2B || ?2B

I was lying awake this morning, in that half-awake, half-asleep, twilight state that your brain will sometimes slip into; I was thinking about something a friend of mine had said to me and wondering about my reaction to it. Let me explain. Have you ever wanted to be immortalized, to have your name remembered after you are dead and gone? How far would you go to get this to happen? Why do people avidly seek out their 15 minutes of fame? Would you make a fool of yourself to get yourself remembered? "Hey Fred, did you see that idiot who tried out on American Idol last night? What a reject. What a moron. He couldn't sing worth crap..." You get the picture? However, what if you were given an opportunity to live that 15 minutes without having to make yourself look like an imbecile. Would you do it? Even if it caused you short term embarrassment? For instance, suppose you wrote a short story and wanted to submit it to a magazine but didn't know if it was any good. Or maybe you painted a picture and now it is doing nothing but collecting dust in the basement. Or maybe you are a good looking female and your friends are trying to talk you into posing nude and sending the picture into Penthouse. Could you take the risk, baring your soul to the world and accepting the possible criticism that entailed? Why is it easier for some people to express their inner self? Why are people so afraid of opening up? Yeah, yeah I know, deep thoughts for so early in the morning, but sometimes this is when I do my best thinking. Is it possible that 90% of the world has low self esteem? What does that make the confident ones? Leaders? How much greatness is buried in feelings of inadequacy? "All we have to fear is fear itself..."