A reality show serves as a rude awakening
Sarah Kehoe
Being on TV brings out the worst in people
I am a task-oriented person.
When I get focused on something I need to get it done, I often tune out the world around me. This has served as both a skill and a problem for me over the years.
On one hand, I can be anywhere and complete what I need to finish in a timely manner. On the other hand, I have been known to ignore happenings around me I might need to pay attention to.
In the past, I have been so focused on making a “to-do list” that I have walked by someone without saying hello (because I didn’t see them) or sported a serious expression. This self-reflection came last week after watching a reality show.
I was flipping through the channels when I came across a show called, “True Beauty” on ABC. I generally do not watch reality shows because they tend to be the same.
People are usually competing for money, fame or love and always embarrass themselves one way or another, which is hard to watch. Also, how many times can you listen to people say, “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win,” before it gets old?
I decided to tune in to this one after a camera caught a male participant applying lip gloss in the mirror while saying to another participant, “I’m just going to sit back and ride the ‘I love me’ train all day.”
Wow. The fact that someone said this knowing he was being filmed made it impossible for me to turn away.
In this show, contestants believe they are competing to see who is the most beautiful, but they are actually being judged on inner beauty by a secret panel.
There are hidden cameras all over to capture different scenarios played out by actors to see how contestants respond. The scenarios usually consist of people in trouble and judges see whether or not the contestants will stop what they are doing to help.
Sadly, most of the contestants walked right by the people in trouble and didn’t think twice.
One scenario showed a woman crying because she lost her wedding ring and a male contestant did more than just ignore her. He grabbed a tissue off her table to wipe his forehead.
I was appalled at how rude some of the people were to complete strangers. Then I wondered, how many times are we all guilty of focusing so much on ourselves we ignore people around us?
It’s hard to think of others when we are going through a rough time or are stressed out, but we should remember there are people out there experiencing hard times too. I think a little attention can go a long way.
Minor things such as smiling or saying, “hello,” to a stranger can make a big difference in someone’s day. Stopping to help someone pick up papers they dropped is more than polite; it’s just the right thing to do.
I’ve resolved to remind myself of these things next time I feel busy or overwhelmed. My plan is to hold the stress, look around me and crack a smile.
Sarah Kehoe is the health and education reporter for the Columbia Basin Herald. She is often so focused on her work in the office that she fails to respond to calls from the managing editor.
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