“Purple Rain, Brazilian Butt-lifts and Diamond Skin”
To anyone not from Los Angeles these words sound delusional and disconnected; to me, they are part of my everyday life. Working for Teen Magazine, I saw first hand the overnight phenomenon of Twilight...I never understood it. Maybe Twilight never affected me, because “fame” in my family wasn’t something we desperately chased. Growing up my cousin was Tony Lemans (a singer signed by Prince’s record label). He worked with Lenny Kravitz and Prince, until Lenny skipped town to get married. Tony loved family, giving me my first dog and tragically died in a car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway. My parents used to say, “Was it really worth it? Having the money to buy that fast car? All the Fame?” Plastic surgeons are also something I know a thing or two about. One surgeon shamelessly augments women’s features for extreme prices; he even asked his 17 year old daughter to get breast implants for the exposure of his “business” (I don’t know how many people know, but at 17 years of age the body is still developing and undergoing surgery is dangerous). This is only part of my life, but I learned a lot from it.
I find education through my experiences (i.e. Why do I have to make mistakes, when I can learn from yours?):
Tony had a dream thwarted by an unfortunate automobile accident; so, living each day to the fullest is my main concern.
Seeing an acquaintance dream of acting in Glee and in the next Twilight movie, while desperately adding family members of the Twilight cast on Facebook made me realize the control that, “fame” has on her (and many people).
I could never understand why an individual would want so much attention from so many people (the type of attention that fame garners). I never wanted attention; I just wanted to be “seen,” asked to prom or on a date by a man. None of that happened for me and on the flip side, after losing 100 pounds I now get male attention (still no date). What good is being noticed, when you still receive empty, insensitive, uninterested attention with only admiration for your hair and butt, not intelligence? I think it is great that I can see past the male objectification of me (and other women), because it gives me something to write about and encouragement that, “Single” is ok (until the right, respectful guy comes along)!
Next up, my review of the Twilight phenomena and some exclusive photographs.
