Did Susan Boyle Teach Us A Lesson?

A few weeks ago an unknown, unassuming woman with the voice of an angel took on a world filled with small-minded, judgmental know-it-alls and gave audio/visual club kids everywhere hope for a chance at greatness - and that was Susan Boyle.

The appearance of this brave, peculiar woman and the contradiction between her difficult life (before the show) and her incredible singing ability, made us all re-evaluate our thought processes and examine our suppositions about people which, for most of us, are based on mere appearances.

Let’s be honest, didn’t we all assume her performance would be terrible when we first looked at her? How is it that we have come to judge a person’s capabilities – their actual worth – on what we see in just a few seconds?

I believe that the rich and powerful have always dictated the trends to the media and advertisers who, in turn, train our eyes to recognize (their versions of) what is beautiful, valuable, and acceptable. We’ve become conditioned to think that way -- that what conforms to these ideals is good and what is different is bad.

Are we really falling for that? God, I hope not.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to completely reveal your true, imperfect self in front millions of skeptical eyes, knowing full well that you are the unlikeliest of heroes? If we take a moment to think back to puberty, I think it must have felt something like that! Scary. Embarrassing. Nauseating. But in the end so rewarding!

For anyone who considers themselves like Susan Boyle I say, “Never give up, and keep chasing your dream!” For the spoiled brats who have lived the “charmed” life I say, “Beware of the day things change for you. When you find yourself in the company of those whom you rejected, you will not know how to handle it.”

The saying, “There but for the grace of God, go I,” means that at any time, any one of us could find ourselves in the unfortunate circumstances of another, so I think the lesson here is to be more aware and tolerant of the plights and limitations of others, and to keep an open mind about people. And because when you think about it, what we tend to value most in life is fragile and fleeting -- beauty, fame, fortune, love I also believe it's important to be grateful for the gifts and good fortune that have come our way and consider ourselves lucky for even a moment in the spotlight.

Were you ever plucked from anonymity to celebrity? Does anyone want to share their moment in the spotlight?