I always imagined actors’ lives to be filled with pleasure and parties, in contrast to mine, which I considered monotonous and lonely. Actors looked like people who always had an entourage. They took trips to faraway lands I had never heard of, walked on red carpets wearing dazzling outfits, and always looked their best, even if they only went out for a burger at McDonald’s.
When I became an adolescent, I started to realize the truth: Actors’ lives were not always perfect and sophisticated. They had trials and pain like I did, and perhaps even more, because their lives were scrutinized by the entire world at all times. One mistake is all it takes to get them on the cover of the National Enquirer.
As this was happening, I finally started having friends that did not look at me through a television screen. I was not the geek with the answers for today’s homework anymore; I was a smart, funny person, with thoughts and feelings of my own. My friends opened up a whole new world for me. I discovered that my life, as well as actors’, could be fun and exciting. Perhaps I did not have flocks of people calling my name, or arrived at events wearing Vera Wang dresses and walking over red carpets, but I did have people who waved at me, and were happy to see me walk into class every morning.
An advantage I had over actors now was that every time I made a mistake, it would not be broken down and analyzed in front of the world. I could trip, fall, and stand up again, and only those close to me would know the hardships I was going through. They would not criticize or reproach me, but they would provide me with advice and support.
I am still a huge movie buff today. I admire actors’ ability to make me like the good girl, and have an aversion towards the bad guy. I want to earn their salaries and take trips to exotic lands, but I do not want to be an actress anymore. My privacy is worth much more than ten million dollars. I know now that I do not have to be rich and famous to be loved and accepted, and that I do not need a house in New York and Hollywood to be happy.
