What I Really Think About The Bachelor

I got a special request last week that I give you my two cents about this season's Bachelor... Boy, did she open a gigantic can of worms! Ohhhh where to begin?

For starters, yes, I watch the show each week despite the fact that it's trash television at its finest. In the past, I have felt very strongly convicted about certain television shows and I quit watching them (Ex: Sex in the City... I'm sorry but in my rather conservative opinion, that show seriously crossed the line for my viewing pleasure, no pun intended). After this season, The Bachelor is kind of in limbo for me... Skinny dipping, shared hotel rooms, girls being so ridiculously awful to each other... the list goes on... But this season, I felt that despite the bachelor himself having zero morals, there were a few girls who I really liked! They seemed to make a little friendship circle and stuck together, they avoided drama and they seemed to be women I would want to be friends with.

I am also very intrigued by adorable Emily being the next Bachelorette so I'm pretty positive that I'll be tuning in again next season. Emily was so stinkin' cute... especially with that southern accent! She was one of the only people I can remember who declined the overnight date, she explained that she had a daughter at home that she wanted to set a good example for... And I loved her a little more! Overall, I'm a much bigger fan of the Bachelorette as opposed to the Bachelor. When there are a bunch of girls all trying to reel in one boy it's a colossal cat fight - tears, profanity, empty threats and wayyyyy too much drama. When there is a bunch of dudes checking out one girl it's like a little frat party - there is, of course, some rivalry and competition, but primarily it's horse play, "man hugs" and lots of use of the word "bro." I think it's funny and amusing. So, yes, I just officially talked myself into it... I'm watching next season, no promises after that. Plus, a few of my girlfriends use it as an excuse to get together for a girls' night each week and I really enjoy that time with my friends... Before you even make the argument that we could watch another show, I know this and I've thought about it and I'm sorry but I can't stand watching Dancing with the Stars, so no, that won't work. Bachelorette it is.

Alright, let's break down each vital player of this season's Bachelor... If you want to read each person's actual bio just click on their name and it'll take you there, this is also where I borrowed the pictures from. We'll start with Bad Hair Ben:

Ben: Seriously?! What in the world are all you girls fighting over? Why in the world would you act so incredibly ugly to each other, humiliate your families by literally throwing yourselves at this boy and basically act like a fool on national television for a guy who doesn't care enough about you (or himself for that matter) to go get a hair cut! Now, I know quite a few men who can totally pull this look off, unfortunately Ben is not one of them. His hair drove me INSANE the entire season - it was either sweaty and greasy like he hadn't showered in a week or frizzy like he might have been electricuted just a little bit. I couldn't even concentrate on his pointless conversations for being distracted by his awful butt-cut. Needless to say, I didn't love Ben. Matter of fact, I thought he was a complete dud. He tried to look super outdoorsy, but if you knew anything about horseback riding, fishing, repelling or driving a boat, it was clear this was his first rodeo. Girls kept referring to him as "deep," I guess they edited out all those parts because I just didn't see it... Bottom line - the show dropped the ball by picking him as their main man.

Courtney: Oh "Crazy Courtney" turned out to be the big winner... Winner, loser, whatever you call it when Ben is the prize. She was notorious throughout the show for playing out every model stereotype known to man. Anyone that references Charlie Sheen and "winning" as much as she did wasn't "winning" any awards in my book. Bless the girl's heart she is truly beautiful, but my Mom raised me to believe "Pretty is as pretty does" and Courtney's actions and attitudes were a far cry from beautiful. She treated other contestants incredibly awful, she dipped (pun intended) to a new low on the show by pretty much getting naked multiple times to lure Ben in... Her father must be so proud. By the end of the show she tried to pretend she was the victim, but I'm afraid her problems were all self-imposed. I was truly glad she was the winner, she was there to get attention and further her modeling career and I'm not sure what Ben was there for (maybe promote his wine some more) but it wasn't to fall in love and treat a girl with respect... I kind of thought they deserved each other. And seriously, were black gloves really necessary... she's so weird!

