't get Keeping Up with The Kardashians anymore (We do however get the best channels in the land, a couple of PBS channels that I adore).  Not to mention that after couple of seasons, I was over the Kardashian Shenanigans.  (And while we're at it, I have 2 kids at two completely different ages & stages in life, so I don't watch much tv....shhhhh, don't tell my focus group that!!!)

 Now,  I think my life was trying to tell me something here because I kid you not, the man leading the discussion mentioned that I liked Keeping Up with The Kardashians about  a dozen times after that.  I said something about not liking shows that have a lot of drama and he said, "Elizabeth, you said you like Keeping Up with The Kardashians and you don't like shows with a lot of drama?" or "But Elizabeth, you must like this show with the family fighting because your favorite show is Keeping Up with The Kardashians." Seriously!!!

I learned an important lesson that day.

{photo from here}

It was a simple life lesson.  To be true to who you are, in every situation, (no matter what other people may think of your favorite tv show). Life has a funny way of teaching you things, doesn't it??