Over the weekend, I saw a bunch of teenagers out and about, all dressed up for their high school homecoming. So much pomp. So much circumstance. So much cologne and hairspray. The air around them felt thick with anticipation and the faint scent of corsages in bloom.
Maybe it’s the collective homecoming energy—or the fact that I recently stumbled across a photo from my own homecoming—but lately I’ve been thinking about how some folks never quite graduate…emotionally at least.
When I’m not working on my own projects, I unwind by watching “commentary” channels on YouTube. Also known as “drama” channels.
I don’t usually know who they’re talking about—YouTuber A versus Influencer B over something that happened on Livestream C—but that’s part of the charm. For me, it’s low-effort entertainment and a way to stay vaguely informed about internet and pop culture without having to invest too much time or energy.
Every now and then, the commentary crowd turns on each other, and it’s like high school all over again. Complete with the gossip, cliques, and mob mentality. Think cafeteria politics with ring lights, microphones, and bratty content creators.
Meet “The Swiftologist” and Adam McIntyre—two YouTubers I occasionally watch who seem intent on destroying each other, cheered on by their overlapping “communities.” Naturally, these two baby gays have turned it into a group project. Clicks and clout are the curriculum. I have lost countless brain cells while watching this kind of shit…
What started as relatively harmless commentary—videos dissecting celebrity feuds and influencer antics—has slowly morphed into its own meta-drama. Now, they’re not just reporting on online chaos. They are the chaos. And fans, of course, are picking sides while analyzing tone, timestamps, and eye-rolls like it’s a forensic investigation.
There’s something endearing about being an eternal high-schooler. Most of us want (or wanted) to be one of the “popular” kids. But at some point, in my opinion, we all need to grow the fuck up.
And not in a joyless, “be like your parents” kind of way.
But in a “stop performing for the crowd” kind of way.
High school—with all its politics and posturing—was never my cup of tea. So why anyone would choose to keep reliving it is, for me, the ultimate unsolved mystery.
Growing up doesn’t mean dimming your spark. It means learning where to shine it. It’s choosing peace over pettiness, grace over gossip. It’s realizing not every insult needs a response, not every rumor needs repeating, and not every online stranger deserves your time or energy.
High school was about finding yourself.
Adulthood is about defining yourself.
So if you catch me rolling my eyes at some YouTube drama while local high schools crown their homecoming kings and queens, please know it’s not cynicism. It’s clarity.
I don’t know about you, but I graduated a long, long time ago. And the view from the grown-up table is a lot clearer. And less dramatic too.
Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 28
BIRTHDAYS
1754 = John Laurens = American soldier and statesman 🌈
1856 = Anna Elizabeth Klumpke = American artist 🌈
1897 = Edith Head = American costume designer
1909 = Francis Bacon = Irish painter 🌈
1914 = Jonas Salk = American biologist and physician
1929 = Joan Plowright = English actor
1932 = Suzy Parker = American model and actor
1936 = Charlie Daniels = American singer-songwriter
1939 = Jane Alexander = American actor and producer
1940 = Susan Harris = American screenwriter and producer
1944 = Dennis Franz = American actor
1948 = Telma Hopkins = American singer and actor
1952 = Annie Potts = American actor
1953 = Desmond Child = American songwriter and producer
1955 = Bill Gates = American businessman and Microsoft co-founder
1962 = Daphne Zuniga = American actor
1963 = Lauren Holly = American actor
1963 = Sheryl Underwood = American comedian, actor, and talk show host
1965 = Jami Gertz = American actor
1966 = Andy Richter = American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1966 = Chris Bauer = American actor
1967 = Julia Roberts = American actor and producer
1969 = Ben Harper = American singer-songwriter
1969 = Jeremy Davies = American actor
1972 = Brad Paisley = American singer-songwriter
1974 = Joaquin Phoenix = American actor and producer
1982 = Matt Smith = English actor and director
1987 = Frank Ocean = American singer-songwriter 🌈
1998 = Nolan Gould = American actor
EVENTS
1636 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony votes to establish a theological college, which would later become Harvard University.
1726 – Gulliver’s Travels, written by Jonathan Swift, is published.
1886 – POTUS Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty.
1893 – Pyotr Tchaikovsky‘s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Pathétique receives its première performance only nine days before the composer’s death.
1919 – The U.S. Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson‘s veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.
1925 – The funerary mask of Tutankhamun, possibly originally made for Queen Neferneferuaten, was uncovered for the first time in approximately 3,250 years.
1951 = The French Postal Service issues stamps with gay lovers Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud.
2009 – US President Barack Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The creative process is a cocktail of instinct, skill, culture and a highly creative feverishness. It is not like a drug; it is a particular state when everything happens very quickly, a mixture of consciousness and unconsciousness, of fear and pleasure; it’s a little like making love, the physical act of love.”
Francis Bacon
Oh jeez the generational gap......as a 60's 🇫🇴🇬🇧 kid HS proms (🇺🇸imported)were not even a glint in any educator's eye, just the end of year dance for the leavers. My HS was in an all male school, females invited from all girl HS's Nothing at all like 🇺🇸 films/shows like Grease. Trick or Treat is also another 🇺🇸 imported travesty 🥴 I'm showing my age I guess. HS was in a majority divided into religious groups, Protestant/Church of England COE with Roman Catholic all having their own educational schools. In those days there was a minimal presence of other religions to be catered to and everyone got along. It was only in higher education that the mix in beliefs, creeds, melded. This is only a snapshot of the 🇫🇴🇬🇧 way of life of that period in time. Present times, well.......that's a different kettle of fish. Cheers DougT 🇫🇴 🇬🇧
Thanks Clint and Francis Bacon. Love light health peace prosperity and strength to all. 🏳🌈🌈❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤎💜💙💚💛🧡❤🌈🏳🌈