Lady Gaga is a “breathing symbol of overcoming defeat”

Fabienne Fleurantin/Staff Writer

“Ra ra ra mama. Ra ma, ra mama. Gaga oh lala, want your bad romance.”

Oh yes, yes I did.

The amazing, iconic and talented Lady Gaga. She is an attraction of controversy, a creator of comfort with eccentricity and most of all, a promoter of love.

Yes, she is the typical image of what a pop star is — she has the fame, fortune and following to back her up. However, there is something else about Gaga that makes her inspiring.

It’s not just because of her incredible music or the fact that her lyrics pull at the heart strings, but the fact that she is a living, breathing symbol of overcoming defeat.

She beat tough circumstances that made her into who she is today. She shared her experience during the Emotional Revolution Summit at Yale in October 2015.

“This is how I overcame my depression, is by creating somebody I felt that was stronger than me. But once I went through all sorts of changes, my career taking off, becoming more isolated, you know, nothing was able to fix how I was genetically made. I was born this way,” Gaga said at the Summit. “So, how do we now, knowing all of that, no matter how much success you have, no matter how many opportunities, fame, fortune, and no matter how many people accept you to your face, the person that really needs to accept you is you.”

This is what makes her so relatable and down to earth. Her words hit like a universal goal that every person strives to achieve — self-acceptance.

She spreads this message through a foundation in which she co-founded, Born This Way, a foundation “committed to supporting the wellness of young people and empowering them to create a kinder and braver world. We achieve this by shining a light on real people, quality research, and authentic partnerships,” according to its website.

Over the past two years, the Born This Way Foundation had a huge impact “including: 2,500 global resource submissions to our Bravest Map Ever, more than 300,000 online subscribers, partnerships with over 50 nonprofit organizations across the country, cutting edge research on kindness and bravery through the Born Brave Experiences study, directly interacting with over 100,000 young people, and over 325 million media impressions for our Born Brave Bus Tour.”

Her story hits home because just like her, I was bullied. I remember dreading those days of going to school because I was afraid of what would happen to me. I couldn’t see what was ahead of me. I could only see then, what happened in that moment and I felt alone.

I’ve dealt with mental illness first hand among my family, and to know that she came out on the other side of that darkness, to see the light, makes me hopeful of the future that awaits me and my family.

Mental illness is common among youths and most stories end tragically. People tend to think that mental illness is a taboo subject that should stay silent, but she helped shed light on this issue and helped spread awareness with her platform of success.

She fought with all that she had within her, and she continues to fight for others for what she believes in. That, to me, is what makes Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a monster inspiration.

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Images retrieved from Flickr.