No Wonder Britney is Crazy... Pathos and the Modern Performer

Let me first state:
1.) I am a Britney supporter and sympathizer.
2.) When I was 14, I wrote Britney a letter telling her what an inspiration she was to me. I felt like she was an incredible entertainer right from the get go, and with the exception of several very recent lack luster performances, believe that she has maintained that persona.

3.) This is biased.

I suppose you could say that the Britney Spears story really begins around age 8, when she tried out for the Mickey Mouse Club. Every morning, I would wake up to watch the program in syndication, which came on at 6:30am, right after 6:00am Mousercises. Surely, my first impressions of Brit were through the excited haze of an endorphin rush, but even then I was impressed by the hearty jazz inspired vocals of the nine year old newcomer.




When Britney's pop singing career exploded in 1998, briefly after Christmas, I was memorized every time the "Hit Me, Baby, One More Time" (I currently have this song as my ring tone as a show of support).



What I now understand is that to have anybody memorized by you, even for a short amount of time is a lot of pressure. Even to have people like you requires that you have to maintain a certain amount of whatever it is that they like you for... and when your livelihood depends on public opinion, which is fickle and cruel, for not one but nearly two decades it could quite obviously become overwhelming.

That's without regard for scheduling. Britney Spears was always touring, selling out stadiums, promoting... Let me provide my own little anecdote. About a week ago, I came home to New York City for a one day stopover to get a massage and get my hair done. I landed in the city at 7pm, got rubbed at 9pm, slept at 12am. The next morning I went to the salon at 11am, got picked up at 3:30pm, and flew to Logan. From Logan, I had to rush into the Cambridge, unload my bags, and get ready to party it up with my girls at the Spice Girls concert at 8:30pm. The next day, I shopped classes and prepared for my mock trial competition the next day. The third day, I left at 6:30am to board a flight to Washington D.C., where I then sat in conferences for 3 hrs. At the end of this day, I had to prepare arguments for the next day. This preparation lasted until 12am, at which point I slept until 8am, at which point I had to prepare for my court time of 9am.

I am currently a few days out of this rush, even though the last several days have been equally hectic. The point, however, is that anybody who maintains this sort of non-stop lifestyle is bound to go crazy (and occasionally forget to wear underwear). As soon as I slow down enough, I think I am going to get a piercing or a tattoo... just because that's what you're inclination is after you stop moving at a breakneck pace. We students want to pull out our hair after a stressful semester. Britney did that shit every day... no summer break, just another tour. She always had to look perfect, eat right, do 500-1000 push ups a day. This seems to me like a torturous lifestyle.



On top of all of her very public and humiliating relationship foibles, Britney has now lost her children. I am very sad for her. Although we all questioned Britney's propensity to be a good mother, I think we all should also understand what a difficult thing it is for people to tell you that you are not fit to raise your own children, and not being able to see them unsupervised.

Granted, Britney may be crazy now, but I truly wish her all the best.