You and Paris

Paris Hilton isn’t exactly a good role model. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, and she’s had her fair share of troubles. But then again, who hasn’t messed up before? Who hasn’t gone out to a party and done something stupid? The only difference is Paris’ every move is being followed. If we don’t like a picture of ourselves, we can just untag it on Facebook, while she has to face seeing unflattering photos of herself plastered across the cover of most every magazine in the nation.\nNow, this column isn’t about defending Paris Hilton against the evils of the media. It’s about how she has never let her mishaps get the best of her. \nYou can make many choices in life. You can always be cautious and safe, and thus make sure you’ll never make a mistake. And if you do let go, you’re bound to screw up.\nNo matter what, bad things happen to everyone. But the way you will become defined in life is by how you choose to handle your mishaps. And sometimes, that can be pretty hard to do.\nOne way we can learn to make it through these tough times is by taking a hint from our celebrity friends. You see, America’s whole fascination with celebrities is pretty simple. We want to find the connection between their celebrity status and our regular existence. We see that they can overcome drug addiction, rehab, sex tapes, etc. If they can get through all that, we surely can get over a bad night at the bars or at a party.\nWhich brings me back to Paris. When her infamous sex tape, “1 Night in Paris” was released, she naturally flipped out. She threatened to sue anyone involved in its distribution, while stealing copies of the tape from Hollywood newsstands. Eventually Paris received profits from the tape, which she actually donated to charity. And a special extended version of the tape was released just in time for the “Simple Life 2” premiere!\nEveryone remembers the insanity centered around Paris’ jail time this summer. I’m sure plenty of you laughed when you saw the clip of her frantically sobbing in that cop car. But in the end, Paris’ jail time didn’t end her career. It made her even more famous, which no one thought was possible. And whether or not all that stuff about her changing her partying ways is true doesn’t really matter. We’ll probably never really know the real Paris. In the end, she is part of an image.\nAs she stepped in a puddle last week, Paris shrieked that she was going to contract AIDS. Not such an intelligent comment, but I know I’ve heard people say such dumb remarks when its been raining. And last week, it was also announced that Paris will go to Rwanda in November to help the country. She will probably try to keep the masses out of dangerous AIDS puddles. Maybe she’ll even run a 5K to stop the spread of the puddles, just like the folks from “The Office” did to cure rabies.\nSo next time you’re feeling sorry for yourself, just think of everything Paris has gone through. I promise, it will make you feel so much better. She dated a Backstreet Boy, after all.