Thoughts on “Fame”

It’s not every day that one sees the hard work and the real-life story behind people whose name has become a buzzword.  To me, this fact is primarily why I’m constantly amazed by how people view the famous and infamous.

You hear it in day to day talk: someone hates this musician and that actor, when all they REALLY know about the person is a note-worthy name and stories -often driven to extremes by mainstream media.  As one writer put it:

“…I think the problem is that the media takes a snapshot of what’s happening in the life of a celeb and then formulates a story around it whereby asking the world to believe that as fact and sit in judgment of that. All anyone wants, celebrity or not, is the power to determine what others know and don’t know, the opportunity to reveal what is real and not to be judged based on little to no facts that then formulate false assumptions. Know people for who they really are…not what one article or photograph says about them.”

The (in)famous still put their pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us. They buy groceries… they pay insurance… they have families… they fall in love. Because of a heightened awareness of their persona, they’re magnified, but it doesn’t mean they’re some super-human force who goes out and orders people around, and shits where they please. Often, that kind of magnitude is filled with a sort of longing to not be followed, to not be watched, to be able to walk to the park without being mobbed (look at Michael Jackson, as an example). Fame can be really awesome, but it’s not always what you’d expect.

As with any other group/label – we’re all human, we all have human wants and desires, and we’re no more “special” than one another. We just happen to have different purposes and places – we made different choices and set different priorities and ended up here.  Whether or not anyone else thinks so – we are all amazing creatures with the same kind of gene structure, a (sub)conscious desire to make something of ourselves, and a drive to love life.  If you TRULY want to become (in)famous, or if ever had that feeling in the past: the choice is yours to make.  You can be whatever you want, or do whatever you want and if you want it badly enough, you’ll make it happen, whether it’s a conscious change or not.  If you want to be a rockstar, be one – no need to try to “become” one.

Image via Stylishcorpse.wordpress.com

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On a side note, you may say, “Those people are successful and unreachable.”  That unreachable status may be driven by the fact that when every move is magnified, there’s more scrutiny towards every action.   But, in a generation where everyone is watching, we’re all put on a pedestal.  All our actions can (and will) be seen, scrutinized, and sometimes remembered.  What will you be remembered for?  Will it be monetary success?  Happiness?  You can rock-the-fuck-out at just being you; you’ll be remembered for being genuine, and living la bonne vie.  It’s that Diana Vreeland quote come to life: “The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.”

Or a better known quote from Harry Winston: “People will stare.  Make it worth their while.”

That feeling of joy you get when you write something amazing – that’s rockstar status.  That exhilarated feeling you have when you give something your all – that’s your inner big, bad, rockin’ self waiting to be released.  We’ve all got the power to be that awesome.  So do it – be remembered for being the amazing thing you are.  You don’t have to become a rockstar, you already are one.