Star-struck

Some days I just plain don't get it.

One of my good friends reads the tabloid magazines with all the hot new gossip. She says it keeps her sane when she studies for her LSATs. Two years ago, my then-roommate gave me a gift set with an assortment of perfumes. I love perfume and beauty products, and I noticed that many of them were from a famous person's own line. Provocative Woman (by Catharine Zeta-Jones), Lovely (by Sarah Jessica Parker), and Golden Goddess (by Kimora Leigh Simmons) to name a few. (Actually, that Provocative Woman one is pretty good, and I wear it a lot.) At the two vintage boutiques I frequent, Dandelion and Le Shoppe, it's always the clothes endorsed/designed by the stars that sell the fastest. My cousin couldn't wait to tell me about spotting Vince Vaughn at Once Upon A Bagel because Mr. Vaughn lives in Highland Park too. Back in senior year of high school, people talked and heard more about Brangelina than about the awful tsunami in Asia. And I'm sure if you asked anyone, they could tell you more about Paris Hilton's prison term than about what's going on in the world now.

So my question is...
What in the world is our preoccupation with celebrities? Could someone explain that to me, please?

Now before you accuse me of acting all high and mighty, I will say that I too have read some of the celeb articles. As a designer of accessories, some of my ideas do come from what I see on others, so I have read up on them. But that is my disclaimer. Most of the time, it really gets annoying when people are all gaga over the famous among us. What's even more annoying? Hearing some lunkheaded actor or model or singer or athlete TALK about their fame! You know what I'm talking about. Folks whose interviews consist of, "Well, uh, I'm going to, like, clean up my act, uh, because, like, people look up to me" or "Yeah, I, uh, think we're, uh, gonna have to win more, er, games if we expect to, you know, get into the playoffs." REALLY?? Now why didn't I think of that?? Thanks, guys, for your fabulous insights! They really enhance my knowlege of your career!

In grade school, I had a really good friend named Ryan. Ryan is the son of one of the former Chicago Bulls players and now general manager of the Bulls. So in grade school, we were good friends, partly because I was one of the few people who treated him, well, normally as opposed to being all starstruck. He didn't like it when people went all starstruck just because his dad was (and still is) famous, and he was nice and modest about it. When I met his dad, I found him to be just as nice and down-to-earth as his kid was. He wasn't self-absorbed, and it seemed like he just wanted to be treated normally too. But that is the case with many celebrities. It's kind of a pain in the butt for them because it's hard to go places without being recognized (or going with bodyguards even). (And if you step out of the house to take out your garbage or grab a latte at Starbucks and you go without your makeup or signature clothes, you can bet that the tabloid magazines will have that featured the next day.) It's probably tough on the dating scene because even if you are famous, the question of whether your partner loves you for you or for your fame lingers (which is probably the reason for so many celebrities marrying other stars, because then the playing field is somewhat level). Many check into hotels under fake names.

So why is it that we idolize and want to be like the celebrities? It seems like they want to be more like us!