On The Topic of Celebrities

So, it's the Oscars 2011, and yes, I am watching the Red Carpet.  I can't help it.  It is the one Awards Show I look forward to every year.  I will most likely never see the festivities first-hand, nor wear anything close to an Oscar gown, but I do get excited for the night.

This year, I haven't seen many of the movies nominated (the perils of living in the middle of nowhere without a movie theater), but many of my favorites are up for awards.  I get excited when they win, and then I usually feel a little silly about the excitement.  While watching tonight, in the midst of completing several household chores, I began to think about those feelings.


We often feel connected to our favorite celebrities, as if they are friends.  And when friends are honored, we are excited for them.  Why do we feel so connected to these celebrities (which probably, and rightfully, creeps them out to a certain extent)?  Well, in today's social media, we can actually interact with them, which can cross into the realm of "knowing" them, but I don't think that's really it.


Why do I feel like I know Tom Hanks, Leo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Renee Zellweger, and countless others?  For that matter, several musicians also fit into that level of familiarity.  I think it's because they are often part of the meaningful moments of my life.  Via music and movies, they are in my home.  In the background of good news, like getting that college acceptance letter, and devastating news, like learning a loved one is sick.  They are part of the background of bonding with new friends and old friends, and part of the life of romance.  They hold the memories of those moments.  When someone is part of the best and worst times of your life, or simply there as the go to movie or music to brighten a day, shouldn't there be a feeling of familiarity?  I think so.  So tonight, I will not feel strange in being happy for strangers being celebrated.  Instead, I will be thankful for the laughter, tears, and memories they represent.

To The Strong...

There was some news today in the little corner that is my world.  The news is devastating, and in the tune of a broken record.  Another one who is near to me is fighting the battle against cancer.  So many have already fought, and so many are yet to fight.  I am not safe from this battle, myself.  Yet, I have noticed a pattern in the lives of those near me fighting this disease.  They do just that, fight.  They are strong, they do not give up, they do not allow the "why me" swallow their lives and steal the moments, even those that ultimately lose the battle.  And if that is the case, there is no way to lose the war.

So here is to the Strong.  Those that fight every day for the little moments in life.  To those whose lives are turned upside down.  To those who find themselves surrounded by paralyzing fear and then fight their way out of it.  To those who do not let a disease define who they are.  To those who concentrate on LIFE, I am in awe of you.  Keep fighting the fight.

In the New Age of Revolution

It's easy to get lost in the life of the everyday.  Wake up, get dressed, go to work, come home, take care of the family, go to bed, and repeat.  It can feel mundane and unexciting.  Even neverending.  And then something happens to remind us how extraordinary that everyday can be.  How absolutely blessed it is to be able to go through the days, day after day, without interruption to the cycle.  No authoritarian dictators making announcements, no gunfire piercing the night, no bombs tearing apart the neighborhood.  So in the middle of this everyday world of mine, I want to send a breath of support to those seeking their own piece of liberty: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Iran, Bahrain, and all the other voices longing to be heard. 

I can't help but wonder how Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Patrick Henry, and all the other famous American Revolutionaries would view the cries for liberty resounding in the world today.