When the Wall Between Real Life & "Celebrity" Life is Shattered
Yesterday I was in the city for the day with my friend. We had just finished our holiday shopping and wandered through Central park to the reservoir. We were sitting on a bench having a heart to heart when a girl ran past who I recognized. Sort of. I sucked in air really fast and said "No way." and my friend just looked at me confusedly for interrupting her. "Did you see her?" I asked? When she gave me a blank look I elaborated "That girl that just ran past is an actress. You know that show 'Manhattan Love Story'? That girl." "What?" My friend said. "That's crazy!" Analeigh Tipton had, in fact run past us. But why are we programed to act like celebrities are such a rare thing to see, like it's the highlight of our day?
As I watch Analeigh run by, I was struck first by how tall she was. She's 5'9" like me, but because I was sitting on a bench she looked closer to six-foot. It made me think about how tall I looked to other people when I'm out and about. the second thing I noticed was how normal she looked. Just out for a run, no make-up, sweating as she rounded the South Side Gate and disappeared from view, she looked perfectly at ease in the big city and happy. It made me smile to see someone in the public eye able to be themselves even if it's only during their daily workout.
Later last night, I watched the online replay of the American Music Awards. I watched Taylor Swift sing her heart out and throw some crazy-eye looks to the audience and the cameras, daring them to judge her on how she lives her life and then accepting an award and giving all the credit for her success in life to her fans. I watched Lorde flip her hair and shake her groove thang as she sang the her theme song from the new Mocking Jay Part I soundtrack, completely turning her back to the audience at times and surrendering herself to the music like she was having a dance party on her own, just Ella, not the famous singer Lorde, without millions of people watching. I watched Selena bare her whole heart to the world as she sang "The Heart Wants What It Wants". She started crying at the end, and the camera panned to Taylor, Lorde, and Karlie Kloss who was also in attendance, and showed that the three of them were starting to cry too. That moment was just so real, so raw, that you knew that you were feeling the same thing everyone else watching felt. You felt Selena's pain and you wanted to get up there and let her know that she is not alone and that she has a whole world of people who support her.
After seeing Analeigh, and then watching Taylor, Ella (Lorde), and Selena be completely themselves, I felt like something had changed. I've always told people I view celebrities as 'just another regular person', but I think that until yesterday I was lying to myself. I had built this invisible wall between "us" and "them" and believed that no matter how hard they tried, celebrities couldn't just be normal people because of their obligations and their jobs and their lifestyle. After yesterday, I am ready to admit that I was wrong. I will never judge a celebrity again for what they do. We are, after all, seeing only part of the story. We only see the part where they're in the spotlight. We don't see what happens in the regular everyday parts of their lives, and we shouldn't judge them as if we have. Even the Kardashians don't air exactly everything that goes on in their lives, and what they do air comes out months after the fact.
So I want to apologize to any celebrity that I have judged. No, I take that back, I want apologize to every PERSON I've judged. You don't deserve it, and I will never know the whole story so I shouldn't have judged you. I am sorry. In the future, I will practice keeping my judgments of people at the very least to myself, and I will work hard to make sure that you all have a fair chance to be the normal everyday you that you want to be. For now, keep up what you're doing by being a good role model to others who are struggling to find and/or be themselves.
Until next time,
Amanda