Lindzi: Wow. Has anybody ever seen someone hold it together like this girl did? What. A. Champ! I really liked Lindzi throughout the show... Probably because she rode in on a horse! She seemed very genuine and sincere and fun. I was very impressed at how well she mananged to avoid all drama, I don't think any of the other girls didn't like her and THAT is quite an impressive feat! She was dumped for Crazy Courtney and I'm sure it was a painful ordeal but Lindzi held her head up high and walked away with her class and dignity in tact. I thought it was awesome!! I was very impressed with Lindzi...

Nicki: Little Miss Fort Worth was such a cutie! I thought she was sweet throughout the entire show and I was impressed by her wisdom on how to handle Courtney. She seemed to be one of those people that truly always has a smile and something positive to say! The thing that just pulled my heart apart for Nicki was when she brought Ben to meet her parents and she and her father got to have a little personal time together. Nicki is divorced and her dad was talking to her about how he felt that he should have protected her better, that he shouldn't have given away her hand so easily and that many times he felt guilty for the pain she suffered as a result of her marriage ending. Break my heart! Her sweet daddy made me like her even more!

Kacie: The Tennessee twirler was one of my favorites from the start! She was down to earth, adorable and trying hard to stay out of the drama. Up until the rose ceremony when she got eliminated, she had virtually gone into each week's elimination with a rose already in tow. She seemed to capture ol' Ben from the start. I really liked to hear Kacie's prospective on things, she received a lot of attention and even when she was critical of other girls, she said it nicely... Kacie's road to romance came to a complete stop when she introduced Ben to her parents. Turns out opposites don't always attract! Ben is a wine maker, her family doesn't drink. Ben wanted to move in with whomever won, her mom put her foot down on that in a hurry. Personally, I thought the editing made her parents seem more rigid then they probably were... I think they were just trying to protect her. My parents would have said and done the exact same things. I especially enjoyed the part where her dad said that at this time he wouldn't give his blessing if Ben proposed. Good for him! Her dad didn't know this guy from Adam, I liked that he wasn't just passing his daughter off without thinking twice! I am still a Kacie fan! She represented the South well...

Emily: Despite her awkward rapping, Emily was my black horse. I was more than a little hesitant at the start but she ended up winning me over BIG TIME! She quickly became my personal favorite and my choice for "Best Dressed." Emily was clearly very intelligent (PhD Student) and I loved hearing anything/everything she had to say. She was incredibly well spoken and insightful. She was right in the middle of the drama, but she truly had the best of intentions... Unfortunately she felt the need to warn Ben about Crazy Courtney and of course, that hit the fan on her. One of my favorite things about Emily has been hearing her opinions AFTER she left the show. The girl answers questions perfectly! Read her post-elimination interview with People Magazine here.

So, there you go... my favorite girls plus Bad Hair Ben and Crazy Courtney. I really do enjoy watching the show and I don't blame the girls for signing up - free travel to amazing places looks pretty fun to me too! I do wish they would realize a couple of key things though - (1) Ladies are to be pursued, not vice versa... Yes, we all flirt and do what we can to "encourage" a boy to ask us out, but let's TRY to keep from throwing ourselves at them. It's rather unattractive and let's face it, men tend to like what they can't have anyway! (2) Traveling the world and going on crazy romantic dates are not real life!! Don't be overwhelmed and buy into a man just because he wines and dines you at the start, especially if there is actually a television show scheduling and paying for it all. Make sure that the boy you fall for, is going to respect you, love you and do everything in his power to take care of you when the cameras stop rolling. That is wayyyyy more important than the fancy stuff in the long run. (3) Whenever you get dumped please don't question "what YOU did wrong." Most likely YOU didn't do anything wrong, you aren't supposed to marry every man you have a crush on. When you find the true Mr. Right, he will love you even when you do actually mess something wrong. Until you meet that man, learn from your experiences, remain confident, never ever ever question your self worth and just have fun! Now, I'll climb off my soap box...

Be Blessed!

Raegan