Self-fulfilling prophecy

In the shallowest form of news possible, celebrity gossip rags have terrorized Britney Spears and, I believe, driven her to behavior beyond even her realm of normalcy. Everyday there is some new crazy episode that happened to her to read about. “You can’t make this stuff up” they say. That’s true you can’t. But how big of a role does the media play in making things happen? Ten years ago Britney had a pretty pristine image. Just like Lindsay Lohan and so many others. I honestly think the media should leave her alone and let her get her life together. They have to know how much effects they’re having on Britney.
The next generation’s good girl, Miley Cyrus, got a taste of the criticism. No, she wasn’t caught in a cat fight or driving drunk, she was riding in a car with her dad sans seatbelt. Really? Am I really reading a story about Miley Cyrus’ image being corrupted because she didn’t buckle up? Don’t get me wrong, wearing a seatbelt is important but these new sources are obviously scrounging for any dirt they can find. Could Miley Cyrus really be shaving her head and strapped to a gurney in ten years? Right now it seems unheard of but I’m sure living a big brotheresque life with constant cameras could change anyone.
But what about the real media? All around the country, the focus is on a sinking housing market but Lafayette was doing pretty well. Hard to tell though when national stories constantly drive a point of a terrible market. The Lafayette area is now seeing a slump of its own. Why? Because people believe the national news about the market. And though local stories attempt to cover the truth about local markets maybe it’s just not enough to combat the constant national market slump coverage.
I call it all self-fulfilling prophecy. Who knew the media had so much sway in the history of our country? The next step I believe is to address recession scares. It may not just be a scare anymore but burying our country in this news only puts more fear in their heads. How about instead of talking about how bad it is talk about the steps to alleviate it? I have always believed that the media’s job is to tell the story, but our other job is to know what story to tell, why, how and when.

Interview with the President

I have interviewed hundreds of people. I have even had the opportunity to interview a pro-football player, a reality show finalist, an ABC network producer and our new governor but there is one interview that I would love to get. It’s not an interview with our current president. (These responses are usually very mechanical and filled with plenty of phrases you could probably write yourself and he’d assume you interviewed him anyway.)
I want to interview the president a week after he ends his term. As of this moment, no one really cares what the former president thinks about the economy and what to do to fix it. I want to know how much he slept at night. From what I hear it’s about 3 hours. I want to know if it’s a relief to be done. Do you constantly feel unliked though you have received the most recognizable role in our society? How do you memorize so many speeches? Or know so much information on every nationwide topic? How much pressure do you really feel to change our economy or education? Do you have a constant fear of assassination attempts? I know I would. And what will you do now? This four (and sometimes eight) year job seems to pack a lifetime of work into a very small amount of time. Does he want to retire? A recent trip to Dallas answered one of my questions. I drove through neighborhood the president has planned to move to once his term ends. The streets are peaceful. And nothing like the White House’s surroundings. Old cars of the yardworkers line the streets while the BMW’s are hidden in the garage. It reminded me of the streets in Home Alone. Grand houses but seemingly normal lives.
It would hurt to also find out about the dozen or so presidential hopefuls that have already retreated for the vote. What do you do after a presidential bid? You have supposedly a dozen of the smartest minds in our nation and 11 of them wont even be used for the role intended. So where are they now?

SWF seeks the City

If you have ever been to New York, I am sure you remember the first sight of the city. It’s so much more than what you ingested from countless episodes of Sex and the City but at the same time you feel like you’ve been there before. My first trip ended a summer which I considered to be independent and life-changing. An internship at a magazine in Philadelphia took me 1300 miles from home and seemed to hurdle me across the barrier into my adulthood. Now the summer at a close, I was going to hop on my first train and meet family in New York City and celebrate my 21st birthday. Trains seem so antiquated to me. It took me to a decade I have only learned about in history books. I felt like Mary Tyler Moore as I trucked up the underground stairs into the city for the first time. I was independent and ready for adventure. But I had no hat to throw. The city was tall, at least taller than I imagined it to be. It made me feel minuscule and child-like. After standing in awe for a few seconds, I regrouped. I wouldn’t let myself look like a tourist. I think the suitcases and Phillies t-shirt gave it away though. The masses whipped around me like the wind, never staying around long enough to really experience it but I felt it rush by so I knew it was there. The street names were more familiar than many I would find in my own hometown. Park and 5th Avenue. Madison. Time Square. The intoxicating smell was a mixture of food and garbage. And I couldn’t get enough of it. Why did it matter that I was finally standing on this particular blacktop? Or staring at a certain brick and mortar? It didn’t make me different. But it did. There is a certain spirit in New York. One of struggles, victories but never complacency. Few New Yorkers were born but many were transplanted to the city to find exactly what they couldn’t find somewhere else. The options are endless. If you are bored with being a broker on Wall Street, you’re only a few streets away from Broadway. If you’re tired of American cuisine, there's a Greek restaurant two doors down. You don’t have to settle for less because more is usually snapping at your heels. Maybe this blacktop is different because New York is seen as the pinnacle. The phrase “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere” must have stemmed from this idea. You only “arrive” once you reach New York and until then, your simply in purgatory waiting for your turn. But some people only needed a visit to quench that hunger. When I left the city a few days later, I was ready. I had gotten what I needed. Like a much needed pep talk, I took the feeling with me. It was my encouragement to not settle for complacency. And any time I forget I just remember the smell of food and garbage.