By Tess Leighton
Contributor
Pete Davidson is a comedian and actor most popular, perhaps, for his roles playing the boyfriend Kim Kardashian, and before that, Ariana Grande. What is most inspiring about those roles, especially to the older generations, is that they were in fact not roles, but aspects of Pete Davidson’s actual life.
Pete Davidson is a very accredited man despite his many faults that have been exposed in the public eye.
A college dropout from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, Davidson landed a job at Saturday Night Live using his wit and work ethic alone. Davidson spent eight years working at Saturday Night Live, an extremely competitive comedy show that has been airing since 1975.
Davidson has dedicated time to spreading awareness about mental health and has successfully navigated his life and career with the presence of Borderline Personality Disorder. I think that is pretty inspiring for our generation since we are so focused on destigmatizing mental health and creating more open communication about such challenges.
Unfortunately, a lot of the information that is available on this topic tends to focus on the negative effects of mental health challenges. I think it is helpful to larger society and inspiring to adolescents to see the unsuspecting strength of celebrities like Davidson who have learned to embrace themselves and succeed in the public eye.
Perhaps Davidson’s greatest strength is being openly and relatably human. While he is, at times, scorned and underestimated by society, I think we should all come to respect this gift more as a rarely displayed talent. He has the ability to make people feel seen and connected through his demeanor and his comedy.
Davidson’s gift has paid off, as he is a millionaire and his social status shoots far higher than his financial status. This goes to show how far you can go with your personality and work ethic, no matter your problems or where you have come from. He has gone on to create the successful TV series “Bupkis,” the movie “The King of Staten Island” and has been involved in quite a few others.
I think we should all begin to acknowledge Davidson as someone who has put in the work that is deserving of great accomplishment. He has contributed to destigmatizing mental health by making pop culture less about being perfect and more about being real.
In a lonely society, Davidson’s authenticity is a practice of pioneers. His transparency about his struggles does not signify the absence of other people’s problems. Just because a person does not share their problems, does not mean that they do not have any. He is a reminder that wearing your heart on your sleeve can be the trick to success.
