When Hillary Clinton lost the election, photos started to pop up on social media of her in the woods.  They went viral. People were comforted seeing makeup free, casual Hil hitting the hiking trail instead of the campaign trail.  
 
She was banished to the woods and that’s where she was supposed to stay.  But Hillary Clinton never did what she was supposed to do.
 
She was supposed to plant flowers and pick out China like a good First Lady. Instead, she tried to fix health care.  And people HATED that. It’s not what she’s supposed to be doing.
 
She didn’t bail on her husband after a mortifying betrayal.  People HATED that. It’s not what she’s supposed to do.
 
She worked with Republicans in the Senate, even though that’s not what you’re supposed to do.
 
In 2008 she ran for president and was called shrill, too ambitious, nagging and a bitch.  And then in 2016, she ran again even though she wasn’t supposed to.
 
She had the foresight to see the hateful light of those Party City Tiki torches a year before Charlottesville and call them deplorable.  People HATED that.  You’re not supposed to criticize the electorate.
 
During the 2016 campaign, reporters chased Mitt Romney for his opinion on Trump because he was the last Republican candidate for president.  His opinion, of course, mattered.   In the sliver of normal presidential acts, president-elect Donald Trump met with Al Gore about climate change. The pundits praised Trump because Gore was a former Democratic nominee and climate change expert. His opinion mattered.
 
Yet there’s a strong sentiment that Hillary, the first female nominee for a major party for president, should just shut up and go home.  Here’s just a smattering of the headlines. 
 
“Hillary: How can we miss you when you won't go away?”
“Can Hillary Clinton Please Go Quietly into the Night? “
“'Honestly, I wish she’d just shut the f--- up and go away': Democrats beg Clinton to cease her 'blame game”
 
Since women flooded in the streets in January, there’s an overall sentiment on the Left: RESIST.  Have your voices be heard. Unless your Hillary Clinton.  Then shut up. 
 
Hillary Clinton came out of the woods and what she has to say is important.  Her story, like all our stories, is IMPORTANT. She’s the first female nominee for a major party for president.  No one will have that story to tell again.  It’s a story worth writing.   And more, importantly, a story worth reading.
 
So I say Welcome Back, Hillary. 

     There will be autopsy reports, dissertations, bestsellers and probably one well-cast HBO movie about the 2016 presidential election. But one thing is true, the instrument, television, became merely wires and lights in a box.
     In 1989, Vince McMahon didn’t want to pay those pesky athletic commission fees anymore, so he rebranded professional wrestling as sports entertainment.  Almost thirty years later, internet wrestling fans still fight about this on Reddit. The defining feature of sports is that an individual or team compete for a victory. In pro wrestling, the wrestlers are as impressive as any other professional athletes, but the outcome is predetermined, hence sports entertainment.
     I admit Vince McMahon and Edward R. Murrow don’t normally belong in the same discussion. But if Edward R. Murrow had turned on the box with wires and lights, he would have labeled Fox News, CNN and even my beloved MSNBC as news entertainment. The defining characteristic of news is that it covers fact. In this election season, fact was as MIA as Donald Trump’s taxes. We were left with mere news entertainment, low-brow entertainment at that.
     On the cusp of the most unprecedented presidency, say that five times fast, we need true journalism now more than ever.  It was journalists who exposed Watergate, published the Pentagon Papers and shined a spotlight on the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse.  We don’t need SNL caricatures trading talking points nightly under the headline of news.  We definitely don’t need Facebook masquerading as a newsroom. Like E! News and Entertainment Tonight, the only news the Social media king should be trusted with is engagements, weddings, breakups and babies.  
     It was almost sixty years ago, when Edward R. Murrow warned us about a, “decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference.” We are in that battle now and we need the best army to win. That’s why this week I updated my budget to enlist the best.
 $1.99/week for a digital subscription to the LA Times.
$12.99/3 months for a digital Newsweek based solely on the impressive investigative reports of Kurt Eichenwald this election season. If more people read his work this past election season, we would be saying President Elect Clinton.
$3.75/week for a digital subscription to the New York Times. Donald Trump spent his first weekend as president elect attacking the NYT and solidifying my $3.75 a week to the “The Gray Lady.”
 Total Weekly investment: $6.75   That’s less than what I paid for my lunch at Panera today and will far exceed the health benefits, no matter how many “clean fresh food” ads Panera runs.
      I believe the gorgeous SONY box mounted in my living room is more than wires and lights. I believe this most powerful instrument “can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire.” But like all instruments, it’s only as good as the person who plays it.  I hope the players get better, we need them.

