The Young Star

How does it feel to be a young star?

Every once in a while, you hear about an exceptionally gifted or talented individual who is succeeding in an outstanding manner, and they are still at a very young age. I can’t help but wonder about the kind of good life they surely must lead. Think of it. To be wealthy, loved, esteemed, and famous while still in your youth. The best years of your life are still ahead of you, you still have a full life to live, and already, you have accomplished more, and are appreciated for more than most people ever will be in their entire lives. You have already earned a place in history, and in the history of your respective pursuit. You can look around you at all of the other leaders and legends of other fields and pursuits, and know that you rank right among with them, knowing that they know about you, and respect you as an equal. You would know that you are the equal to the other champions, because you are one yourself. Let’s look more into this. If you were, say, a champion athlete, you could look at the champion Olympic competitors, the top baseball, basketball, football, and soccer players; the top star athletes in all of the sports, including your own, and know that you are one of them, and know that they know that you are one of them. You could look at the top names in other fields – the top musicians, artists, designers, actors, actresses, writers, playwrights – and know that they also see you as a top name in your field. You could know that the top scientists, inventors, philosophers, humanitarians would know about you, and respect and admire you. The biggest names in journalism, broadcasting, public relations, advertising and promotion would respect you. Everywhere you went in the world, you would be known and admired for what you are, what you do, and what you have done. The heads of state, royalty, and world leaders would know who you are, and respect you for all that you have done, and what you will do in the many good years to come for you. Yes, you would have a special status and recognition, a special position of significance in the hearts and minds of society, your fame and ultimately your influence would spread far and wide, preceding you and remaining in the memories of those who saw you. You would be a celebrity, a star, a dandy, and almost seen as royalty. The world would be at your command, it would seem.

You would be the stuff of dreams, of legends. You would be one of the very few who actually showed that it really could happen, and all while still in your youth. You would be seen as being like a valuable gem, sought after, and not overlooked or passed over. You would know luxury, security and prosperity, even when the world around you withers in the difficult times. It would be of little strain to obtain beautiful homes, cars, clothes, and luxury, if you so wanted. No need to scrimp and save for extended vacations to exotic locales, no need to worry about exceeding a budget for an evening of fine dining and entertainment. You could do so almost at the drop of a hat. And the places that you attend would no doubt be honored and flattered by your presence. You might even be treated as a guest of honor, and be granted exclusive privileges. And everywhere you went, you would be recognized, admired, and appreciated, and people would likely be asking you to sign your name for them, or pose with them for a picture. The eager look of appreciation in their eyes, the smiles of satisfaction, the admiring vibes, the comments of praise and well wishing, all of these would be a part of your ongoing experience. And you would be the center of their attention, the apple of their eye during this time, and the topic of their excited admiring conversations later. You would leave a positive impact on them, and linger in their happy memories, just for being you. And there may even be those who may name their babies after you. The reality of your life would be one of being admired and desired, of being looked up to, respected, and esteemed. You would be like a Hollywood celebrity, and in effect be bringing a bit of a Hollywood like dream to the lives of those who saw you – you would be special.

You would be quoted for what you say, as your accomplishments would shed a positive glow on your comments. The fame and attention would make your opinions and what you thought about certain issues carry more weight, and your influence would be magnified. The causes that you support would gain more significance. And your wealth would enable you to make a difference in the world. As a celebrity, you would be able to have special favorite charities, and even have a foundation in your own name, and be admired and appreciated for it.

You would be a V.I.P., and have a special priority. You might even be given an exclusive kind of status, like a person experiencing a special occasion in their life be it a birthday, a graduation or wedding – but for you, almost any day would be a day where you received a special treatment, and a special admiration, because of what you are. You would not know the pain of ridicule and belittlement and put down, you would rarely encounter rudeness or being shunned, and those who do treat you as such would likely end up regretting it. You would not know the desperation of not knowing whether or not you would still have a place to live in the next month, or the anxiety of worrying over tenuous finances. You would not know the shame of appearing in front of others to be one of the “have nots”. You would not know the humdrum of being one of the masses on board a crowded bus in bumper to bumper traffic on a Monday morning, going to a humdrum job where you are just another little wheel in the big machine, or just another number, or statistic. You would stand out with a unique identity, recognized by all, and appreciated for it. You would not know the insult of being told that you were in the wrong field of pursuit, and that you simply were not very good at what you did; nor the hurt of having your best efforts rejected, or laughed at, or even scorned. And if others did try to scorn you, you would be safe to assume that jealousy was at the root of their scorn.

The leaders and stars of other fields would value your company, and befriend you as a peer and a colleague. You would be standing on the pedestal with them, no need to look upwards or downwards. What would seem to you and your peers as mere chit chat of your recent doings would be seen as monumental to most others – the championship you recently won, the great work that you accomplished, the concert that you had starred in, the book that you had just published – the stuff that legions of people will end up hearing about and knowing about, and it was brought to reality by you. And you would feel comfortable hearing them share their accomplishments with you, as they would feel comfortable hearing you share your accomplishments with them, as you would be peers. And you would be sharing your conversation in exclusive, comfortable surroundings.

Your home would be in an exclusive neighborhood, and you might have a movie star or business leader living next door to you. The big accomplishments and feats of your neighbors would be part of the neighborhood chatter, as would be the gossip. And you would likely be in a position to know how close or far from the truth that the stories about your neighbors that were published in the tabloids really were – you would be like an insider to the life on the grand scale. You would in some ways be “bigger than life”. But to you, it would be your everyday life, your “normal” life. It would be your reality, not just a dream. Your life might end up being the stuff of books and movies; the stuff of legends. The legend and tale of your life might be told to wide eyed children of future generations, planting dreams into their hearts and minds, and maybe even inspiring a few who will become stars in their own right. Perhaps the wide eyed children who hear the story of your life being told to them this evening were told the story of Cinderella or Snow White last evening, and they may be told the story of a great hero in the following evening. But your story would fit in comfortably with these other stories, as it is the stuff of dreams.

As your life progresses, the world would lean an eager ear to the latest news of your doings, as the story of your life continues to be written before them. And of course, there would be the occasional reflection and retrospective of your “life to date”, and an admiring accounting of the inventory of your ever growing list of accomplishments. The story of your life would broaden and deepen from a newly sprung stream to a fully matured river. As the spring of your life matures into summer, and then mellows into autumn, you will have a lifetime of accomplishments and victories to look back upon, and remember them with fondness. You will have lived a dream life, and will live on as a legend.