Quasi-famous people dig me
By Chelseas Craddock
CAMPUS TALK EDITOR

I never realized that people actually read this column. Now that I know people do, I’ve got to admit, I feel a little awkward.

Initially, when I write a column, I forget that other people are going to read it. I think of it as a weird sort of diary or something. I type out whatever comes to me — relating to the Brockport Speaks question — and then it goes to print.

Because of new layout changes, I don’t have to relate my column to the Brockport Speaks question anymore. It’s both liberating and scary. I’ll do my best to keep it entertaining for you.

As college students, we’re told it’s in our best interest to not use Myspace.com in regard to our professional careers — I believe the exact opposite. I’m not one of those trashy girls displaying naked pictures of myself or pictures of me doing a keg stand. I use it as a networking tool.

After last week’s column “Where have all the fat girls gone?” I got a lot of feedback from people around campus. Most of it was from girls, but a few guys told me how much they enjoyed reading my column every week. This made me smile.

I decided that — after all the feedback I got — since I mentioned plus-size model Mia Tyler in the article, she might like to read it. I admit it was high hopes because hey, we all know that famous people with MySpace accounts either don’t actually run it themselves or just don’t have time to answer the no-doubt countless number of messages they get from fans. I didn’t care — I sent a personal message with the link to the article on The Stylus Web site.

The next day, when I logged on to MySpace, I noticed one of my friends has posted a bulletin titled “Where have all the fat girls gone?” It was Mia Tyler. Confused, I clicked on it:

“Great article ... check it out. And thanks to Chelsea who wrote it and brought it to my attention!!”

Mia Tyler sent out a MySpace bulletin with the link to my article! I couldn’t believe someone like her would take the time to not only read a dumb MySpace message from a fan, but also repost a bulletin with what was written.

By the time I had seen the bulletin, there were already two pages of comments from other fans, telling her how much my article meant to them. Today, there are four pages. Some of these people even added my personal MySpace page and left me comments about my article.

Being the geek that I am, I read all of the comments. Most of them were from women, giving off somewhat of a “girl power” vibe, reminiscent of a Spice Girls concert. Others were from guys saying that is was OK for women to be a little chunky.

Thankful for what she had done, I replied to the bulletin, thanking Mia for posting it. I told her how much it meant to me that she took the time to read my work, too. I hate being a fan girl, but I believe in manners. The next day, I had a message in my inbox:

“Of course!! It’s a great article and women need to read that ... It makes them feel better. So, thank you!! Keep up with the writing ... You can heal a lot of people’s wounded minds!!”

I don’t get star struck easily. I’ve met countless bands and even a few actors and never broke a sweat — but when I saw that, I screeched like a little girl at a New Kids on the Block concert in 1989. OK, I didn’t faint or cry or anything, but come on — you would be excited too if someone quasi-famous told you that. (Not only that, but I am not three degrees from Rex Manning.)

Since she posted that bulletin, I feel so good. I’ve read all of those comments and I can’t help but feel happy. It’s heartwarming to realize that I made people feel confident and good about themselves. There’s no other word I can think of to describe it besides “good.”

I’m not on a mission for chubby-girl liberation or anything, but this whole experience made me think. Thank you for reading my column — and the paper in general. It means a lot when people stop me around campus to tell me how much they enjoy my work. OK, I don’t mean to sound like, “Oh, hey, thanks for telling me how awesome I am,” but I mean it — thanks. Keep reading. I’ll be back to my regular sarcastic self after spring break.

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Craddock: "Quasi-famous people dig me"

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