After two weeks of hearing about it and seeing TikToks of it, I finally got to see Selena Gomez’s new documentary My Mind & Me. And I’m so glad that I got the chance to sit and watch it. The documentary truly gives us a new perspective on Selena Gomez and her life.
I grew up mainly during the 2000s. I was in fourth grade when Wizards of Waverly Place premiered on Disney, so that’s what I’ve always known Selena for — her role as Alex Russo. But as I became older, I stopped following her and just knew the basics.
When I started watching the documentary, I immediately realized what makes people gravitate toward Selena. As soon as I saw her interacting with people, I immediately thought, “I want to be her friend.” And the more I watched, the more I noticed how much Selena differs from other celebrities we see today. It made me realize how we should strive to be more like Selena and less like other celebrities we see in the media.
For the past several years, Selena has been through hell and back.
She was diagnosed with Lupus in 2014 and bipolar disorder in 2020. In the documentary, we find out that because of these factors, Selena was hospitalized in 2014 and paused her “Revival” tour in 2016.
While watching, you can see Selena is clearly struggling in this part of her life. Anyone on the face of the planet would understand if she became cold and distant from the world around her. And yet, I noticed that she seemed kinder than ever and carried herself with grace wherever she went.
While I watched, I kept noticing Selena’s kindness to every person she encountered. She not only listened when people spoke, but she also made eye contact and truly understood what they were saying to her. For example, when visiting an old neighbor who was sick, she got down at eye level and spoke to her. I was amazed.
I know that those small acts seem like such a minuscule thing to take notice of. They should come to us naturally. And we should expect to see them. But here I was, staring at the screen, amazed by how Selena treated everyone around her.
In this world, we need to strive to have more characteristics like Selena.
We need to be more attentive, thoughtful, and caring. And we need to demonstrate to people that we listen and truly care. It’s something that we never see anymore, and that’s why we find ourselves amazed when we see celebrities doing the bare minimum when interacting with people. It’s the reason why I sat there in awe of Selena as she hugged people and listened to their stories.
I am now officially a fan of Selena again after all these years. There definitely needs to be a change in this world, and it’s something that can start with us. Make people feel noticed when they are talking to you, and step by step, we can make the change.
Be kind.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot
