Once people find out that you know something about wine, they suddenly become anxious around you. They don't want to bring a bottle of wine over to your house, lest it be bad. They taste the wine and then look at you to find out if it's good or not.
The same thing happens, the article points out, in the arts. I work in theatre, and I often find that my friends who aren't theatre people want to defer to me on whether a play was good or bad. People don't want to be seen enjoying something that they are not "supposed" to enjoy.
You know what? This IS a tragedy. If you love something, who the HECK cares if it is the "right" thing? Who cares if it's cool or smart or innovative or has too many tannins? You enjoy it, don't you?
I have spent too much time worrying about this. In high school, I pretended I didn't love the Spice Girls until my fellow punk rock friends admitted they liked the Spice Girls. In university, I pretended that Shakespeare plays captivated, rather than bored, me.
NO MORE!
Life doesn't really get good until you stop caring about all of that stuff and just embrace what you love. What benefit do you have from measuring your tastes against whatever subsection of society you would like to be a part of? None!
It's time for a call to action:
In text form:
THE RECEPTIONIST'S MANIFESTO OF LOVE, EMBRACED!
The world, my friends, is divided!
Everywhere we turn, there is a wall, a fence, and a closed door!
We lament, certainly. We lament these divisions the keep us apart.
We lament, until the moment when we want to eat our cheap, waxy milk chocolate without hearing about the heart benefits of artisanal 75% dark chocolate.
We lament, until we want a moment to relax and watch an episode of The Bachelor without having to justify it as an "observation of human behaviour."
We lament, until we want to buy the $7 bottle of wine because we genuinely can't tell the difference between it and the $70 bottle.
We lament, until we want to dance in our living rooms to Justin Bieber's new single while still maintaining our stance that he is a terrible person.
We lament, until we want to do something that the world has told us is a guilty pleasure.
We lament, until we close a door to hide our love!
What if I told you you don't need to hide? Whatever you love, whatever bores you, whatever tastes good, helps you relax, or is simply entertaining - embrace it! Embrace your love!
Read your trashy novel! Obsess over a children's video game! Buy another glass figurine! Display it with pride!
HIDE NO MORE, MY LOVELIES! HIDE NO MORE!
(Unless what you love is actually really weird, or, you know illegal or something. Then maybe keep it under wraps. Let's not get too crazy.)
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