Celebrity Lives

Being a celebrity comes at a high price. Having a job such as an actor, musician, model, athlete, or just being overly successful in your career of choice may leave you open to public critique of your every move. Is it fair? Do we have the right to know all the ins and outs of a person's life, just because they have a job that puts them in the public eye to do their job? If that person was us, would we think it was fair for others to expect to know so many details about our lives? Have we stopped to consider what it must be like to walk in their shoes?

Okay, their shoes are probably much more expensive than ours. They knew that the job would put them in the public eye. They may have even wanted to be the center of attention. The question in my mind is could they truly understand what they were getting into?

When your neighbor down the street has a baby, you may know that they are expecting, but would you want someone watching the hospital to see when they come and go? Would you want your child to be photographed as they go to see their other parent? Celebrity pregnancies have been all the rage in the news. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were fodder for “news” stories for months. So have been many others. Do we care if our neighbor is buying her children's clothes at an expensive boutique? If so, do we even care if it is only a few outfits our thousands of dollars of clothing that will be outgrown quickly? Why should we?

If our daughter went out drinking and driving, would we want it to make the front page news? If she was driving with her child between her and the steering wheel, would we want the press to drag her through the papers? Instead, it would be much more beneficial to have someone talk to her and try to help her see the error in her ways. Why should a celebrity be dragged through the mud for what we would want our child to be educated to avoid in the future? Brittany Spears has been photographed driving with her child in front of her. The obvious danger of that is clear. What danger would the child be in if they were in a child restraint with the photographers attacking the car? I do believe the child should be in a child restraint, but I would fear for my child being in the backseat of a convertible with that mob scene surrounding me.

If we were going through a divorce, would we want the details discussed on every morning show in the country? So what if someone had an affair? Everyone knowing about it does not make it right. Neither does our knowing about it benefit us in any way, unless of course we are expecting to be the next spouse of that person. Then, there are much more subtle ways of letting a person know than telling everyone in the world. What is it to us if A-Rod is having an affair or not? Does Christie Brinkley's divorce battle have any impact on our day to day life?

Dreams of fame and fortune are a part of my life and I would assume they are a part of many people's life. In all honesty, if fame and fortune would put me in a position where every single move I make was fair game for gossip fodder, then I'm not sure it would be worth it. Luckily for me, I am a simple wife, mother, and grandmother from the wrong part of the country to ever be rich or famous.

Growing up there were many versions of “walk a mile in someone's shoes” sayings that I heard. They all meant the same thing. Don't judge a person until you have lived their life. Fortunately, we can't live any lives but our own. I for one would rather not judge the celebrities. Their shoes are way too expensive for my poor aching feet. Having someone view your life as if it was a bug under a microscope is too much stress. Instead, I prefer to think of another saying. “Live and let live.” They can have their fancy lives. I'll stick to my own. It has enough stress and battles, but at least it is my decision on whether I go public with them or not.