Claire Fan - Week 15: Patience
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| I've been waiting... |
Patience is learned. It’s a skill that takes years to develop. It’s certainly not the flashiest of traits, but it almost always pays off.
I learned patience through long car rides during the weekend. When I was younger, my parents and I would go on road trips almost every week to a new state park in California. There, I found that I could sit still if I retreated far back enough into my own thoughts. I was capable of occupying myself for an indefinite amount of time that way: What book should I read when I get home? Are we there yet? Why is my spine shaped like that?
I would describe myself as a patient person. Yet, sometimes my patience is tested. When my food is spinning in the microwave. When I watch the second hand of a clock languidly rotate from 1 to 12. And: when I’m waiting for the next installment of a piece of media.
Enter LoliRock. A novel, never-seen-before children’s show about a group of magical girls who fight evil. Iris, Taliana, and Auriana live in Sunny Bay and form the wildly popular band Lolirock for which the show is named, and happen to be princess aliens who fight a (mostly) cold war against a big bad with gorgeous hair on their home planet.
On its surface, LoliRock seems like a simplistic show with a cardboard villain. But while it is simplistic, the show displays a shocking amount of emotional depth that could match even Marvel movies. No, literally. Spiderman: No Way Home and LoliRock use the same plot device of—spoilers ahead!—erasing a love interest’s memories and leaving the main character with the aftermath. A good antagonist isn’t one that’s evil for the sake of it, but rather one that the audience can sympathize with and understand. The henchmen display the capacity to change and grow—they exist independently from the heroes.
Unfortunately, the show stopped producing episodes after the second season…that ended on a cliffhanger. I was well on my way towards making my peace with the cancelled show, until in 2023, its creator announced that a new season would be underway. Since then, I’ve been patrolling LoliRock’s Instagram monthly for any new updates.
I would describe myself as a patient person. However, it’s been twelve years since season 2 was released. I have been waiting for ten years. At this point, even plastic might break down naturally before the next season releases. It’s likely that I’ll be in university when I can finally watch new episodes. But it’ll all be worth it. I think.
Patience is learned, I tell myself. It’s certainly not the flashiest of traits, but it almost always pays off.
Hi Claire! I found your blog this week to be so interesting regardless of how much of a simple topic it is. While I try to trick myself into thinking that I am patient, truth is, I’m not. Maybe in certain aspects, like when I am making the precise cuts for my architecture model, when I would look out the windows during long car rides, even finding myself guilty of constantly asking my parents when we would be there that they would mimic me for every single car ride to this day. Or actually, that might be the opposite of patience. Like you, when my food is spinning the microwave, when I’m waiting for the bell to ring to go to lunch, or when I want the next movie or episode to a show, I can be incredibly impatient. But even besides that, I just can’t sit and idly wait by for something to occur. I have to immediately get going to the next event or task, which might also be a sign of uneasiness coming from stress. With patience, I group it with calmness, with not stressing out over the smallest things, and learning to adopt the mindset of whatever happens, happens. My dad is the full body encompassment of this. Me, however, like my mom, am the opposite. But maybe I can try to push myself to be more patient after your blog this week. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteClaire, I cannot put into words how much I appreciate your blog this week. I have been trying to find the name of this show for such a long time but I just could not remember enough about it to find it. I used to love watching this show. Talia was my favorite. The clips of them transforming into their magical selves (I cannot think of a better way to describe this) were my absolute favorite thing to watch. On another note, I am notorious for being a person with very little patience. My parents can attest to this. I have always wanted things to happen immediately; waiting was a torturous game. I used to hate having to go on car drives to the point where my parents made me go to sleep every time they put me in the car so that they wouldn’t have to hear me complain. I can also relate to the impatience of waiting for the beep on the microwave; this was especially true back when microwave mac and cheese was my favorite food. After having stalked the Lolirock instagram, I can say that there are so many memories coming back to me: the purple cat in particular. If there ever is a new season coming, please tell me. I need to watch it. Thank you so much for reminding me about this incredible show and sharing this interest with me.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! This was a very interesting read, mostly because even though I have never watched LoliRock (sorry in advance) and will have to take your word for how engaging it is, I can completely relate to the feeling of being both patient and impatient at the same time. For the most part, I can control my restless nature enough to at least not express impatience outwardly. I can give others the benefit of the doubt when they are walking at slower than snail pace in the rotunda in front of me, and I can stop myself from glancing at the clock every five seconds. But, all of that is on a good day; if it is one of those days when everything seems to just be going wrong, I will admit I have a tendency to get a bit antsy. I have found that what helps me is actually very similar to what you describe: I will distract myself by making a mental to-do list, or by letting my thoughts drift away to something completely random.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely empathize with your experience of waiting impatiently for a show to release its next season. I remember I wrote one of my quarter one blogs about how much I love Stranger Things, because I couldn’t wait three weeks for the last season of it to release, considering I had already been waiting over three years. I admire your clear patience for waiting an entire twelve years for LoliRock’s next season, and I think it’s so cute how you’ve returned to loving it even after all of this time. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Claire, I truly admire your patience, probably because I don't have any. I would definitely consider myself an impatient person, actually. I think impatient is an understatement. Frankly, when I was a child, being forced to wait in a car during long road trips, I used to think the universe was punishing me when my Katy Perry music videos wouldn't load on my mother's phone in less than three seconds. Mind you, my family and I were also in rural Yosemite, so safe to say my patience was nonexistent. It has sadly, in the past ten years, given or take hasn't changed. I still remain as impatient as ever. Every time an issue occurs, a little bump in the road if you will I can't sleep till its resolved that day. My father tells me that I lose sleep over the smallest of issues if they are not resolved immediately and that its a horrible trait to have, and frankly I agree. It's certainly not good for my sanity. I appreciate your take on patience and I am happy you are a patient person. You definitely don't exude an impatient aura, and you have a calming effect, perhaps you are similar to the green tea mints you carry around. Thanks so much for sharing!
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