Beloved Britney Spears

 

I became a fan of Britney Spears when I was 12 years old and saw the music video of “Baby one more time” on my tv. So many of you can relate, right? I bought the album soon after and played it often. Britney was my company, a friend that brightened my days and make life better with her music. I listened to her before my math tests which caused me a lot of nerves (I always had to make a lot of effort to have positive grades), I danced, I dreamed and learned english at the same time.

“Baby one more time” was like the perfect adolescence for me. It was not very relatable because I was going through a lot of pain (bullying, rejection, the death of my grandparents) but Britney was supremely magnetic, her wide smile and talent granting her a global acceptance.

As she tried to advance her career, the press started to dig into her privacy and everything from her body to her personal relationships seemed to be fair game. It was like she was just a product, a commodity, not a human being.

When I was 19 years old I have my first nervous breakdown (which had many causes and I won’t try to explain as this is about Britney, not me). When I started feeling better I asked my older sister why nobody in the world seemed to be helping Britney Spears, to which my sister replied “Britney is so rich. I’m sure she is being helped”. I felt like having bright flashes from cameras everyday on her face must had been a nightmare, along with everything else that unraveled.

I always felt connected to Britney and prayed for her well being. It made me sad to see her work so hard and not being able to have control of the money she made. She was explored to the bone. I experienced the other side of the equation, being treated well most of the times but having difficulty in earning money.

At the end of 2021 I was hospitalized in a psychiatric yard for my bipolar disorder and anxiety. When I’m discharged on 12th November, I learned that the conservatorship that Britney had endured for so long was over. I was so glad.

About Britney’s use of Instagram I think most of the times she is just having fun and using her independence. Sure she can dance better than just doing circles but maybe she is just gaining confidence again in her own body (she had her knee injuries and I read reports of damages on her nerves). She has been processing a lot emotionally since her freedom, such as her miscarriage, and seeing other people try again and again to profit on her story must be infuriating. She says she feels liberated when she posts revealing pictures and her content is not curated to make her look like her past self. This is Britney now. I remember an interview for an Israeli outlet where Britney said if she had a hair strand out of place she would experience overwhelming anxiety. So yeah, I enjoy seeing Britney act carefree, almost childlike because at least she seems joyful.

As a fan what I would like for Britney? That apart from a cd, book or other business ventures, she continued where she left in The letters of truth, to show her soul bravery to the world. She mentioned writing a ghost story, she has the creativity and imagination for that. I hope she continues healing in any way possible by prayer, art, loving relationships and so much more. All emotions are valid as long as you express them properly. She is beautiful and has an extremely sensitive heart (let’s not forget how Britney composed “Everytime” on piano, for instances). She deserves to be treated better. We’ve been failing her for more than 14 years!

Bottom line is: Britney was there for us when we needed her the most.

No one in the world has been more criticized, judged, punished for the state of her mental health than Britney Spears. Let that sink in, truly. And please, the next time you see her face show more empathy. Not pity because she doesn’t need it, but try to understand everything she has been through and how she came back stronger, just reclaiming now a sense of normalcy and showing the real fighter that she is. Long live Britney!