Thank you for emailing us today. It's not uncommon for teenagers to enjoy receiving positive feedback from people. In a lot of ways it's an important part of every person's development. It's a form of attention and most people would enjoy receiving positive attention for something they've done well. It can lead some people to think they should be famous, but the thing about being famous is that if it is your main goal it can and does often lead people down destructive paths.

The reason for this is that fame can be addicting and unfortunately too many people place their self worth on how well liked or well known they are, instead of it coming from within and coming from a place of personal achievement and hard work.

You should honestly ask yourself why you want to be famous and at what length you'd be willing to go to gain fame. In time, you will likely find that fame is short-lived, unfulfilling and empty. It's much more important and valuable for you to create healthy, realistic goals for yourself. If by chance you become famous as a result of achieving those goals then perhaps you would be able to handle the responsibility that would bring, and even figure out a way to enjoy the fame, but without it taking over your life or defining who you are. However, that can only come if it's not your goal. That may be hard to understand but it really does make sense if you think about it.

Do yourself a favor and think about what it is you want to do with your life, what career goals you have, why you have them and how hard you're willing to work to achieve those goals. The fame you're seeking is something that hardly happens and when it does it's for extraordinary reasons, and usually the people who are famous didn't start out with their initial goal of becoming famous. It was usually a result of the hard work they put into their career choices.

Unfortunately, as you can probably attest to, some of those famous people haven't made the best choices regarding their fame and many have lost relationships and have suffered emotional pain because of the lack of coping in dealing with everything that fame brings, including trust issues, relationships without sustenance, people taking advantage of you, etc..

If you want to improve your self-esteem and the way you view yourself without the need of external influences then you're going to have to do some "soul searching". Journaling your feelings and thoughts about yourself, your life, environment, the choices you make, etc. can really help provide you with a new perspective once you go back and read what you wrote. Reading self-help books and educating yourself on things you have a lot of interest and talent in can help focus you and provide insight into what you might want to do as a possible career.

Lastly, there's nothing like doing volunteer work. So many people think they have things figured out until they roll up their sleeves, and work hard for someone they don't even know or for a cause that has nothing to do with themselves, and without seeking recognition for it. The reward comes from the joy you get from helping someone else. It's worth the experience, but more importantly it can change lives.

We wish you all the best and feel free to email us any questions or if you're needing additional advice!

Sincerely,

Jessica, Counselor