Celebrity

I was thinking of posting more than once per month.

No, in all seriousness. I was thinking about celebrity. I have ranted about celebrity quite a bit to my friends and family. In The Philippines I got a taste of celebrity. I was “famous” in my town merely for being the black guy. People wanted me to go their parties, be a ninong (godfather) to their children, break bread with them, etc. They wanted me around for no other reason than the fact that I was different. There were many well-intentioned people who were mostly just curious and intrigued by this foreigner that (as far as they were concerned) randomly decided to settle in their otherwise homogenous community. But, there were other people who were “out to get me”. I put that in quotes because of the fact that I understand why they would be compelled to try to take advantage of a foreigner. Now, that does not mean that it is right. However, I can empathize.

I say this because of the fact that I just don’t quite understand celebrity. We’re all just people trying to get along in this world. When we get down to the core of things, there really aren’t that many things separating me from oh… let’s say Kobe Bryant.

I see no difference

Except for the fact that he is a world-class athlete, makes millions of dollars every year, may or may not be a rapist, etc…. ok ok so superficially we are quite different.

HOWEVER!

When you really break it down. He is just a man. And I am also just a man. Just another dude. He eats, sleeps, breathes, and will die just like every other single human being before him. So will I.

But… there is something very interesting about celebrities. It’s not that they aren’t human. But… somehow they seem so much more than that. They seem larger-than-life. They seem SUPER human. I’m not immune. I would babble like a baby if any of these men just happened to show up on my porch…

Rudy!

I studied at Julliard! (Seriously, give the man more respect)

Yes, I picked this picture.

This. This is a man.

(Yes, they ARE all comics… ;-))

And naturally, I could keep adding people to this list. People I respect. People I look up to. People I emulate, for no other reason than the fact that they either make me happy or are doing something I want to do. I inexplicably care about these people. I want good things to happen to them. I respect them. I IDOLIZE them.

But honestly….

Why?

I don’t know them. They have never done anything for me (other than entertain me and it’s not like they were doing that specifically for me. They get paid a lot of money to be amusing.), they have never spent one moment in my air space, they do not even know I exist.

Yet… I care about them. Albeit, in a very shallow way.

Why is that? What makes celebrities so different?

I don’t know. I really don’t. All I really do know is that celebrities have a lot of INFLUENCE.

And… well, that is a whole lot of responsibility. So, maybe we should cut them some slack when they slip and make mistakes. Because… well, we make the same mistakes too. It just so happens that we don’t do them while the entire nation is staring at us.

But more importantly. The point of this blog is….

even if you’re not a celebrity, you have influence.

At any given moment, SOMEONE is looking at you. Someone is curious about you. Someone is watching you react to situations. Someone out in the world is waiting to call you out… (I need to stop using these ellipses… dammit!)

or praise you.

So, my goal is to try to sincerely be a hero. I might not have the sphere of influence as say:

Bill Murray will show up at your house party just to F***. S***. UP!

But, I have influence. And I want that influence to be positive.

I want to use my influence to inspire people to be more than they think they could ever be. I want: To help people. To make the world more loving. To make the world more peaceful. To make the world more beautiful. And to influence others and to INSPIRE others to do the same.

I started by helping Nicki Minaj out of the snow earlier this week.

You’re welcome, Nicki.

Ok, so she wasn’t REALLY Nicki Minaj, but the resemblance was striking.

I guess I could use my celebrity just to inspire people to look cool…

I don’t usually care about celebrity fashion, but…*breathes in* baHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Anyway, the new year shall be much more bloggier than this year I hope! I love you all! And…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Much Love,

– Brandon Holly –