Bieber Fever

When Justin Bieber first hit the scene, I was initially impressed with his youthful talent and his momma's boy persona that seemed to only mirror his actual close relationship with his mother.  However, as time went on, I grew tired of the Bieber Fever, and eventually swore him off when the students I taught seemed to have all been "sick" to the point of delirium: carrying lunch boxes with Bieber's face, composing fake practice letters to the Biebs, and singing all of his songs word for word with a sort of admiration that I can really only compare to Gaston's girls in Beauty and the Beast.

There have been other musicians that I have seen elicit the same sort of behavior from the kids that have not been as... annoying.  One Direction, for instance, has reminded me why I loved NSync and the Backstreet Boys so much in my midlde school years.  I can't say that I've been writing them letters or carrying them on my lunch box, but I do know their popular songs and have, in the past, impressed some 5th graders on a field trip by singing along to one of their favorite One Direction tunes.  

But for some reason I just can't provide the same entertainment when it comes to Justin Bieber.  In fact, my singalongs are generally replaced with eye-rolling and head-shaking, much to the dismay of many of the kids.  

This year, however, I may be turning over a new leaf.  Part of being a teacher is having the ability to be authentic and able to relate to the kids, which is exactly why I authentically exuded my 98.6 degree feelings about J. Biebs and justified the "relating" part by implying that I knew who Justin Bieber was.

My new leaf has to do with nothing more than the simple fact that I now feel conflicted, and it's because of this song.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that my temperature on the Beiber Fever scale has gone up a few tenths of a degree, and I can no longer pull the head-shaking, eye-rolling card.  I can't say the 11-year-old girl in me has fallen for the Biebs himself, but I can't ignore how catchy this song is, and how likely it is that I'll be singing along with the kids if the opportunity  predicament arises.