La Fama Eternal or Ephemeral

Is Fame Eternal or Ephemeral?

In this day and age there are many people who have become famous for many things: important world discoveries, breakthroughs in science and technology, groundbreaking inventions, writing timeless symphonies, recording famous songs, making great movies, and being famous Internet personalities.

This brings the question, what makes someone famous? I'm not talking only about movie stars, but also musicians, politicians, humanitarians, inventors, even Internet stars. What causes one person to rise and another to never take off? There has to be something that sets those certain few people apart, something more than just talent and chance.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, celebrity means the state of being famous, a person who is famous. This term is often synonymous with wealth (a person with fame and fortune), someone with popularity, prominence in a particular field, and easily recognized by the general public. That makes you wonder if people are sometimes famous for achieving important things in their life or just because television, radio, the Internet, and social media networks promote them in such a manner that they end up being popular because of constant exposure. We know very little about them and in reality they have done nothing outstanding to deserve the popularity, like sons and daughters of rich people that are famous for public scandals, having an expensive lifestyle, and for attending public events only. In some cases people distort their own image to achieve fame by changing their personal appearance or having a drastic physical change. It makes you wonder if going through all that sacrifice is worth it.

On the contrary, there are people that achieve fame due to important and groundbreaking things they have done in their lives: Important discoveries in science, physics, chemistry, and humanitarian work. People who have specialized in their own field, like scientists, actors, musicians, athletes, writers, humanitarians, etc. and are famous for their work are greatly recognized with awards such as the Nobel Prize, the Oscar, BAFTA, Grammy, and the Gandhi Peace Prize, among others.

Also, fame can be forever or ephemeral. Many people have achieved massive recognition for a little bit of time and then disappear. They have their fifteen minutes of fame but are forgotten and are never heard from again. One hit wonders are created by the mass media. However, there are actors, singers, musicians, scientists, and athletes that have remained famous even after their deaths: John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Charles Chaplin, and Beethoven, just to name a few. There are those who lived their lives unrecognized and only gained recognition after their death, such as Vincent Van Gogh, Herman Melville, Alan Turing, or Nikola Tesla among many others. What makes the difference in

...