MTV called me a few months ago. They wanted to profile me in their series True Life, a popular mini-documentary series they produce. The theme was True Life: I Don’t Fit In. They would follow me around for a couple weeks, from when I wake up till when I go to sleep. School, meetings, parties, etc.
After several conversations with the producer, who was professional and helpful, and at the recommendation of our PR people who have helped me with press inquires during spikes of activity, I said no. I was uneasy about being pigeonholed as a kind of social misfit; I would want more control over the footage; I was uneasy about the MTV audience and the other couple young people who would be featured on the show.
Tonight my brother alerted me to turn on MTV. I haven’t watched TV in several years, so it took flipping through many channels to find the station. Sure enough, it was True Life: I Don’t Fit In. It only took 10 minutes of watching the young people being profiled to know that I made the right decision.
Wow just a short look at the review really shows that you made the right choice. The entire show seems to focus on how depressing these peoples lives are. Be unique, not different.
They’d probably have edited it to make you seem like some sociopathic entrepeneur.
That whole episode was kind of “blah”
Scott makes a great point about uniqueness over difference.
Ben, you far overplay the “I dont fit in” aspects of your life. The only reason you may be outcasted is because you dont guzzle booze on the weekends, not because you take your life more seriously than others. Your self-identified “differences” dont even compare to that freak glam kid, the black girl who was “white” or the zealous Catholic.
You Ben are unique, NOT different. And as Scott aptly pointed out, theres a huge and important difference to note.
Very impressive decision.
The government should be persuaded to pay for all healthcare