Letters to the Editor
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I predict this will be the longest letter section ever.
My two cents: since you (LW) don't have to worry about the day-to-day struggle to stay above water, take a goodly amount of time each week and volunteer. Help people who desperately need it. Giving to charity is good, but it takes only a few minutes of your time and almost no emotional investment. If you'd like to cure what ails you, give your *time* and some physical effort. And get to know some people who've been kicked in the teeth by life.
What I mean is that you're in a special position to fight the good fight. You don't have to struggle on behalf of yourself; fight on behalf of those who can't do it themselves. Get your hands dirty.
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LeCastor, is that you?
All seriousness aside. Misanthropy, addiction, weight gain and self congratulation do not a "success" make. Until the distortions in the self image that appear in the LW's signature "Successful, Sleepless, Dissatisfied" match the reality of failure and self satisfaction that permeate her prose, there's no helping this person. A good place to start might be found by defining and establishing true self respect and discovering the roots of genuine respect for others. Try making a list of notable accomplishments, values, and contributions to society, then embody them.
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My 2 cents
Is this one from Ann Coulter, lying about her age of course?
But seriously:
What else could a girl want?
Perhaps some humility?
Perhaps less a sense of victimhood?
I think she should take her money and her beauty and try and do something meaningful for the poor, the ill, the ugly, society's disadvantaged ones. She can do that in this country or some other. There is plenty of need and misery to go around.
At first it will just be slumming but perhaps, after a while, she won't just narcisistically bask in the glow of doing nice things for ugly people but will actually come to appreciate that it is possible to live a life of purpose.
Or she will go into politics, run for senate and spend the rest of her life having people do things for her and tell her how wonderful and beautiful she is. And she will live happily ever after.
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Welcome to the human race, Dutchess
My advice: Give all of your money away.
Not all of your worldly possessions, just everything in your checking and savings accounts. I guess for you, dear princess or whatever, that would include bearer bonds, gold bullion and the like. You'll feel much better, and work will take on a much more urgent feeling.
I do this every couple of years. My cash all goes to a charity, usually a homeless organization that isn't run by bible-bangers.
Good luck!
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The other side ...
I liked Cary's advice on this one but I'd like to propose the other path to take.
The fact is 'much is asked from those whom much is given'. Having been given a free pass through many of life's more deadening challenges - making a living, finding a job - our heiress is now facing the next set of challenges. Face them she must! (I'm channelling Yoda here).
So, as far as 'what you should do' goes, it's time to take the bull by the horns and step up to the plate and define yourself. So right now you're a beautiful, successful, rich girl. Is that all you ever want to be? You won't be beautiful forever, you know that right? And, as privileged as you are, there are millions of you out there, so that doesn't make you special either.
It's time to break out of your gilded cage and make your life how you want it. It's the challenge that comes to all of us in the end - once, and if, the basic challenges of survival - food, shelter, employtment etc have been met.
So. What do you want? You have everything you're SUPPOSED to want. But that's a different thing, isn't it? I didn't have to face this question until I was about 34 - it took that long for me to find love, financial security and a home - but it was really hard when I did have to face it.
In the meantime I think you should do worthwhile things with your advantages. Eg your money and social standing - you should invest the time others invest in getting to where you already are in doing worthy things. Volunteering, giving it away etc. This won't define you but it will placate the gods - many of whom are already roaring at you in this letters section!
It's hard to individuate yourself and that's what everyone is required to do. Your time is now and your unhappiness is the wake up call.
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The Jealousy is Palpable
Whenever any of the LWs are affluent or fortunate in any way the seething jealousy seeps through in a great many of the letters. For those of you who resent this girl her good fortune to be affluent and beautiful you should find schadenfreude in this letter. Why the outbursts of hostility? Be happy. So you aren't rich and beautiful. It wouldn't necessarily make you happy anyway. It is not hard to understand that someone with some of life's most coveted assets might be unhappy. As humans we have basic human needs. Wealth and beauty are not among them. They are simply advantages to attaining them but they are not a guarantee. And as Cary pointed out, they can lead one to a sense that they are not entitled to acknowledge their dissatisfaction. The research shows that a sense of satisfaction has much more to do with the personality traits that you posssess than with any personal assets such as intelligence or beauty. Wealth beyond poverty has almost no effect. I know this will be almost impossible to believe for so many of the commenters who think that if only they were wealthy and beautiful they would be so happy. What kind of a shallow person could fail to be happy with those advantages? That question is so ironic it hardly needs comment. For all those who are inclined to insult this poor suffering girl for being shallow, superficial, etc please take a moment to as yourself what motivates your hostility.