1. Spray painting
​I’m not tagging gang symbols around LA or leaving Instagram inspiration for LA hipsters, but ever since I discovered gold spray paint on Amazon, no home décor accessory is safe. It’s shocking that Maddie will end 2015 without a gold streak from residual bystanding. ​

​2.Buzzfeed Online Quizzes
Like mothers who limit internet time for their children, I restrict my Buzzfeed usage.  Mostly because if I did not, this list would not be a list. It simply would be one activity:  Buzzfeed quizzes.  Yet, they have provided me with some useful information.
I would last less than twenty-four hours in a zombie apocalypse, which I support. Apparently, I am Mulan. I guess I am not part mermaid like I thought. I am not gonna lie, that one hurt.  I am, though, getting an +A in life which made up for the soul crushing Ariel dream killer result.  Buzzfeed quizzes have sort of filled the void of standardized testing since I left school. I give them way too much weight, try to figure out the pattern, only to retake them until I’m pleased with my results.  Not sure if getting an A+ in life according to Buzzfeed is resumé worthy, but maybe under special skills?

3. Arrow Grave Theories
​I am obsessed with Arrow, so October 7th, the season four premiere, was marked in red pen on my calendar like any other good Olicity shipper. But one quick grave scene at the end of the episode has stolen more of my time due to pure anxiety.   At this point,  I am softly murmuring in my sleep, “who’s in the grave?” I put off  writer’s block by quickly typing in “Arrow and grave” into Twitter. Now, I can rattle off facts about Jewish stones, Oliver’s emotional state, Barry’s presence or the the most concrete evidence of all, my mom’s opinion.  I think she might have a recording at this point that she just plays, “they aren’t gonna kill off Felicity.” 

4. Keeping Up with the Kardashians
No, I don’t mean watching the show, that’s  merely the bare bones basics, like attending class in college. I am talking about the required reading outside of class like following Lamar Watch 2015, Diane Sawyer specials, Vanity Fair covers, hating douchebag cheating Scott followed by supporting rehab Scott and watching Kyle’s face slowly inflate before our eyes.  Ironically, I originally started the year off by deleting them off my DVR only to complete my PhD in all things Kardashian.  Maybe, it’s like being caught in a riptide, the worst thing is to fight it.  Instead, in 2016, I should save my energy, stop fighting it and accept the fact that if it’s Sunday you know I’m watching E! But Saint West?!?!?  I have to fight that right?

5. Googling
​For me, the first Google search is like the first shot of the night and the internet becomes a bar without last call.   I start the night watching an ESPN "30 for 30" about the Oakland Raiders leaving Los Angeles and I finish the night knowing the most gang affiliated professional sports team logos. Lids selling so many Cincinnati Reds hats makes a lot more sense now.   Or maybe it starts with my finger nail looking a bit funky.  A quick WebMD search starts harmless enough, but by the end the night I have three possible life threating diseases.   

Maybe my friend Patrick is right. Maybe I should vow to put down my devices? I wonder if there’s a Buzzfeed quiz about that? I should Google that? Did Kris Jenner ever vow to do that? Felicity on Arrow would die if she gave up her phone.  She better not die, it's not her in the grave.    I give up, I'm gonna go spray paint something.  Watch out Maddie. ​

Midway through my twenties, I realized that although “Friends” provided me with memorable gems  like “Pivot, Unagi and a Cow’s point being Moo,”  it also promised me several lies.

•  I haven’t had a stream of guest star love interests. 
  
