Why are we preoccupied with actors and actresses? Where does this obsession come from?

Okay, so I admit it. So I’m an addict. I have an addiction to Hollywood stars.

Every moment I have, I scour around the Internet and search for the latest news and gossips of my favorite starlets and crush-of-the moments:

Lindsay Lohan. Omigosh, look how her bones stick out! You can slice bread with those sharp shoulder blades. Oh my, she smokes. She parties a lot. Haha, she broke up with that guy from the ’70s show. Oh well, he’s not cute anyway. He looks like a drug addict.

Britney Spears. Trailer trash, got married briefly to a childhood friend. I mean who names their son Jason Alexander? Oooh, look, she’s going for a guy who already has two kids. Wait, they got married? Ew. Oh, she’s getting fat now. Too bad about her abs. What?! She’s having a baby soon?! I’d bet she had it earlier. That’s why she and that Federline dude got married.

Ashton Kutcher. Pretty boy, dating sexy vixen Demi Moore. Should be love, not simply a publicity stunt, though he did become more popular after dating her. Had a slew of nice movies, not a bad actor but too much of a pretty boy to do anything serious.

Tobey Maguire. Super cute in Spiderman. What happened to him recently?! Heard that Scarlett Johannson thinks he’s flabby. And from the looks of it, he really puffed up.

Paris Hilton. Unconscious sex-video star. Bit ditzy, super rich and spoiled. Looks good in pink. What’s with the chihuahua. Fallout with Nicole. Too bad. Superficial. Got together with Nick Carter. Shucks, he’s my crush too. Broke up. Together with another Paris. Oh well, at least, he’s not just there for her money. Slut.

And so on and so forth…

I mean really, what’s with our preoccupation with celebrities?

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I think it’s because from celebrities, our dreams are realized.

Everyone has dreams. From the time we were young, we were always dreaming of becoming rich, famous and beautiful. But reality bites. It doesn’t always happen that way. I used to dream of being in magazine spreads and recording a hit, but it hasn’t happened yet. Many others are no different. Celebrities embody our hopes and our aspirations. They are our personal dreams realized.

They are beautiful, rich, powerful, and popular — all the things that most average people desire.

For example, who among us women did not swoon when we watched Tom Cruise said those famous words to Renee Zellweger, “You complete me.” Imagine yourself in her position, the guy (who happens to be as cute as Tom C.) you love saying those words to you. Don’t we want that in our own lives?

How about imagining ourselves as superheroes, out saving the world from the bad guys? When I watched X-Men, I imagined myself possessing some super powers. Boy, I would love to be Storm and control the weather. But I’d also love to be Jean Gray and be fought over by the delicious Wolverine and Cyclops.

From a movie, we see the characteristic we want in a man (or a woman). Who wouldn’t a man like Keanu Reeves in Speed and the Matrix? Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean? A father and husband like Eric Bana in Troy? For men, who wouldn’t want a woman as sexy as Penelope Cruz? As elegant as Nicole Kidman? And as womanly as Angelina Jolie?

That’s why back home, we’d call our favorite celebrities our “idol.” From them, we get our escape from the stress and pressures of life. We know the chances of us appearing on TV are slim, but through them, we believe that anything is possible. For they are ordinary people like us who, by talent and/or by luck, are doing the same things we aspire for. Through them, everything becomes possible.

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But our obsession or at least, my obsession, it just doesn’t end there. Not only do we relate to them through the films they make and the songs they sing, we also want to know every teeny-tiny bit of their personal lives.

How many times have I looked at MSN Entertainment to find out who’s dating who, who broke up with who, who brought a new house, and who got caught with marijuana?

Embarrassingly, I must admit, a lot of times.

Admittedly, I find them as interesting as philosophy, business, and politics. *Blush, blush*

Why am I so darn interested?

What can I say? They’re my leisurely pursuits.

It’s especially nice to look at photos of celebrities without make-up, and doing the most mundane things. It shows that they are normal beings as well, doing the same things as we do like going shopping, eating in restaurants and walking to the car. Whereas we know that celebrities have a world of their own where the money flows freely, everyone has fun and does whatever they want, stuff like these make them more relatable.

*Lightbulb flashing* We realize that they’re just like us.

Especially without makeup.

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I find it funny that celebrities become angry when the paparazzi follow them around and take pictures of them everywhere they go. Hey, when you’re a celebrity, nothing is private anymore. Being a celebrity is a full-time job, and if you can’t handle the pressure of being famous, then it may be better for you to find another job.

A lot of people want to have cake and eat it too.

This is quite selfish.

Frankly, I think a lot of celebrities are upset because the paparazzi usually catch them in their bad moments.

Just woke up? Snap.

Bad hair day? Click, snap.

Had a fight with your significant other? Uh-oh, the media caught it on camera.

Ooooh, off to see your mistress? You’ll see your face — and hers — in the latest gossip magazines.

But who doesn’t have bad moments? Who doesn’t screw up sometimes? Who doesn’t make mistakes?

I do. You do. Everybody does.

The only difference between them and me is that more people are watching their lives in microscopic detail. Hang out with someone? Oooh, you’re dating. Grab that frapucchino at Starbucks? Better watch that weight.

As a celebrity, if you’d like to be famous, don’t complain when people want to know more about you. If it bothers you so much, get another job. Like I’ve said before, for every action, there’s a consequences.

I’m sure you knew what a celebrity entailed when you “accepted” that job.

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The only thing I hate is obnoxious celebrities.

There are some celebrities who think they’re better than everybody else. I guess, it’s because people treat them differently, and so they act differently as well. When you put someone on a pedestal long enough and praise them to death, soon, they’ll believe they are better than you.

Soon, they’ll believe they’re different from those normal folks, that they’re special. But it just doesn’t end there. They curse, they get what they want without paying, they’ll push and shove, and they put their noses up in the air — all in the name of being a “celebrity.”

At least, for many celebrities, with fame, came arrogance.

The more arrogant they are, the easier it is to hate them.

So isn’t it interesting that the more obnoxious you are, the more the media would love to torture you? The more you try to grab attention (e.g., Charlotte Church and her drunken ways, Lindsay Lohan’s party habits, Paris Hilton’s slutty activities), the more the media would chase you for the news.

They don’t learn that it’s better to stay low-key. If you keep on doing attention-grabbing stuff, it’s unlikely that the media would leave you alone.

Why can’t these celebrities learn?