A reader sent me this video thinking I would be able to relate. I’m sorry it took me so long to view it! I love it—and the message.
Say what you will about Lady Gaga, you have to admit she’s an original—and I think an amazing talent.
But even SHE fell into the trap that fame sets for the sensitive creatives out there.
Forget fame.
Society.
Society can seduce you with its trappings. Wealth. Recognition. Social media “likes”.
It wants to define us. Tell us Who We Are.
It builds us up to tear us down.
Someone wise asked me recently, “How far are you willing to go to make a name for yourself? Who will you hurt? Your husband? Your friends? Yourself?”
Something to think about.
Stay centered. Stay unique. Stay honest.
I believe in you.
Carry on,
xox
“You can’t imagine not being able to find joy. Hating yourself. No matter how much success you have, no matter how many opportunities, fame, fortune, no matter how many accept you to your face, the person that really needs to accept you is you.”
“I realized that part of my identity is saying no to things I don’t wanna do. … It is your right to choose what you do and don’t do. It is your right to choose what you believe in and don’t believe in. It is your right to curate your life and your own perspective.”
“I started to say no. Nope, no, I’m not doing that. Then slowly but surely, I started to remember who I am. That person doesn’t just say yes, they have integrity.”
“No one can define who you are. I’ll be myself until they fucking close the coffin.”
~Lady Gaga
Amen, sister.
What trends do you follow and why?
Back in the day, I used to slather myself with baby oil and squeeze lemon in my already blonde hair because that was what the fashion magazines told us to do. Sunscreen didn’t exist yet and neither did any common sense. I have the dermatologist bills to prove it.
Sunburned blonde girls with blue eyes and skin damage were trending.
My right hand grabbed a bag of Mango Licorice at Trader Joe’s this morning faster than my left hand could bat it away.
“Mango Licorice…hummmmm…” I heard myself say with the same curiosity I expressed the first time I saw a Diva cup.
Just like I did with yellow beets, fingerless gloves, Kobe beef, a fax machine, burrata cheese, and avocado toast.
“Yeah. They have mango everything these days”, said the purple haired girl stocking nuts nearby. (What a great sentence that was to write. The purple haired girl stocking nuts nearby—Even better the second time. Sorry, writer geek-out. Ha!)
Anyhow, she’s right! I just bought Mango lemonade last week and it lasted all of thirty seconds at my house because—it was LEMONADE! With MANGO! My husband snacks on dried soft mango strips. There are Mango Newtons out there (like Fig Newtons—only mango), and a few days ago I tried a piece of dark chocolate covered frozen mango that was so delicious I had my memory voluntarily erased so I wouldn’t be able to find my way back and have more.
Mango is trending.
Broccoli is also trending.
I love broccoli so that makes me happy, and luckily for me, I can’t go to a restaurant here in LA without seeing some broccoli mash-up on the menu. Seared broccoli with a balsamic reduction. Broccoli and bacon. Broccoli, kale (another trender), and some other obscure green that used to be flattered to make it to the plate as a garnish. Now we pay fifteen bucks for all of them shredded into a slaw with grapefruit sections—in a light MANGO dressing (extra points for a double trender).
But I know a lot of people, and maybe you’re one of them, who were traumatized as children by broccoli.
They would no sooner eat broccoli than sliced dolphin.
Yet, I see them try a bite every now and again when we order it.
Because it’s trending.
Speaking of trending, let’s talk about social media. The very minute I got comfortable with Facebook, I HAD to start Tweeting. Then I HAD to have an Instagram account. Then I did Blab. And Huffington Post Live. Now you’re nobody without Snapchat. By the time I get good at that—it’ll be obsolete.
Kinda like my iPhone.
Businesses need to have an internet presence.
Retailers sell their wares online.
I get it.
Publishers now want their writers to have huge social media platforms. To craft an online persona and sell ourselves. They want us all to be trending. They want already pre-packaged social media celebrities—just add water. Tweeting and vlogging, podcasting, blogging and hashtagging…apparently anything but writing.
That is a trend I may not follow. I have tried it and I say, yeah, not for me.
Oh, the irony…
I’ll stick with what I like and what I’m good at and maybe, just maybe, at age 58, I’ll have the common sense to stop chasing the trends.
What do yo think?
Carry on,
xox