When I was a little girl the Oscars were a very big deal. I dreamed of being a movie star and I was obsessed with seeing as many movies as my wallet and tush could handle. I couldn't imagine that celebrities were anything but happy all the time. I envied their lifestyle filled with millions of dollars in the bank and millions of fans falling at their feet. The culmination of all that fame and fortune was The Academy Award show. I used to wait anxiously for the yearly ceremony to see if my favorites would take home that golden statue and I took it much harder than I like to admit when they were robbed of their due by someone I couldn't stand.
Watching the Oscars on Sunday, I realized how much I'd changed. I still love the movies but I no longer idolize a bunch of overpaid, spoiled narcissists with nothing better to do than dress up in gowns that cost a year's salary and give themselves a well-publicized pat on the back. Oh, I still admire the good guys like George Clooney and Tom Hanks who seem to use their fame for purposes higher than acquiring a $30,000 swag bag. But I no longer wish I could change places with any of them.
What I do wish is that all of us could experience the feeling of appreciation and respect that the winners must feel walking up to that podium. My wonderful parents, my loving husband, my supportive friends, my amazing children; all of them deserve a golden statuette as much as any pampered Hollywood actor. Since I don't have connections to Price Waterhouse and I don't want to hand out a bunch of chintzy, plastic statues, I'll have to use this platform to give them their due.
I may still be crazy about the movies but it's nice to finally realize just who my real heroes are.
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