In the Spotlight

A while back I talked about celebrities making mistakes in life and how they are in the spotlight all the time. I’ve been thinking about this more and it has got me wondering if being a celebrity is something that people actually want to do. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s a little ridiculous to have to worry about what you’re doing because your fans will see it. It’s kind of hard to live your life when you have to worry about everyone else. And that is why celebrities do things wrong, because they stop caring about what everyone else thinks as we all have been taught and they just live their lives.

As a kid everyone wants to be famous, it’s just a stage. Kids don’t understand the stress that comes with being famous, and no one truly does until they have a first-hand account of it. It is important though that we allow kids to dream to be famous. Crushing their dreams and imagination that early will definitely hinder their creative thinking. So let them go through that stage, the majority of kids do.

 

I urge you to take a look at what has happened to people being in the spotlight. Everyone knows about Lindsay Lohan’s struggle and that it was likely related to her being in show business for her whole life. Being in show business at a young age can definitely take away from someone’s childhood. They’re always in the spotlight and can’t have as much fun as they want to. They may like being in movies or on TV, but that’s their job and eventually if they change their mind and decide to get out of show business they’re stuck. If you were on TV all your life and decided at 30 that you wanted to be a veterinarian you would have to go back to school and learn everything later in life. I can imagine that starting over at age 30 and leaving everything you have known for the last 25 years behind isn’t easy.

Then there are those celebrities that do one thing wrong in life and it hurts their entire career. Drivers get DUI’s every day, but when a celebrity gets a DUI it is seen by everyone. People make mistakes, and celebrities are people. Celebrities should be kept to the same standard as everyone else, but in some cases they are held to a higher standard. They’re expected to be as close to perfect as possible and I just don’t think that that is realistic at all. Celebrities make mistakes just like everyone else, so why should their careers have to suffer for the same mistake that would barely affect people in everyday society?

Some people can handle the stress of being a celebrity. I admire that because I can imagine that it isn’t easy at all. There are so many factors in a celebrity’s life that they have to think about; whether it is what the fans will think of their actions or whether they’ll be able to spend time with their family without the paparazzi being all over them. They aren’t given the chance to be alone and just live their life. People who aren’t celebrities value their privacy, but celebrities value it even more because they know that it is very limited.

If you think you can handle being a celebrity, I say go for it. More power to you. Just make sure you think about every aspect of it before you do it. It’s a completely different life and, as I have already said, celebrities often crack under the pressure. It isn’t for everybody, but some people can handle it. Going forward you need to realize that it isn’t always all fun and games. At the end of the day, it is your occupation and yes it will be fun but it won’t be fun all of the time. Think before you go into show business, there are so many deciding factors. I know this probably isn’t much coming from a kid who has never been a celebrity and maybe will never be, but just take everything into consideration.

-Eric Proulx