Since I was young, I could never sit still.
Taking an hour and a half flight from NYC to Atlanta every Thanksgiving for my birthday always drains me.
No wonder I always bring an extra seatbelt to buckle me in.
Boredom was never an option and taking breaks seemed like laziness until I got burnout this past year.
There is nothing that my parents could have done to prevent this, it was all on me.
They took me on multiple vacations per year, forced me to get on my goofy side since as an only child, you tend to grow up too fast and actually limited the books that I consumed since I wasn’t getting out in nature or to parties enough.
Spoiler alert: I still act this same way.
Ok, maybe that doesnât seem like something your parents did but to my extremes, I was an addict to work.
Beyond my ignorance, I assumed hard work = success but I didnât understand what success really meant to your life, only to other’s views of you and your bank account.
As most of our definitions, the way we speak and who we vote for are predetermined subconsciously, by the way, our parents think and view the world.
So in that case, I saw that success meant only working hard, 15 hours a day.
Until recently when they realized that the corporate, investment banking, tech monopoly life was too hectic and draining, they started prioritizing their definition of happiness.
Looking back now, I feel bad they thought this was teh case but at the same time had not much choice.
They wanted to live in a high tax income state of NY, provide me the best education and life, and as immigrants, the best way to do that was to go to the American education system and either become a banker, lawyer, or doctor.
Now they tell me they made faulty decisions for wasting their lives working, not spending time with their only daughter only to provide the best for me and whatever I wanted.
But in fact, I only wanted them.
I was given whatever I wanted, from Sour Patch kids to a Wii but I would never see them, only on the weekends if I was lucky if they were not working.
Until middle school when I was looking for my own job, thatâs when I really took upon myself to realize that maybe life is only about working?
I didnât know better.
I thought after graduating college, I didnât even know what college was at the time of age 10, but whenever you start your career, it would be a sprint you would have with yourself and allow your children to enjoy your hard work and your retired self in 30 years.
I had that impression of graduating that way so no wonder I wanted school to slow down as much as possible compared to most of my colleagues who wanted to speed it up!
That got me thinking.
Isnât this how a celebrity works?
Most of them, unless you are Bon Jovi or Celine Dion donât work at the same rate as they did when they were in their teens starting out.
They gamble, try to find as many entertainment opportunities as possible then feel burnout, just like me.
I try to scramble, not sleep and freak out about seeking every possible opportunity, internship, and extracurricular until I realize I donât know what I enjoy and who I am.
This is nothing unusual.
Most humans in fact donât know what they are âdestinedâ or letâs just say, âshould doâ with their life.
Destiny is too fantastical for me.
I prefer simple words. Iâm an average teen after all.
But after living through the celebrity apocalypse as a teen and getting ready to retire right now, which means taking it down a notch finding an internship and eventually a stable and calm career, Iâve picked up on a few things, not too many since there isnât a whole lot from these botoxinated celebs but a few that have helped me during this unprecedented times when we don’t actually have a president anymore.
Highs and Lows
Ahh, this is giving me flashbacks of when we do icebreakers at day camp and before each semester to get to know each other.
Although this might bring back that memory, Iâve acknowledged that life is not linear, it never will be and the more we try to pinpoint and coordinate what can or should happen, just like our stocks in the market, the more volatility will come and we will be wrong.
There is so much we can control in life and we just have to accept it.
But how do we actually just accept it if we donât know whatâs to come?
Since I do the same thing every day how does my life actually progress and go through the peaks and troughs?….
Coordinate a Me Session
There is work and then play.
In order to live a fulfilling life, you must perform servant leadership to yourself and understand who you are.
If you donât care about understanding what you like, you are not in luck because it is better to learn it earlier than later.
If you enjoy only a few classes at school or like the weekends because you get to chill with Netflix, instead of only looking forward to those things and disregarding everything else as not fun, be creative and fit that into the mix!
Celebrities such as movie stars donât just go to set and memorize their lines for a few hours and get out of character for the rest of their days.
They immerse themselves for months even years into a character to do a better job fo the role and they end up enjoying life more because they know they will, well, do a better impression of the character!
Listening > Speaking
You would rather regret what you said than didnât say.
Celebrities have to be very careful but are masters at this.
From their online presence to simple walking to get a $13.67 cappuccino from L.Aâs fancy matcha bar with paparazzi staring and following them, they must adapt to keeping their mouth shut.
We always want to display our opinion, that is why we have Twitter after all, right?
As the majority of us are introverted in public but extroverts at home, it is typical for us to become more comfortable displaying a different version of ourselves online.
Writing motivational posts and saying our opinion loud and clear but unable to listen to someone elseâs opinion becuase we are too weak in ours and scared we might be swayed is the wrong way to behave but our favorite.
Some people are so judgemental and opinionated that they cannot move the needle in their own life.
Know some folks like that?
I sure do and they truly have nothing going for them.
You have to pick your battles.
If you will get involved or comment, understand the repercussions.
You wonât get chased by paparazzi but you might have your reputation tarnished, the only thing we can control and that defines us.
Proven Results
It is common to see celebrities go through countless breakups and bf/gs and be miserable yet have all these estates, fans, and money to blow that they donât know what to do with.
You must prove what you want to do with your life and a celebrity does that.
They might go through all this trauma and public lawsuits, etc., but they have a mission in mind and stick to it.
They might divy off to marketing or another industry, but are focused, 110% on their craft at all times.
Why?
Because they are diligent, dedicated, and appreciative.
Their work seems fun and easy becuase they worked hard to make it seem that way.
Any moment there can be another singer, TikToker or celeb that takes their spotlight but they fight hard for it.
Bash that work-life balance because if you really need to establish them that means you donât enjoy your work that much to create one in the first place.
Itâs okay to blend it into the family.
Get that support and love from them.
They’re your best bets now in quarantine.
More opinions and feedback the better.
Donât separate anything, except for sour cream and guac.
Desires = Overrated
Celebrities understand and are the only people that go through what we want.
Yes, go through not enjoy it.
Whatever we don’t have, we always want.
We want those fancy cars and bling, but that comes at the expense of dealing with hate, criticism, taxes, paparazzi, cameras, and burglars, etc.
They deal with this 24/7 and it is more frightening than you think.
What are you really planning for?
Being average is best because you keep your expectations realistic and accomplish more instead of setting lofty goals that will make you disappointed in the long run.
Donât do that to yourself and you will feel better.
Too much of a good thing is bad.
When it comes to working, we can work hard or hardly work.
If you come down to having a hard time distinguishing these too, that means either you are so enthralled and rejuvenated, excited about everything you do, or purely hate it.
You always shave 2 options in life so I would suggest skipping the celebrity ride till you die temporary rollercoaster, and set yourself up for the long haul.
Enjoy and take the time to understand yourself.
Trust me, although it may be hard since Iâm only 19, life is short but also very, very long.
It will get shorter if you take that time to explore and never fantasize over what you donât have or what others have become.
Set your own path and donât do what someone already did.
Work smarter not harder.