I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been to Jamaica, but the one thing that I can say about each time that I’ve gone is just how relaxing Jamaica can be. Now of course I’ve only been there for small vacations so I can’t comment on how relaxing it is year round, if at all, but I’ve always cherished the time that I spent there.
Part of what makes it so relaxing is the slow down in pace from America. Everybody still works, but not at the quickfire pace that is typically demanded on every working level in America. By the time evening rolls around, most shops seem to close for the day and you don’t have to look hard for opportunities to casually socialize and unwind. Which is, obviously, very much unlike America.
I can only speak for myself, but when I have down time, I almost feel like I have to be doing something, pushing forward for the cause(whatever that may be) indulging in a hobby, distracting myself with television, etc. The thought of doing nothing almost seems “wrong” because, and I’m sure you’ve heard this before, while you’re doing nothing, there’s another person working twice as hard to achieve the same goal as you.
While this is probably true, the amount of pressure that one can put on themselves, including the amount that’s put on them by others, can be overwhelming, and a good number of people have a hard time consistently coping. I’d imagine this feeling could be multiplied several times over for celebrities.
As much as some media would have us believe otherwise, celebrities are human beings just like the rest of us. If anything truly sets them apart it would have to be their ability to deal with the level of stress that their life can bring, a life that usually contains constant groups of people projecting their expectations and how those expectations must be fulfilled by said celebrity day in and day out.
But most of them can’t seem to really deal with the pressures, and turn to drugs for reasons only they may be able to understand… It could be as an escape, a way to cope, simply recreation,whatever.
I say all of that to talk about the recent passing of Whitney Houston. I’d considered writing a R.I.P. post similar to how I did for Don Cornelius, but I felt like the situation surrounding Whitney was a little different. It’s no secret that Whitney had done her fair share of drugs in her lifetime, and prescription drugs even played a part in her death. And though she’s another name on the ever growing list of drug related celebrity deaths, she’s clearly one of the more missed celebrities.
Even though I didn’t really follow Whitney Houston’s music(My fondest memory of her is her role in the Preacher’s Wife) I’m very aware of her musical contributions, her accomplishments and the God given talent that was bestowed upon her and shared with the world.
I remember thinking, as news started to flood in about her sudden death, that as sad as it was, it was also such a waste. And I know you may be thinking, “How is it a waste? It’s WHITNEY HOUSTON, she’s won more awards than anybody else, she’s influenced so many people, she’s accomplished this that and the third, so on and so forth.” Which is all true… But she also died before fifty, leaving her only daughter to grieve for her at the age of 18, where most people haven’t even begun to figure out their lives, and now she doesn’t have a mother to guide her. Whitney will never see her daughter grow up, get married, or even have children all because Whitney couldn’t stop retreating to her “escape.”
It may seem a little harsh but it’s the truth. You can look at her career and see where the drugs started to take effect. Being a late eighties baby, I didn’t grow up on Whitney Houston because her career had already peaked or anything like that, I didn’t grow up on Whitney Houston because of Whitney Houston…and possibly Bobby Brown.
Don’t tell me I’m the only who doesn’t think, “what if” Whitney had never come across drugs, she could very well have been still alive to this day as well as still enjoying a highly successful career. Same goes for Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and other entertainers whose deaths were brought on by drug use.
I’m not trying to make a case of why drug use is bad or anything like that, because drugs are really just part of the bigger picture. I think if we’re not careful, whatever outlet that we use as our form of escape(drugs, alcohol, video games, whatever else) can either slowly or quickly halt our progress from what we really want to do with our lives. For me, it’s video games. Lord knows that I have a hard time putting a controller down but I use games as a way to temporarily escape from my thoughts. However, I’d be in denial if I said that I couldn’t find a more productive way to occupy my time, even if I am just trying to relax.
In conclusion, If I had to sum up my thoughts I’d have to say that we shouldn’t let our escapes from life end up being the same thing that dictates our life. Unfortunately,Whitney Houston’s life ended up being an example of what happens when the love of an escape goes too far..
