America, I didn't think there was ANYTHING that would make me want to go back to repeat high school. I know you hear me. High school is awful. Except at prom time. Then it's kind of awesome.
Especially if you're Lianna Cohen, a teen girl who was serenaded by a kid named Jason Pitts in the coolest "will you go to prom with me" question pop yet. Video of the whole thing has gone viral on YouTube thanks to his guitar playing and back-up vocals from hoodie-clad teen guys that will make you swoon. America, NICE guys are back! Huzzah.
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I know what you're thinking. OK, maybe not, but I know what I'm thinking. It isn't just nice guys who are back. Lloyd Dobler is back! Woohoo!
Remember him? The "kickboxing is the sport of the future" super nice guy played by John Cusack in the '80s cult classic Say Anything? He held a boombox (oh, God, remember THOSE?) up high over his head outside Diane Court's (Ione Skye) house with Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" pumping out at full volume? Let's savor the memory, shall we:
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That's what I thought of while watching Jason Pitts today. A nice guy being silly and sappy and romantic. Confession: when I was a teenager, I wanted every guy to be Lloyd Dobler. For a whole generation of us, he was the ultimate guy. Polite. Kind. Respectful.
But at the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy, I don't see that much these days. I see the teen boys on Gossip Girl bedhopping and trying to exchange a night in their girlfriend's bed for property. I see the creepy guys on Teen Mom 2 refusing to pay child support, smoking pot on their girlfriend's mom's porch, and being general no good, lazy layabouts who STILL manage to get the girl.
Call me a fool for romanticizing the "good old days," but I'm terrified of raising a daughter into the teenage years if that's what she's going to end up dating. I'd much prefer to think there are sweet, goofy guys like Jason Pitts out there -- guys who will wear their heart on their sleeves in front of a classroom of other kids and ask a girl to the prom. That took a lot of guts, and a lot of heart.
And he successfully did the impossible: made high school look attractive again. What do you think? Are there more nice guys out there like Jason Pitts?
Image via YouTube