If-Then-Else

Pronouns

An accent

These are people who have resources most of us couldn’t even begin to imagine. I’m not just talking about the airbrushing and photoshop that goes into public releases of their image. They have access to multiple minor and major cosmetic surgeries that most of us have never heard of. They’re probably all being pressured to get these surgeries to keep their careers active, too. Personal trainers, easy access to drugs, reckless abuse of prescription medications like Ozempic, personal stylists, clothing tailors, personal shoppers, etc…

And if you’re reading through this list and thinking “a lot of that stuff sounds really unhealthy, no one should be expected to live like that!” you have stumbled upon an excellent sub-point of my post! Many celebrities are crushed under the weight of expectations to constantly maintain a very specific image to keep their careers, at any and all costs, including enough money to feed several small families. It’s very removed from what the average person is experiencing in life, and not in a positive way. But my main point is simply that when you look at images of celebrities and wonder how they seem to stay forever thin, never showing any of the less palatable signs of aging, with perfect hair and perfectly-fitted clothing and perfect lines about how to achieve it all, you do not have to look up to these people and wonder why you can’t do that. The reality is that they have a highly expensive team of people around them at all times making it happen - and most of us do not. And that’s okay. You can be okay with real humanity, which comes with wrinkles and stretch marks and eyebags, changing body shapes, and every mark that real life leaves.

I notice that in general car deaths are simultaneously massive and invisible. Even in my famously hyper-violent country of birth cars used to be about as lethal as organized crime in death statistics.