serena van der woodsen: nonfiction edition

A new development in the pre-Italy saga: I got a packet in the mail from AIFS (my study abroad program) yesterday. Inside there was a list of every student going to Florence through the program, along with their hometown, home university, and email address. Well, a certain name caught my eye. I noticed there was a "Mortimer" from New York, New York and sat puzzled for a minute as to why the name sounded vaguely familiar. I realized that it was because of my marathon viewings of Gossip Girl over the years. I remembered that Chuck, Blair and company have name-dropped "Tinsley Mortimer" on multiple occasions and that this woman has even made cameo appearances in a couple of the episodes (see: the "White Party" in season two). On the show, her name's been used as an umbrella term for "Rich 'It' Girls Famous for Doing Nothing..." the "Tinsley Mortimers" of the world, aka new-money socialites like Serena on the show. So, naturally, I had to Facebook this young Mortimer (duh); her profile picture looked suspiciously socialite-esque. Upon Google-stalking I discovered she's the cousin of Tinsley herself. One of the first search results I got led me to New York Post's Page Six list of "Twenty It Girls to Watch in 2010." Tinsley's cousin, the girl on my trip, is at the top of the list. These girls are described as "young, beautiful and poised to take the city by storm." Apparently Tinsley's cuz has kept what the article described as a "decidedly low profile" since going off to college. Personally, I think it's admirable that she's in college, unlike Serena and her "types" on the show, and I think it's extra cool that she'll be going on this program with all us "commoners." Who knows, maybe she'll end up rooming with Mississippi Mary. I have a feeling we could teach each other a lot.

I immediately told Anna Margaret about this because I figured if any of my friends knew who Tinsley Mortimer is, it'd be Anna Margaret. And I was right.

I'm a little freaked out by the digital age (I sound like my mother) and the fact that I was able to find all of this out so very easily. I'm also a little embarrassed that I even did a double-take at the name "Mortimer" when I saw it on the list. My radar for anything Gossip Girl-related is a little ridiculous.