Run Tell Dat!

Last week it was announced that the Houston family would be given and starring in their very own reality show on Lifetime.  Centered around Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina, her mother, Cissy, best friend and manager, Pat, brother, Gary and cousin, Dionne Warwick, the premise is a family healing and trying to move forward after such a tragic loss.  Let me first say, that I loved and still love Whitney Houston.  So much so, that with the exception of my mom (who was equally hurt) I really don't talk about how her death impacted me or her death at all for that matter.  The death of some celebrities and notables affect me more and greater than others, she was one of them.  With that said, I think this reality show is a bad idea.

I think the best way to move on and honor the memory of someone you care about, is to move forward with dignity and privacy.  Silence is a response.  It must be hard to heal with cameras stalking you and everyone wanting a statement.  Which is more of a reason to pull out of the spotlight, not rush right into it.  I personally am and have been for quite some time, tired and annoyed with most 'reality' shows.  They are too formulaic and dramatic, while trying so hard to claim real life.  What boggles my mind more than reality shows, is their popularity!  More often than not, I feel like I'm watching a train wreck.  I cannot understand people's desire to put all of there business out on front street.  Then it occurred to me, we all are guilty of starring in reality shows of some sort.  Did you play a high scoring word on Words With Friends? Post it!  Invite someone new to Pinterest?  Post it!  Having dinner with friends?  Post it!  Enjoying a good bottle of wine?  Post it!  Changed your dating status from blank to blank?  Post it!  At a concert for one of your favorite singers? Post it!  Staying in and making it a Netflix night?  Post that too!  Whether it be Facebook or Twitter, FourSquare or Pinterest, Blogger or Wordpress, we are all guilty of this reality show phenomena.  We all feel we have a story to tell, whether we are limited to 140 characters or blogging all of our thoughts out (raises hand shyly); we are all guilty.  Is it that we are searching for validation or proof that, 'yes, I have a life.  Look at me, I'm living it!'?  Or is it all of the years where we have been relegated to only our close circle of friends and family, that make us feel our thoughts and opinions much stretch further, spread wider?

When I first heard about the show, my thought was, 'how tacky'.  I still feel it's tacky, but my overall judgement has dissipated.  In fact, within the last couple of months, encouraged by my 'Gift', I have made an effort to seriously think of the necessity to post my every waking thought, action or opinion.  Things that I once thought were a 'must post', now have his voice ringing in my head, 'who cares?' or 'I don't think you should put that on Facebook.'  I have often purposefully typed out my thoughts to share, only to reread it several times and decide, who really cares?  Not just honesty, but also privacy is the best policy.