It all started when I was scrolling through Snapchat and saw the really annoying ads that
come up when you're in the stories tab.
You know the ones.
Celebrities and influencers showing off their perfected figures, showing you their daily
lives, and the various gossip columns telling you stories about celebrities with clickbait
titles that are really cringy if you break it down.
I didn't happen to see anything in particular that sparked my interest or my thoughts, but
it did get me thinking about how weird it is that specific people in this world are somehow
deemed to be these figures that we look up to as though they are above us and we are
below, where we watch their lives with deep interest as though it will allow us to unlock
some sort of secret code to give us whatever it is that they have that makes us pine.
Pine for what?
I don't really know, but whatever it is, it's marketed in such a way that we are all
designed to want when we look, when we watch.
I get the appeal in some ways, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't read a gossip
column or two, or hadn't checked up on how certain well-known names are doing these days.
I also don't get it.
It's people doing mundane daily people things, and if they aren't mundane things, they're
unrealistic and mostly unattainable things that I can't even wrap my head around.
To look up to someone and watch what they're doing in envy or jealousy, what a toxic thing.
It's natural, I imagine.
It isn't helpful.
It just serves to make us feel bad about ourselves, comparing ourselves, identifying what it is
we are lacking that sets us apart from them, from their lives.
It's all fake anyways.
If you sit down and truly think about what it is these people are doing and how their
lives are, do you honestly think that's what would make you happy and cure all of your
problems?
I certainly do not.
I know it would not help me at all.
I thought about it a little further.
These people, the media, and the spotlight, that's their life.
Everything is under the microscope.
All that conscious thought that's constantly required of them, if you think you're exhausted
right now, I'm pretty sure if you were to suddenly be granted this life, you would still
find yourself exhausted at the end of the day.
I can't even imagine.
Every move you make, every decision needs to be calculated and checked with some team
to ensure that it doesn't tarnish or alter your reputation in some way that would cause
you to lose your status on the latter.
That's not real life.
I can't even imagine.
I don't want to imagine.
I've always had this thought in the back of my mind of how crazy some people go when
they see certain celebrities or musicians.
Oh, I wish I could marry Morgan Wallin or whoever.
Sure, they're handsome.
They have money.
Their voice is ever so soothing.
But you know what I see when I look at photos of these people?
My hometown Chad, or Brad, who was in the right place at the right time with their talents
and made it big.
You know what else that tells me?
That these people that we look up to, they're just regular human beings just as flawed as
you and me.
I know, you're probably thinking, yeah, I know that.
But you shrug it off and still find the allure enticing, don't you?
Of course you do.
That's natural.
It's what's encouraged to keep fans hungry, to keep the stars' pockets and their executives
fed.
Each one of these people has hurt people, has laughed with friends, has buried people,
has cheated, lied, stole.
It's exactly the same as if the person sitting beside you were to become a celebrity for
whatever reason.
Millions would look upon this person in awe and be starstruck and you'd be like, dude,
I know what your farts smell like after you eat burritos.
Can you say that about Morgan Wallin?
Did it even occur to you that he does indeed fart?
Isn't that so interesting?
Let's take it a step further.
Everyone you know at some point in their life has had concerns with their mental health.
Even a sad day or a heartbreak is considered in the realm of mental health.
It affects your mental state.
It throws you off for a bit.
It's a mental health thing.
Which means all celebrities, all the influencers, they're all in the same boat.
I may even be inclined to believe that perhaps they get more affected, or at least the potential
is much stronger.
Hopefully, you're still following along.
If you need to pause and process and really investigate this curiosity I've inspired
within your mind, by all means, I'll meet you back here when you're ready.
Okay, a little side quest here.
I promise it's relevant.
Do you guys remember when Britney Spears had that mental health break, when the kids were
being taken from her and everything seemed to be crumbling, when she shaved her head
bald and attacked people in the streets with her umbrella?
Probably everybody can picture that image in their mind.
It was a pivotal moment in her life and I'm pretty sure that was on her way to conservatorship.
Now, think about this.
There are people who of course mocked and laughed at this, used it in conversation as
insults.
I think I'm in a crisis.
That's fine.
As long as you don't shave your head and run around the streets shanking people with
an umbrella, alluding to the Britney Spears incident.
Now, this is just an example, but many things have happened that were plastered in the news
that have been utilized or joked about in this way.
Now, do you remember when people wore a costume for Halloween that was a bald cap and an umbrella
to say, I'm Britney Spears having a mental breakdown for Halloween?
Funny, right?
Except it isn't.
Care the information I mentioned above, all of it.
And then think about that.
This means people in this world have done this and somehow normalized the idea of it.
That people saw a woman in crisis, portrayed publicly and decided to mock her by dressing
up as her for Halloween.
Not even just that it's Britney Spears.
Think of it on a deeper level.
A human being in distress and people chose to represent that as a Halloween costume as
if it's funny.
Did I, per chance, blow your mind as much as I did on my own earlier when thinking and
coming to this realization?
It's so sad.
And to think, people would shrug it off.
Yeah, but she's a celebrity.
She's rich.
It's all an act, etc.
Hmm.
Even if it was, that is still so unbecoming and it's still not funny.
What kind of message is that telling the world?
What if someone is struggling in silence, meek and unable to voice their need for help,
afraid to speak up because they worry they will end up as a Halloween costume?
Can you imagine?
Picture someone you know that has had a sort of crisis.
Then imagine someone wanted to dress up for that as Halloween.
I just, wow, I have no words.
For some reason, the fact that it's a celebrity makes it excusable, acceptable.
It's not, though.
I think about other mental health crises that we've heard about in the news.
I'm not sure I want to give the example I'm thinking of, as it's not very mindful of
the affected individuals, so hopefully when I lay this out, it's a way that leads you
to an example you can use and will have the same impact.
We've all seen something in the news that has happened, an atrocity, perhaps leading
to severe injury of another or death, where the court findings are released and you hear
terms like untreated schizophrenia or manic episode, or something with the indication
that it was a situation where the individual was not in a place to be making the best decisions
for themselves due to crisis within their lives, in their mind.
It's always an uncomfortable revelation, and there's a lot of conflicting thoughts here
with these things.
You're thinking of a case you've heard, though, right?
Now imagine you go to a Halloween party and you see someone dressed up as that individual.
That's heavy.
But it's no different.
The only thing that's different is that one person is an everyday human being such as
yourself and the other is a well-known rich celebrity.
That hits different, doesn't it?
I'm going to leave you with that.
I intend to take from this a sort of reassurance in my own core values, the one that holds
the knowing that we truly don't know what others are going through at any given time.
A reminder to just be kind above all else.
Change starts with one person speaking up, getting the minds of those around them engaged
and thinking about topics that are quite uncomfortable or avoided, usually.
It may not be intentional, but when we get lost in the hustle and bustle of our daily
lives, we often forget that these things going on around us actually hold much deeper
meanings and impacts.
I'm pretty sure most people don't wake up every day deciding to mock those with any
sort of illness or health concerns, but sometimes it happens in a way that seems less obvious
than we realize or that we care to notice.
That matters, you know?