My Celebrity Doppelgangers

I had a humbling experience this week when one of my students introduced me to yet another celebrity doppelganger that I resemble.

By day, I’m a public high-school teacher, and one of my students confessed Friday that a picture of me has been viral among the students for at least a year, showing an uncanny resemblance between me and Crazy Dave from PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES. He was hesitant to show me, because he wasn’t sure how I’d react.

Coincidentally, this is the same shirt I often wore with khakis until the day a student pointed out how much I looked like Lois Griffin from FAMILY GUY.

This experience has shed light on two truths:

1) Our teens are more clever than one might think. They’re regularly able to pair two unrelated things and derive meaning from the result. This cross-pollination of ideas is essential to navigating the glut of information overload, and its fertile ground for innovation. Don’t underestimate the younger generation’s ability to innovate!

2) SO many grown-ups in the spotlight today are being driven by a self-serving ego that teens expect explosive outrage to be the norm. I’m SUPPOSED to be incensed, because this comparison makes me look like a buffoon. So what? Buffoons who embrace their clownish role lighten the mood when we need it most, and we could certainly use a mood lightener at times. The younger generation is watching you when you least expect it. How you react to other humans WILL affect how they see humans in that same category.

Times are tense these days, with issues that should certainly be taken seriously. Don’t forget, though, that how we process humor can also be important.

Who are your celebrity doppelgangers?