‘The price of popularity’ Essay by 14 year old Bookosmian from Kolkata

The price of popularity

Living under the limelight isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. You start missing  your life before all the fame came along.

Before I got into the industry, I already knew its cons. I would be the cynosure  of every eye, and one mistake, just one, and social media will be raging with fire. I knew the extent to which public anger could go. I knew I could get death  threats and people start turning up at my house. I knew I should never post anything controversial, but I didn’t know that every time I posted, I would get  unnecessary hate. I was just a child when I came into the industry.

It’s hard, to stay sane. It is hard to control yourself and ignore the hate you get,  and it is hardest to not defend yourself from every single comment you get. My privacy is invaded all the time, and no matter where I go, alone or with friends  and family, the paparazzi comes along, flashing cameras and shouting. It is  only human, to not want to have people staring at you even if you just want to go out to get groceries.

You don’t reply to one question of the media, and the next day, you make the  headlines for being an arrogant and self-absorbed person. We celebrities don’t feel like clicking pictures every time we step out. We can have bad days too.  We don’t like being criticized for everything we do, and we surely don’t like being treated like a superior alien from another planet. We’re all only human,  and every day, we wish the public would understand this. At the start, the fame feels good. It makes you feel special. But soon it starts  getting horrible, annoying, and you regret it every day. You realize, living a  normal life is better.

Sure, being a celebrity has its own benefits, but the disadvantages sure  overpower them and it is the disadvantages, that are most overlooked. Once  you are famous, you are always famous, there is no going back. I wish I had  realized that before I sang a song and uploaded it on YouTube. It suddenly  went viral all-over social media. If only I would’ve known what I knew now, six  years ago, I would’ve reconsidered my choices.