Why does th bimbos, not E world prize celebrity talented girls like me?

DEAR BEL I AM writing because I vary from wanting to kill myself and just giving up my career.

Nobody in my family does what I do, so I don’t have contacts through nepotism. I’ve won national art awards since the age of 11 and now, at 17 years old, I have been awarded a prestigious photography prize.

I’m too young to apply for grants and seemingly too old for the mainstream media to give me any encouragement as a young talent. Ever since I was a young teenager and had my work exhibited with the United Nations, I’ve been contacting newspapers and TV networks to no avail.

I don’t know why I try when they would rather give attention to a teenage pregnancy. I’m sick of seeing inane celebrity gossip getting more coverage than anything I will ever do.

With every award I win and every exhibition I’m in, I get closer to the edge of madness by being deprived of what I want, which is to be known.

Why is a 140- character tweet from a bimbo reality star worthy of more attention than my entire career?

KATE

TO Be honest, I wasn’t going to pick your letter because I thought that (a) most people your age would envy what you have achieved, and therefore (b) I felt you were laying self-pity on with a trowel.

Does that sound a bit hard? Well, it’s your first bit of valuable advice.

You have to be really tough-minded to become a professional photographer. I’m not unsympathetic. But, you see, I have terrible problems to ponder, ones that would make you weep if you’d only stop thinking about your longing for fame (not recognition, because you have it) for a while.

Then I decided to introduce you to another reader, exactly the same age, and consider issues you seem to have in common. So here is Anita:

‘I’m writing because I feel like my life is a bit of a mess at the moment. I’m 17 and feel constant worry and stress.

‘My first problem concerns university; academically I’m a good student, but this year I’ve felt like I’ve had no motivation.

‘My dad wants me to go into a respectable career like dentistry or medicine, but I’m not sure that’s what I want — and I just don’t have the heart to tell him. And he says he’s fine with whatever I do.

‘I guess I’m saying I feel lost in life — like I’m never happy.

‘At school I’m quiet and shy and don’t feel like I belong; my best friend is quite popular, but I don’t think people like me as much.

‘I feel like the last academic year went wrong and nothing could salvage it.

Please help me find light at the end of the tunnel.’

Anita, your poor father would be so upset to know you feel this way, but I hope you’ve tried to talk to him. You don’t mention your mother, but if she is there, please confide in her, too.

Believe me, there is rarely a state of mind which can’t be salvaged, if you will only throw back your head, breathe deeply, and see your life as a series of stages.

I can tell you nothing more important than this fact: the stage you have reached is as finite as all the ones which are to come. See your life in exciting stages.

Kate, I say the same to you. I’m sure your family is supportive and proud of you, so I hope you tell them about your dreams and frustrations, because sharing will stop them being all-consuming.

And, I’m sorry, but really you have no business whatsoever to talk about ‘killing yourself’ or ‘just giving up on my career’ — when you have only just embarked on your one precious life and cannot, at your age, speak realistically about ‘a career’!

This isn’t patronising (the young reach too easily for that term when somebody says something they don’t want to hear), it’s simply true.

I can’t bear to hear life dismissed so easily, when countless people all over the world face the agony of its ending. You are a good, serious photographer, so please look at the images coming out of Syria and — yes — get a grip.

Lots of us hate celebrity culture, but it’s a reality. So deal with it. As a pro, you might even have to snap celebrities whether you like it or not.

This I know — it really is tough for young people nowadays. Before my peers cry out in protest and people of my parents’ generation mutter darkly about the Thirties, let me explain. There’s never been a time when teenagers were quite so exposed to a world which weighs them down with expectation. Mass communication is torture. Young people have always dreamed and often been disappointed. But today it’s as if what they regard as their shortcomings are emblazoned on giant screens against a lowering sky, while the questions deafen them.

Why aren’t I famous? how will I know what to do? Who will love me? Why aren’t I popular? how can I be as good as ‘them’? And so it goes on. And on. The other day I had an email from a 16-year- old longing to start a sparkling career in journalism immediately.

She thinks it should be possible, but I wrote and told her to study, travel, read, write, and then think about it in four years’ time.

OF The two girls here, it is you, Kate, who is luckier because you know what you want to do. You, Anita, must realise that it may not become clear to you in the near future, so all options must be kept open. Just try not to be so angst-ridden — because that is sure to drive people away. Nobody wants to befriend somebody gloomy and self-absorbed. You must remember that, too, Kate.

Look up — because today’s top quote is just for you two. Both of you should focus on all there is to see and do in this world before you achieve your dreams. Take it one step at a time.

PS: Picture editors: contact me to research this girl (Kate is not her real name), who has initiative as well as talent!