MY WEIGHT IN GOLD

This morning, a feature at MSN.com is HOW TV SHOWS HIDE STAR PREGNANCIES. 

As I scroll through the article, I am humored not only by some of the gimmicks but also by the fact that with certain shows; like Sex In The City, Friends and Seinfeld; I’ve actually been a fan long enough to remember the times when the leading ladies were preggers. 

Kerry Washington "Scandal"

Sarah Jessica Parker "Sex in the City"

But alas, as it often does, my mind began to wonder toward past experiences and—of course—extraneous circumstance…

The women that were featured in this particular article are all well know and well liked and although in many instances their pregnancies did not fit their ‘character’, they were none the less embraced by their adoring fans.  But for the average professional woman, it rarely works that way.  In terms of our careers, pregnancies are often viewed as unsavory set backs—particularly the maternity leave period.  Our dependability and efficiency are automatically questioned.  And pregnancy, in allot of cases becomes a scapegoat for not performing at our optimum.  But if multimillion dollar studios can work around a pregnancy; for an employee whose performance is 100% about being visible; what separates these women from the average woman? 

WHEN ARE WE SILENT

Allot of times, complete strangers would approach me, proceed to telling me their personal dilemmas, and ask for my advice.  I couldn't honestly guess why this happens to me so often.  Truth be told, I'm not a very good advice giver.  I rarely "say the right thing."  I often just bellow what I think is most appropriate in relation to a person’s given situations.  I find it challenging to generalize conclusions based on personal circumstance and I have a very serious disposition with cloaking reality.

I can't decide if it's a selfish way of thinking that leads me to believe that when such things happen, the universe is trying to teach me a lesson.  Or, it may also be that I just have one of ‘those’ faces and it’s purely coincidental that I happen to be around when a person needs someone to talk to.

In a sense, it scares me when people do this.  I think that this fear is caused mostly by my inhibited character.  For me, personally, to randomly tell a person with whom I’m familiar—much less a complete stranger—my personal problems, I would have to feel very desperate about solving them.  I understand that some people have little to no inhabitations regarding their personal life, but in whole, the concept is very difficult for me to grasp.  None the less, advice seekers seem to flock to me.