Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous

The glitz, the glam, the bright lights, the people knowing who you are, the VIP treatment at a club, the everything that comes with being famous, it’s the American Dream. It’s who we aspire to resemble, who we reenact with our friends. It’s a life that we’ve all daydreamed about. And not just the ‘no longer in debt, what the hell are student loans, never clipping a coupon’ type life that would be an amazing asset to almost anyone in their 20s, but really the red carpet type shit. Like, when I see a celebrity has recently become single, I could actually conceive meeting that person in real life. Unlike now when that thought lasts about two moments of laughable longing.

Why do I bring this up? It wasn’t just to remind us all that we are not, in fact, rich and famous. It’s because of an article in GQ about DerrickRose. You should leave this site to go read it, but in case you don’t, Rose is a quiet kid that loves Chicago. He loves the streets, he loves walking around and enjoying a nice day. I’m sure he loves the view from his 84^th floor condo in the Trump. But the higher he ascends up the ‘no-matter-where-you-go-someone-will-recognize-you’ charts, he can’t, well, go anywhere in Chicago without someone recognizing him. He said he feels naked when he doesn’t wear a hat. His life in his new, relatively empty condo that he shares with two friends is more times than not all he's able to enjoy. His moments of solitude are sparse at best. As someone who shies away from the spotlight and differs to his teammates and the team in general, Rose wasn’t really cut out for the life of a superstar. Physically, of course, but not mentally or emotionally. His favorite thing in the world is to win at basketball, but the irony is, the more he does his favorite thing, the more his least favorite thing shines: the bright lights of the rest of the world.

Now, it’s hard to say how you would feel about something until you were able to live in. And if the fame came along with boat loads of money, and I could use that money to help all those around me, and charities, and organizations, and anything else that I could think of, the positives would outweigh the negatives, surely. And as a self-proclaimed masochist, I guess it would suit my lifestyle to make sacrifices for the benefit of others.

But take a step back and think about not being able to walk around the block without being noticed, talked to, hands shaken, autographs asked for, swarmed, mobbed, suffocated. Think about just wanting to grab a beer at a bar. Think about doing a little shopping. Clothes. Groceries. ‘Oh, well if you’re that high up, people will do all of that for you. You can just rent out a bar. Make people shop for you.’ Sure, there are some alternatives. But actually think about it. Would you sacrifice all the little ingredients of your life, all of the nuances and day to days, all the details of your current life, for that?

Rose is able to find his peace on the court. His sport, the game he works at relentlessly, he can get lost in it. But assuming my claim to fame isn’t as a major athlete, I couldn’t fathom it. People might not have any sympathy for the elite of the world that make more money in a day that I make in a year. And I can understand how. And I would guess a good percentage of that elite crowd relishes the chance to be known by millions. A guy like Lebron James basks in the love and adoration of everyday people.  But Lebron James doesn’t live 30 minutes from where he grew up, in a city that he bleeds for, a city he’s known his entire life.

Derrick Rose is way more Chicago than anyone reading this. He’s only spent two semesters of college away. If he wasn’t able to walk the streets of Portland because they had the #1 pick in 2008, I don’t think he’d be as passionate as he seemed in the GQ article. If he still had the option to go home and escape a least a little bit of the spotlight, it would be a relief. But the rise to super-stardom has come at such a great cost, it’s a side of sports and entertainment that gets quickly overlooked.

I can’t tell you how I would be as a celebrity. It’d be cool to think I could play both roles, embracing the fame but staying grounded in my previous realities. Truth is, I have no idea the person I would become. I’m sure the circumstances of my rise would play a role, but if the switch was flicked tomorrow, and I could no longer walk to a restaurant without being recognized, if I spent the majority of my free time restricted to and confined by my own walls, I’d have to seriously consider whether the limelight is worth it.