We project onto public figures all the time. We see our struggles in their tired eyes, our resilience in their comebacks. But this felt different. This felt like looking into a mirror that had been fogged up for years, finally clear.
Not the actress. Not the public persona. But the her I saw in certain quiet moments — tired, ambitious, caught between who she was and who the world wanted her to be. I remember watching an interview once where she laughed and then stopped herself, like the laugh was too big for the room. I’ve done that. I’ve swallowed my own joy so many times I almost forgot what it sounded like. lena paul she was me
For me, that person was Lena Paul.
So here’s to the strangers who become our mirrors. Here’s to the women we see ourselves in, even if we’ll never meet them. Here’s to the truth that no matter how unique our pain feels, someone else has worn it like skin. We project onto public figures all the time
Yes. That.
Maybe that’s why we cling to certain celebrities, certain scenes, certain songs. Not because they’re perfect, but because they accidentally show us our own hidden rooms. Lena Paul didn’t know me. But for a moment, watching her, I recognized myself — and that felt like being seen by someone who wasn’t even looking. This felt like looking into a mirror that
She was me when I pretended I didn’t care. She was me when I cared too much. She was me when I smiled for a photo and thought, no one here knows me.