Maggie Odier

  Whether Justin Bieber and his bodyguards are attacking photographers, Amanda Bynes is overusing twitter, or Miley Cyrus shows her bare body attitude, celebrity “role models” seem to be the perfect example of what not to do. Long gone are the days of looking up to seemingly perfect celebrities, whose jobs, houses, and boyfriends create an “ideal” life. Instead, we are hit with the hard reality of stardom, surrounded by falling stars wherever we look. Disney seems to be a major source of these downward spirals; Miley Cyrus attributes her “changes” as her attempt to shed the Disney image;Demi Lovato spent some time in rehab to work on her mental and emotional issues towards the end of her Disney career, and Joe Jonas recently released an interview with Vulture magazine, claiming that Disney turned him into a “perfect little puppet.” Few early Disney stars have stayed sane, getting married, having children, and moving on with their lives. While Hilary Duff went through a rough period of ABC family movies and awkward guest appearances, the beloved star married hockey player Mike Comrey, had a baby boy, and now tweets pictures of the food that she cooks. One of the few child stars that still has it, Raven-Symone is an activist, avid gay rights supporter, and is still friends with co-star Annaliese van der Pol. These kinds of celebrities are rare, leading me to wonder what they did to stay sane in the city of angels, and what other people should do to avoid the dark path that accompanies stardom.

1. More is always more. I recently came across a picture comparing the “promiscuous” girls of the 1980’s, wearing mid-thigh mini-skirts and tube tops, to the “wholesome” girls on a recent Nickelodeon show, wearing booty shorts and bikini tops. Celebs these days seem to be shedding more and more clothes, stepping out in pieces of fabric that barely pass as clothing. Miley Cyrus’s new style mantra that less is more is the icing on the cake for this issue. Many have her interesting VMA performance permanently scared into their minds, causing shudders everywhere.
2. If people are accusing you of being crazy, DO NOT go on twitter rants claiming that you are not crazy: it will only make you seem crazier. Amanda Bynes needs a tutorial on online etiquette. We all know What A Girl Wants now, thanks to very active twitter account. From viciously attacking Rihanna to expressing her desires for Drake, she has only solidified the claims that she is NOT in a good place. She finally decided that rehab could be good, only to check herself out early. I just hope that she can get it together soon, because She’s the Man was a quality film.
3. If your friend attacks a celebrity (or one of their immediate family members), leave immediately. Last Friday, our good ole’ friend Lindsey Lohan, well-known for Parent Trap, Mean Girls, and rehab, was at a party at Paris’s (Hilton, of coarse), when one of her friends attacked Paris’s little brother Barron. Allegedly, the attack was ordered by Lohan. After the brawl went down, Lindsey stayed at the house and was confronted by Barron, heightening the feud and making her seem more guilty. My advice: leave while you can.
4. Do NOT air your public laundry online. After little brother Barron was attacked by Lindsey Lohan’s friend, Paris Hilton revealed that this act would not go unpunished. On Barron’s Instagramed picture of his face post-fight, she posted, “no one [messes] with my brother and gets away with it.” But public threats and heated words on the internet are permanent. Despite her deletion of the comment, the words are forever out there. And we all know how signals can get mixed and words can get twisted over the internet.
5. Please, stay away from drugs. Sienna Miller loves magical mushrooms, Demi Lovato was sneaking cocaine onto airplanes, Fergie was smoking crystal meth. By the age of 13, Drew Barrymore was snorting coke, and Angelina Jolie did an assortment of hard drugs in her day, including cocaine, ecstacy, LSD, and, her favorite, heroin. And don’t even get me started on Lindsey Lohan or Charlie Sheen. Megan Fox claims that she knows of 5 celebrities who are not doing drugs, including herself. Cocaine is also apparently quite present on movie sets, and is basically written into the budget of movies, claims Dennis Quaid. Despite countless rehab stints and arrests, these A-list celebs continue with this nasty little habit. But the best way to avoid the mental breakdowns and mugshots would be to stay away.

  As teenagers, it is hard to remember right from wrong when our alleged ‘role models’ themselves are blurring the lines. When Miley is celebrated for her risqué performances, what is stopping us from thinking that it is okAY to do? Who is our new model of which to base ourselves? Over and over, celebrities claim that they do not want to be role models, but despite their wishes, they are celebrated and worshiped by thousands of children and teenagers. Their actions create a social norm for the masses. But, if celebrities are not going to change, then it is up to us TO BE OUR OWN ROLE MODELS. We must set the limits for ourselves, looking inwards to find the line between good and bad. Because, in the end, we are all our own people. I am not you, and you are not me, and neither of us are Miley Cyrus or Lindsey Lohan. So yes, maybe Lindsey will never pull it together and forever be in and out of rehab, but that should not affect our own life choices. Our paths are in our hands, and we must make the decisions ourselves.  ]]>