•  I don’t know a single person who lives in a rent-controlled apartment. 
  
• You actually do have to go to work to make all the money you blow at your local coffee house.  And no one gets the same seat at the coffee house everyday. 
  
• I never have time to leisurely discuss events over breakfast with my friends on the week days.  Breakfast itself seems like a luxury some days. 

Due to these lies, I often found my friends and I feeling like we weren’t truly living up to our twenty- something potential.  Then while watching Chasing Life this Season, I realized this might be the most accurate portray of how life really is in your twenties.

1. Friends are at Different Stages
When we first met Beth, she was barista at a coffee house and April was an-up-and  upcoming reporter. Now, Beth barely can put down her two cellphones. After years of being in the same place with your friends (kindergarten through college), the twenties is a this huge shock.  You are the only person on the your exact path.  All you can do is try to support each other like Beth and April do.

2. You might Still Live at Home.
I love that April lives at home.  She lives in one of the most expensive cities in the country and, for once, the main character doesn’t have some amazing loft fresh out of college.  That doesn’t happen. Instead, April shares a bathroom with her teen sister. That’s real. And when she does move into her dream apartment, we will cheer even more for her.   Maybe it will be with Leo and my shipper heart will burst.

3. Your Career Matters
Yes, I adore Leo and April, but what I root for more than anything is April’s career.  Since the moment April lied her way into a blood drive, she has been unapologetically career focused and it has been glorious. You spend eighteen years in school, add on some grad school and unpaid internships, devoting yourself to your chosen career.   Yet,  sometimes people act like your Match.com profile should be more important than your LinkedIn one.   But not April and Thank God for that.

4. Your Parents are Your Friends
There’s a great scene where April and her mom settle in to watch their favorite TV show. I remember thinking, "this is your twenties."  It is one of many scenes where April's second BFF, after the amazing Beth, is her mom.  You think your twenties are going to be clubs and Sex and TheCity antics, but a lot of   times your first call is still your Mom.  

5. Life Gets Real
The premise of the show is April gets diagnosed with Cancer at twenty-four.  Now, I did not get diagnosed with cancer, but I did get diagnosed with endometriosis at twenty-four.   Like April, I spent that year in and out of the hospital.   There is something about your twenties. It is full of surprises and sometimes they are not always great.

I am not sure there is a single decade where people are at more different stages than during their twenties.  You can be single, married, divorced, have kids or even be sick.  It’s so unique that it’s often not portrayed correctly.  When a show like Chasing Life nails it, it should be celebrated!

The spring finale of Chasing Life airs tonight on ABC Family 9PM.

In Vampire Diaries, Caroline and Stefan recently flipped their humanity switches.  Now, normally this would lead to very bad things like murder, blood sucking and over all "vampire on the lose” craziness.   I have to say, given the Catholic guilt conscience I carry around, there is something alluring about flipping the good ole’ humanity switch.

Six Things I'd Ditch with my Humanity Switched Off

1.Ditch the Cart
After I load the last grocery bag into my trunk, the distance between the cart drop-off and me somehow now rivals a 5K.  Of course, I begrudgingly push my cart back because I am a good citizen of the world and not some Satan worshiper who leaves their cart in the prime spot you want to park in.  With my switch flipped, though, I am ditching that cart to the tune of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.”

2. Ditch the Customary Text
We all do it.  Either we totally forget about a text or just plain ignore it.  Unfortunately we have a conscience, we feel obligated to send some courtesy “I’m just seeing this, just got out of work or my bad for being MIA” text.   Without humanity, you cut out all of that and simply respond with “what’s up.” No explanation.  Just I’m here now and you are welcome.

3. Ditch the Early Merge
When I see a lane is closed ahead of me I do two things.  1. Freak out because “oh my God, my precious route has been compromised.”  2.  Try as quickly as possible to merge, while acquiring new sweat rings on my t-shirt.  Now, without my pesky humanity, I’m that girl who flies up the open lane and then merges at the last minute.  That girl saves time and probably has a dry shirt.  A plus side to no humanity is no more prescription strength deodorant because nerves…what nerves?

