Last night you may or may not have caught the awkwardness while Justin Bieber accepted Billboard’s Milestone award to a chorus of boo’s.
In case you missed it, here is a clip–
It was incredibly awkward to watch as the booing grew louder, fans attempted to cheer over it, and Bieber stood there for a moment just taking in the madness, before he gave a very clearly unrehearsed speech.
I saw tons of tweets and Facebook posts virtually chiming in with the booing crowd as it all unfolded, but I must say… while I never classified myself or my children as “Beliebers”, at that very awkward moment- I felt bad for the Biebs; and here is why-
Though his speech was a bit choppy, it showed the truth. A truth that I think we as a society need to be reminded of when criticizing rising stars who grow up before our eyes– He is 19 years old.
NINETEEN.
At 19, I could barely handle the new found freedom I had of driving my used Dodge Neon, nonetheless have the ability to purchase a home in Beverly Hills, California or hop a private plane at any given time to vacation with a boyfriend.
– I mean really. Could you imagine?
At 19, I was just begining my streak of dating all the wrong guys. I believed with every fiber of my teenage heart that I was “in love” with the toxic on-again/off-again “relationship” I was involved in and didn’t care how “stupid” I looked.
When it came to style, I rocked butterfly claw clips and platform sneakers with just as much confidence as Justin Bieber rocks those pleather- drop-crotch- skinny pants none of us can quite figure out today.
The difference? No one cared– and thank God for that– because I needed those years of being ignorant and naive to shape the person I am today.
My brother and sister right now are 19, and 18 years old. They aren’t perfect but they are good kids– who in ways have a better head on their shoulders than I had at their age. But while they are living in the moment with extreme confidence- if you were to ask either of them about their future? They would admit the truth that all 19 year olds have… they are scared.
Scared of not finding “their thing” in this world, scared of the responsibilities that lie ahead…. scared of failure. Which is what last night must have felt like to Justin Bieber, whose future right now is dependent upon people liking him not just for his talents – but for his personal life as well.
And I am not saying that Justin Bieber has not at times publicly appeared a bit cocky, or irresponsible, because he totally has.
I am just saying maybe we need to ease up a little on the Biebs, because I don’t know many people who would want themselves or their children to be judged for who they were are 19.
