01/23/00 – “Passions Focus & Importance” From the Roswell message board.

I was blown away by your responses and how many there was. I did, however, manage to read them all. No, I was not freaked out, rather flattered but do find it necessary to get something of my chest. I am overwhelmed, in a good way, at the amount of effort and attention I, along with the show, receive. What I hope you guys realize out there is that me, along with all other actors, are not too terribly significant in the grand scheme of things, with regards to what we do for a living. Society has elevated the importance of actors and based it on public persona/image, income, looks, box office, magazine covers and interviews, etc. Kinda superficial, eh? And I’m not saying I’m not appreciative. Believe me, I thank God everyday for what He has given me and blessed me with but I wanted to put things in perspective a little. I appreciate your support for me and the show, and fans obviously make or break a career or show, so your support is vital. But, don’t let yourselves be led to believe that actors/actresses are more important than anyone else. There are a lot of people out there busting their ass trying to make this world a better place and doing it and we just make T.V. shows and movies. Yes, entertaining people is important and I take pride in helping to make people’s Wednesdays more enjoyable because I watched and still watch shows and movies that make my day more enjoyable but it seems society has built celebrities up to an undeserved importance. Importance of a deed, comment, service isn’t determined by the amount of people who are made aware of it, it’s determined by how much it means to the person it was directed towards. Whether it’s front page news or only known to you and the old lady next door whose leaves you rake doesn’t matter. A website devoted to you doesn’t make you important, it’s the feeling you leave in the hearts and heads of people you interact with everyday that make you important. Remember that. Just be sure to know that the passion you guys show on this and other sites should be readily available to the other areas in your life as they come your way. Be sure not to waste your energy, passion, focus, skill, and talents, but to expend them on the more important things that’ll cross your paths in the future. That is what will make you guys important and for good reason if you fulfill and achieve what you are all intended to. Sorry for the length of this and the preachiness of it. I don’t even know how much sense it makes or how good it is, it’s the second time I wrote it. I erased it the first time by mistake and that one was better. More eloquent. Oh well, I hope I made my point. This was probably more for me than you guys however. It was something I felt I had to say to keep things in perspective and myself level-headed with all the attention you give me and the show (Don’t stop though ha ha). But nonetheless, it’s TRUE! Me, along with other celebrities will never ever make or break this world through acting, that’ll never really determine our importance. It’s what a person does to better his or her world that determines that. And that’s as easy as simply being nice, ethical, and at the very least living by the golden rule. Just be sure not to underestimate the importance of your classmates, friends, family and MOST IMPORTANTLY YOURSELVES as a result of perhaps never being famous, well-known, or wealthy. That’s not what you should base anything on. You all know in your hearts what importance should be based on. Thank you for reading this and feel free to comment. By the way, Metallica on NYEve rocked!!!