Fame Pressures

Being remembered easily or being famous isn't really a good thing. Your life is laid under a microscope, with people waiting to see you laugh, cry, rise or fall. Being disabled also bring such problems, though on a much lesser level compared with famous actors or actresses. We are put on two extreme sides, either on the 'to be pitied' side (looked upon as needy) or on the 'to be admired' side (inspiring awe with what we can do with so little that we have). I really don't really like any of these sides. I would rather be looked upon as 'normal', neither to be admired or pitied and thus be allowed to laugh, cry, rise and fall at my own will.

Recently, a Taiwanese drama "闪亮的日子" strike a raw nerve in me. In one of the story, there is this man (more like a boy) 小林光輔 (李志峰) with a brain tumor finding love and not pity. Well, he found it (cause it a telly! Happen in cartoons and fairytales too), and I do doubt it would really happen if it is in real life (me = sour grapes). Anyway, my fascination was focus on the girl（陈玉婷）acted by a candy sweet girl 李佳豫 aka 小豫兒 that love him despite his 'pending' demise (Crap, he didn't die in the end. So soapy...). She didn't know about his brain tumor when she fell in love with him. Which I believe the result would be the opposite if the tumor is on his face instead! Call me pessimist. Love is about face value and looks. It is wired into our human nature, adhering the laws of attraction, ensuring we procreate and pass on the good genes. Good looks with good looks, average with average and fugly with fugly. Ok, before anyone starts to throw stones at me I must make this disclaimer. Yes! Not all will look at looks. (Duh...Still majority does.) :P

Fame can be achieved based on looks. You either become famous because you (not me) are butt ugly/fugly (less likely, but cue W***y C***g aka Xia**e please) or drop dead gorgeous/beautiful and cute like candy. Well, in my case, I stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd. So now, we have peer pressures, society pressures, work pressures and family pressures. So do you really need fame pressures??

Once upon a time, a documentary was made about me and my work with youths. OMG! I so regretted it after it run on prime time. Strangers approach and says: "Hey! Aren't you the dorky disabled counsellor on telly?" (I added the dorky part on request.) I was scared silly as I became a "role model" overnight. Which I can assure you I'm no saint. I laid low, dig my nose in private and don't fart if there is someone downwind. After some time, the temporal fame wears itself out. Until some id**t thinks there's nothing good on telly and rerun the darn documentary again. So here we go again.

STOP!!! Wait!!! This post is not about me. It is about those that are famous (rather pitiful people at times) and those wannabes (please do reconsider). Not many can handle the limelight well. There are the many "Marilyn Monroe"s, "Michael Jackson"s and "Leslie Cheung"s out there. To handle such fame pressures, once must be able to remain level headed and not get too carried away. With fame, one have to endure a bombardment of rumors, lies, gossips, false friends, loneliness, temptations, fatigue, anxiety, paranoia, insecurity and maybe a burn out from lighting the candle at both ends. Of course not all is gloom and doom. Many famous people that handle their fame well went on to do great things after their retirement from the limelight. They clearly understand their responsibilities and acknowledge the eyes that look upon them. They are matured and exercise strong self-controlled, drawing strength from giving instead of taking. At the end of their rainbows, they rest knowing they did well, fought a good fight and have fulfilled their fullest potential.

I shall leave you with a quote below to chew on.

“What is fame? The advantage of being known by people of whom you yourself know nothing, and for whom you care as little.” Lord Byron (English Romantic poet and satirist, 1788-1824)

高处不胜寒。

Cheerios! :)
WindyG o.k.a Michael Kuan