4. Ditch the Apologizing.
I am not suggesting a full Kayne level apology boycott, but with the switch flipped, I definitely would stop saying sorry to inanimate objects.  I bump into things a lot and I find myself apologizing to trees, trashcans, doors etc.  Also, if we are giving out vampire abilities, maybe I could get their speed.  I am really clumsy.

5.   Ditch the Pass on Crowded Elevators
The elevator doors open wide revealing a crowded car.  Now, of course, even though I have places to go I wait for the next one.   Without that pesky humanity voice inside my head, I’m strolling on to that crowded elevator.  And, hey my humanity’s off, I might as well blast my music on my iPod headphones.

6. Ditch the Poop Bag
My Maltipoo, Maddie, loves to drop a deuce and then run away, basically pinning the poop on me.  I, of course, pick it up with my California approved recyclable poop bag.  And one particularly ingenious time, when I ran out of bags and used an oversized leaf.  I always run across Maddie size poops, so clearly plenty of people have flipped their humanity switch when it comes to dog defecating manners.

Honestly, we have probably seen people do all of these annoying habits.  We wrote them off as jerks or selfish A-holes, when we are clearly in some vampire without their humanity epidemic.  So next time someone cuts you off or doesn’t take her cart back, remember she's got bigger problems.  She's probably a soulless vampire.  That’s got to be it, right?

March 8th is International Women's Day.  To celebrate, here are eight inspiring women on television that make us blast Destiny Child’s “Independent Women.”

1. April Carver
From the moment her uncle uttered the word Cancer, April’s been Sara Bareilles’ “Brave” and Kelly Clarkson's “Stronger.”  Even without her cancer diagnose, April would have made this list.  When we met her, she talked her way into a blood drive to get the story.  "A little setback" like cancer    has not stopped April. It’s refreshing to watch a young woman focus unapologetically on her career.   We might be drawing Leo and April forever on our notebooks, but the line we really cheer for is her byline.

2. Jane Rodriguez
I already wrote about how I think we all should be #JustLikeJane.   In tennis, people always say you play better against a better player.  Somehow your play just rises to the occasion.   Jane is like an expert level tennis player surrounded by mediocre ones.   She makes everyone around her better simply by being herself and that is nothing short of inspiring.

3. Cookie Lyons
Sure, dealing drugs is bad, but everything else Cookie does seem so good.   It is a good thing she kept Lucious’ last name because she is a lioness especially when it comes to protecting her family.  She can give a speech to stuffy Wallstreet investors and outdrink a bunch of gangster rappers. The question really is…is there anything Cookie can’t do? 

4. Peggy Carter
The chick is a freaking SPY in a time when women were told the only things they should be listening into were their husbands’ dinner orders.   She is stronger and more independent than most modern women on television with half the rights.  For some weird reason, the 1940's characters didn’t hear me yelling at the TV, “It was Peggy!” when the government gave all the credit to Thompson for saving the city.  Peggy doesn’t need my useless screaming defense, though, because she already knows she was Badass B.  

5. Felicity Smoak
Barry might literally run circles around her, Oliver can kill himself on the salmon latter (shirtless please) and Ray can fly around in his suit, but the real strength behind these heroes sits in an office chair behind her beloved computers.  She’ll never strap on a mask (eyeholes are confusing) or fight on the streets, but she’s a hero.   Maybe the greatest of them all because Felicity ‘s moral code is the constant in this journey, making her the guiding light.  I mean you've seen the light every time #Olicity kiss, right?

6./ 7.  Stef and Lena Foster
Life never seemed to give the Foster kids much of a break until they met Stef and Lena.  If you are lucky, you get one amazing mom, and after heartbreaking backgrounds, the Foster kids now get two.  Independently these ladies are strong but together, they are force of nature. 

8. Olivia Pope
Somewhere last season in the love triangles, we lost Olivia a bit. Then she got kidnapped and, although taking Olivia away from the best wardrobe on television is a crime against humanity, it did give us back Olivia.  She is the original gladiator who saves herself every time.   Whether you are #TeamJake or #TeamFitz, the winning team will always be #TeamOlivia.

