I take my cues from pop culture

I've decided it's really best to make all important religious, philosophical and general life decisions by what you see in the movies, on TV, and by what you read in books of fiction.

I used to be ashamed to admit it, but I've lived most of my life like that already. The only difference is now I'm no longer embarrassed. Why be embarrassed? Life's too short. If it works, stick with it.

Just a few examples:

• Emma Thompson played a depressed character in the movie Carrington. She spent at least half of the film getting upset by something her boyfriend said, and then rolling over in bed and just staring, depressed, into space. I was depressed at the time I saw this movie, and decided at the time that I was going to follow her model of depressed behavior. Roll over in bed and stare into space. The only problem is, her character shot herself at the end of the film. I'm not planning on imitating that. But I've done a lot of rolling over & staring over the past decade. Sometimes to the exclusion of many other things. But rolling over in bed is fun! I recommend it to those of you who have not tried it.
  
• I was obsessed with Shannen Doherty's character Brenda Walsh on 90210. Like me, she moved from Minnesota to California. Like me, she was often both crabby and misunderstood by her friends. So at one point, I decided to emulate Brenda in all ways. Once I even forced a boyfriend to choose between me & Kelly, and then lived to regret it. Yes, I suppose I could have chosen to emulate Brandon, but at the time I felt he was just too much to live up to.
  
• My latest decision is that I have decided to take everything I read about Jesus Christ in The DaVinci Code as fact. I could research some of the issues in the book just to make sure there's enough of a foundation there, but that would require too much effort. I really think it's best just to find a story you think sounds nice, and go with that one, come rain or come shine. Millions of Mormons did it with Joseph Smith and the gold plates - why can't I? (DaVinci Code = fun read, by the way.)