Cara Delevingne, The Man Repeller, and Lady Gaga: What They All Have in Common

I came to thinking today about some of the big names right now in pop culture--you know, the people I and countless others sometimes live our lives vicariously through on Instagram-- people like Leandra Medine of The Man Repeller, the notoriously "bad-gal ri ri" (Rihanna), supermodel Cara Delevingne, costume queen Lady Gaga...and I couldn't help but wonder, what is it that makes someone interesting enough to garner such cult-like followings? I mean, after all, people are just people and have you seen the number of Instagram accounts dedicated to Delevingne?

Later on, I realized all of the aforementioned people actually do have one thing in common: an "edge." They walk to the beat of their own drum. They don't care what you think or what your drum is doing. They accept and love themselves, who they are (the beat they're blessed with) and roll with it. Embrace it, even.

More often than not, our harshest critics are not our peers, but ourselves. Forget the opinions of others--how hard is it just to ignore that little voice inside your head which keeps reminding you of the way you should be: the way you should act, the friends you should have, the type of career you should seek out...etc.? Why do we feel the need to incessantly measure ourselves against a giant ruler called "The Ultimate Standard for Normality"? Why are we so quick to hide certain traits or interests that differ even slightly from the norm? What are we afraid of? or better yet, why are we trying so hard to be mediocre?

"edge (n). the line or part where an object or area ends or begins" (Merriam-Webster)

Perhaps we are so fascinated with people like Lady Gaga and the Man Repeller because they defy the very standards of normality that many people are simply too afraid to cross. I think sometimes we separate ourselves into two categories: those that are extraordinary, and those that are just ordinary. We create this distinction between ourselves and those that are highly successful because it makes it easier to justify why we strive for mediocrity instead of reaching our full potential. The biggest lie of it all is this illusion that "we" are different from "them" and the illusion of perfection that comes with recognition. Even people who are as big and successful as Lady Gaga and Rihanna, many times can't handle the type of pressure put on them to be perfect, because they're simply not and that's okay. We tend to idealize others, compare ourselves to their idealized selves, and in turn, diminish ourselves and our own self worth.

I think we only really begin to start on our own path towards greatness (which I take to mean living your life to the fullest, reaching your maximum potential as a human on earth), once we stop comparing ourselves to others and start following the beat of our own drum. All of the answers are within us.

xx