Now I'm not going to name names but you know who you are and in some ways you're such an easy target for criticism. You're cute, you've got a bit of talent and maybe you've inherited parents that see you as their ticket to the good life. You're seduced by the glitz, you love it that people tell you how wonderful you are, and most of all you've been sexualized way too early. All around you there are so many highs that it's hard to see the lows.
First here's the bad news for you: being famous isn't a career - even if for all intents and purposes you are famous for being famous.
These words are not uttered by a kill-joy. I believe that being a teen should be fun but it is also a time when you start to develop some depth so it's not just a walk in the park. It's one part fun, one part starting to understand the concept of work, and a lot of learning. Life is way to short to miss out on any of this.
There are some who get carried or propelled over this phase and they spend the time in a weirdly fake bubble. If you have landed in this spot, it's going to take work to make up the ground so that you can grow into the person you are meant to be.
The good news is that it is possible to be famous for having a career. We know who these people are: they're the people who make a difference, whose performances take your breath away or perhaps they radiate beauty and joy. They have a gift that is cultured, honed and their fame is genuinely earned. They seem to be the people who know that they are not prisoners of fame because they are willing to walk away from it.
I recently met a well-known, talented singer-songwriter who inspired this blog. She was grounded, family oriented, concerned about the world and eager to meet people outside of the famous-bubble. Interestingly, she said that the latter is what inspires her and gives her the fuel she needs for her art. For her, life would truly be too short to be the kinda famous that prevented her from being her authentic self.
For a more serious discussion about this kind of fame here is a link to a McLeans article that discusses the hypersexulization and vacuous lifestyle that is being sold to girls. This is something we need to be concerned about and we should get active.
"Inside the Dangerously Empty Lives of Teenage Girls"
www.google.ca/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4RNWE_enCA313CA313&q=mcleans%2c+teenage+girls
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I've sent the link to the McLean's article to my son and to my granddaughter's mother with the advice that an informed parent is a good parent. Thanks for sharing it.
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