Dear Jennifer Lawrence,
You are my favorite celebrity and my idol. And I'm not someone who idolizes people, unless you count Jesus. Here are five reasons why.
#1: You are so down-to-earth and so honest about who you are. You inspire me to release my inner awkwardness. You told UK's Fabulous magazine, "I don't ever walk around feeling famous. I walk around feeling the exact same way I have walked around my entire life, but it's not until I talk to somebody and see in their eyes that I'm different. It makes me feel weird." The idea that you won't let fame change who you are is freakin' awesome.
#2: You advocate for strong, not skinny. When you played Katniss in "The Hunger Games," you sent a very important message to viewers and people everywhere. By refusing to diet for the role you encouraged the idea that you don't need to be extremely thin to be beautiful. There is so much pressure on young girls and boys to look a certain way but I love the way you stood against that. In an interview with Elle magazine, you said, "I'm never going to starve myself for a part... I don't want little girls to be like, 'Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I'm going to skip dinner... that was something I was really conscious of during training...I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong - not thin and underfed." It makes me feel awful to hear girls from my school talking about how they should watch what they eat because they think they need to lose 10 pounds. Jennifer, you are a very important voice in telling people that they don't need to do that and it is so inspiring to know that you won't diet for a role.
#3: You have a cool relationship with your family. When I saw the video of your family greeting you after the Oscars, it was so sweet! Your guests for the Oscars were your parents, Karen and Gary, and brothers, Ben and Blaine. Your relationship with them seems so strong and touching. I always love to see celebrities with their families because it is so great to see them supporting each other.
#4: You make falling cool. To be honest, your fall at the Oscars will always be my favorite. Why? Even though you took a tumble in front of hundreds of millions of people, you recovered with swag -- got up on stage, took that Oscar and appeared fabulous. Last year I played the Tin Man in my school's production of "Wizard of Oz" and on opening night, the crew sprayed wax on the curtain rods and it dripped all over the stage. The whole night everyone was falling and during the scene where we looked for Dorothy before the tornado, I went to down hard. We all have those moments.
#5: Finally, you're my favorite celebrity because you always root for the underdog. I recently saw an article about you and your friend Andy. I read about Andy, a boy with Down syndrome who you befriended in middle school. I loved reading about how you were always so kind to him and even now, in your twenties, you still keep a good friendship with him. Not caring about what other people would think of you and supporting Andy really converted me into your die hard fan.
Jen, you care so much and always put so much passion into what you do. Thank you for doing all that you do and these only five reasons why you are incredible. I dedicated this blog to you because I think you are amazing and I want to let you know that you are supported! You're inspiring and gorgeous!!!
Your Fan,
Anne Hilker