     Oh Valentine’s Day! Remember when it was all about who had the coolest cardboard foldable cards and chalky candy conversation hearts?   Proving once again my theory that holiday candy could never stack up against everyday candy.  Who would ever choose the heart shaped Tumms over M&Ms? Maybe you were a particularly badasss grade schooler and your mom splurged for the Skittles Valentines packs.  Not to brag, but one year I did give out mini Lifesaver Valentines.
     Like too often, I have lost my train of thought due to candy. My point being Valentine’s day went from a good excuse to blow off half the school day for a party, to the most dreaded day of the year.  Almost everyone hates it. If you’re in a relationship, it’s a ticking time bomb of expectation.  And if you’re single, it's basically a "do not jump," circling the drain, day filled with self reflection that only rivals the late night hours of your birthday.
     Instead of avoiding the Walgreens heart covered aisles like the plague or fantasying about chubby Cupid’s eventual clogged artery induced heart attack, I say we Take Valentine's Day Back.  Remember, it’s one day about love and, as Love Actually reminds us every holiday season during the “God Only Knows” airport scene, love is all around us.   Even if that love isn’t romantic love.   The evidence of this can be found where all my life reaffirming ideas reside in.. Television.

Ten Totally LOVING but 100%  Non-Romantic Relationships for Valentine’s Day

1. Dig and Felicity/ Dig and Oliver (Arrow)
Sure hearts stop every time Olicity share a longing glance and, if they kiss, well twitter actually breaks.  But after Oliver’s presumed death (not actual death Thank God), it was Dig’s emotional “I just couldn't protect him” that felt like Ras' sword into our hearts.   From Felicity’s worry about Dig’s exploration of the Russian prison system to Dig literally and figuratively always having Felicity’s back, you just imagine these two swapping BFF bracelets. 

2. Deacon and Scarlett (Nashville)
When Scarlett heard that Deacon needed a partial liver transplant, she didn’t hesitate to volunteer. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a match but she did something equally painful for her. She called her mother.  These two might be unlucky in love, but thanks to each other, they could never doubt that they have someone to love on Valentine’s Day.

3. Ron and Leslie (Parks and Recreation)
When we get our first glimpse of the year 2017 it looks like a scary place.  Not because Grizzle (aka Google) is data mining our lives, but Ron and Leslie are no longer friends.  That’s a bleak future.  Thank goodness our beloved duo worked it out because, in a way, Ron and Leslie give our very divided country hope.  They prove that even the most different of people can find common ground if they try.  So basically, our nation’s problems might be solved if we can get everyone together over waffles. Who can fight over waffles?

4. The Villanueva Women (Jane the Virgin)
No wonder why Jane thinks the baby is a girl, the Villanueva women are basically amazing.  Sure they are all very different and sometimes fight, but they are always there for each other.  When Raphael threw Jane an impromptu bedroom graduation, who didn’t want to snuggle in with the Villanueva ladies in Jane’s bed.  

5. Nick and Schmidt (The New Girl)
You know it’s true love when you throw yourself a TinFinity party signifying ten years of blissful friendship.  Some might say that's over the top, but my best friend and I flew sixteen hours to Sydney, Australia to celebrate twenty years of friendship.   A little park party seems only fitting for a friendship as epic as Nick and Schmidt’s.  

6. April and Beth (Chasing Life)
Beth is the best friend everyone not only wants, but everyone needs.  She’s April’s defender, secret keeper, cancer syndrome Googler, hair stylist and the perfect hospital sleepover companion.  God forbid you ever get cancer, you can only hope you have Beth at your side to give you a different hair colors/cuts everyday rivaling Katy Perry’s ever changing looks.

