Confessions of a Not So Teenage Teen Drama Queen

OK, time for another confession. And this time I want to admit a guilty pleasure. I am secretly, but really not so secretly, addicted to teen dramas. I thrive on teen angst. I have always known that I have a flare for the dramatics. And I have been willing to admit that I liked teen dramas, but I am starting to think that this preference may be stronger than I realized. Let's dissect:

My love for teen drama started with the quintessential TV melodrama, 90210. I was a Dylan McKay girl, through and through - the tortured orphan with a chip on his shoulder and a heart of gold. And then came Dawson's Creek. And let me just say that I was hooked from the beginning. But when they started the whole Pacey and Joey story, I fell in love. With Pacey- another misunderstood misfit with witt and charm.

And along the way there have been other shows, and other crushes: The OC (Seth), One Tree Hill (Nathan), My So Called Life (Jordan Catalano) and Felicity (Ben). I have enjoyed watching each of these shows and planted myself firmly and regularly in front of the TV to watch the drama unfold. And I do not regret it. I am embracing my flare for melodramatic teen angst and I am trying to ignore what that might say about me. Recently I have found that my liking has also strayed to fiction - I am now reading "Teen Fiction" and devouring each juicy tidbit with alarming speed. I have become both a Harry Potter freak and a Twilight nut case.

I even own a Harry Potter board game for Pete's sake. But I don't mind. Because these stories have provided me with hours of entertainment. And all of these guys have grabbed my heart for one simple reason... they started the pursuit. That is every girls dream after all - to find the ungettable get and make him got.

My current "teen" crush (because lets face it, he is really closer to my age) is Nathan from One Tree Hill. I am in Tree Hill overload because I watch the new shows while simultaneously catching up on the old seasons through Blockbuster.com. I have related to the show in more ways than I thought possible and many more ways than I'd ever like to admit. But still, it has this guy who was a jock-guy who became a solid husband. And who doesn't like to watch that transformation? I know I do - as pathetic as it me be. And trust me, I know that it is.

Basically, I love watching the tough guy become the unlikely romantic. I get a thrill watching the guy who doesn't care about anything chase after the girl of his dreams at all cost. And while I know it is fake and highly glamorized and over-done - I still yearn for that open emotion and reckless abandon. I am a teen drama queen at heart. And that is OK. I will probably get over this fad when I am too old to appreciate the jive lingo and hip hop music, but for now I am still in the zone. Life is rough and growing up is hard. Sometimes it is nice to go back in time to the stage in life when failing a class and liking a guy were your biggest concerns. Plus, watching someone elses impossibly unrealistic drama makes you both forget about and appreciate your own everyday dramas.

My next confession will be about something that I once loved to hate, and now hate to love: Hannah Montana. More on that when I can summon the courage to face the facts. Until then...