Bon Jovial Jen

I am not crazy.  I am not carefree, and sadly, I am seldom passionate.  I am logical, rational, and rarely emotional.  Let me put it this way, I am a Math and Science teacher.  Enough said?  I have never been boy crazy, or celebrity crazy.  Never.  I mean, I had pictures of Corey Haim, from the Teen Beat magazines,tucked into the pocket of my Trapper Keeper back in the day, and my friend Andrea and I used to pretend that we were Daniel Laruso's love interest in the Karate Kid, but that was about it.  I think this is why the fact that I am totally and completely obsessed with Bon Jovi might be the most unusual thing about me.  And, as such, the one thing that kind of makes me interesting to myself. 

When I am submerged in Bon Jovi happiness, I call myself Bon Jovial Jen.  A name that I gave to myself at my third Bon Jovi concert.  One of my friends (who had never really been around me at a concert before) commented on how much she liked the me she was seeing at the concert, and I blurted out, "Oh, yeah? This is Bon Jovial Jen".  And just like that, my alter ego was born.  Bon Jovial Jen is me, without a care in the world.  She is free to be kind, funny, friendly, and lost in songs for three hours.  It is pure happiness! Bon Jovial Jen doesn't have to pay bills, cook dinner, or make lesson plans for school.  She just SINGS her heart out and reminisces about the past 27 years of memories with every song that plays!    

Many of my friends think that the excitement that I get out of seeing Bon Jovi in concert, or even just turning up the CD's really loud in my car, is insane.  Because of this I have been trying to look at my "Bonjoviality" objectively.  Here is what I have decided.  I literally love Bon Jovi, and it is quite possibly insane.  At the same time, it is also completely real.  I will cry if they ever stop making music.  I will cry if any of them die before me, and I may need to take a personal day or two.  (I could cry just thinking about it, so I have to move on to happier thoughts.)  I have shared my life with them, and through their lyrics, they have shared their lives with me.  Strangers yes, but familiar strangers. 

My first cassette in life was a Slippery When Wet tape that my friend, Tracey Daniels, gave to me to borrow in sixth grade and never got back.   :)   Music is my thing.  It is my happy place.  I love it, and Bon Jovi was my first real taste of what music could be.  That was in 1986.  Bon Jovi has been making music for me to rock out to when I am happy, or cry to when I am sad.  They had the ballads I could turn to when I was depressed about love, and the powerful songs about inner strength and perseverance that I could play when I needed someone to help me believe in myself.  I don't know them.  Any of them.  But the longest significant relationship of my lfie, outside of my family, and my faith in God has been with this band of brothers who's songs go straight from Jon's lips to my heart.  The lyrics are pretty much what I want life to be.  Absolutely down to earth, yet with an optimism that soars to the heavens.

One of my students, a twelve year old girl, was trying to explain to another twelve year old girl in her class how I feel about Bon Jovi.  She said, "Jon Bon Jovi is her Justin Bieber". 

I have been thinking about that comparison.  I understand what she was trying to say, but honestly...

...Justin Beiber wishes. 
   

"Map out your future - but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip." Jon Bon Jovi