7. Liv and her Gladiators (Scandal)
TeamFitz and TeamJake will be debated on twitter till Liv changes her permanent mailing address to Vermont or “in the sun.”  But when that red wine splatted on her pristine white couch, did anyone doubt that the gladiators wouldn’t spring into action.  Granted, some might say Huck’s torture methods err on unhealthy, but you can’t question his loyalty to Liv. If anyone ever told Abby about her missing BFF, we know she would flip out.  Those two’s history was beautifully on display when Abby’s abusive husband came back into the picture.  The gladiators might be flawed butch but in their own twisted way they do love each other.

And Three Classics

8. Will and Grace (Will and Grace)
When the show's title is the characters' names, you know the friendship is basically a game changer.   Sure, they married and had kids with other people, but the real love story was the platonic, at times extremely unhealthy, love between Will and Grace. 

9.  Lorelai and Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Again the show title says it all.  Who didn’t want to grab coffee with this mother daughter duo at Luke’s, especially if it magically gave you their metabolisms? Actually, who didn’t want to have a light lunch of pizza, Chinese, pop tarts, donuts and fries with Stars Hollow's favorite girls.

10.  Cory and Shawn (Boy Meets World)
If TGIF kids measure love by Cory and Topanga standards, then we measure friendship by Cory and Shawn.  And these are hard to live up to.  Poor Topanga had to recite her vows to both of them because she knew these BFFs would be together in sickness and health till death do them part.

On February 14th Take Valentine’s Day Back because whether you’re single, dating, married or “Facebook It's complicated”  it’s a day about love, not just romantic love.   Or you can particpate in my traditional Valentine's day celebration by binge watching these great loves.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Not to question the marketing savviness of the good Sisters at Our Lady of Sorrows High School, but the Jane the Virgin coin maybe shouldn’t have been their signature swag item.  Possibly they should design #JustLikeJane bracelets. I could write a thesis on Jane’s stellar morality through this first season. When we get in Hiatus Hell, I might just do that. 
For now though, simply look at Chapter Twelve for Five Times we should all act #JustLikeJane.

1.There are some things in life that seem impossible.  Sticking to a low carb diet, flattering white pants, avoiding after-Christmas sales and, of course, loving your enemy. No one would expect Jane to comfort Petra the Pariah, not even Petra herself.  But Jane does because she’s not typical, she is extraordinary.

2. Jane makes the people around her better.  She didn’t have to encourage Raphael to see his sister in the mental intuition and she definitely doesn’t have to go with him.  She also didn’t have to take the letter from Luisa, but that wouldn’t be Jane.  It’s contagious. Being around her makes  people want to be #JustLikeJane.

3. She’s loyal.  The moment she hears about El Presidente's  unfortunate Fade to Black moment, Jane doesn’t hesitate. She will not write the episode that will thrust the literal and figurative knife into her father’s chest.  She doesn’t give a second thought to her own dreams of writing or what she will be giving up.  Once again, she’s only thinking of others.  Seriously Sisters, start designing the bracelets.  Maybe it’s a charm bracelet and you can add on a “Jane the Virgin” limited edition charm if you’re looking for a good upsell. 

4. She’s hardworking. Rogelio simply asks her to write the greatest death scene ever.  That won’t be hard.  Sure, Jane has time.  She’s only interning, waitressing, counseling Raphael’s family and, of course, growing a human. Granted, she is fueled by Alba’s signature grilled cheese.  I think having a homemade grilled cheese delivered to you computer side is most writers' greatest dream and might be the cure for ninety percent of writer’s block. Even with Alba’s little piece of heaven, Jane is a Type-A machine that makes us all wonder if she’s living in a thirty-hour day world. 

5.  Jane’s peach, soon to be avocado or whatever fruit that Baby email assigns next, should be giving her more emotions than a Taylor Swift album, but she’s the emotional pillar of strength for her loved ones. She’s strong for Raphael when he deals with his sister and stands in the wings for her father’s final bow.  

I can only imagine the countless more moments whenJane will make us all want to be #JustLikeJane.   So Sisters get to Etsy and think big. I see #JustLikeJane on jewelry, coffee mugs, iPhone cases or at least trending on Twitter on Monday Nights. So make the world a better place and watch Jane the Virgin Monday nights on the CW and try for a day to be #JustLikeJane.