Miley Cyrus…. I have a confession.

First I am going to start off this post by saying this is only MY opinion. I am sure there will be those who disagree with me and there may be haters, but then again, there may be some that actually agree….so we’ll see.

For those that don’t know me, I do have a 15 year old daughter, I do have a 12 year old son, and I do have a 9 year old daughter. My oldest was a HUGE Hannah Montana fan. She was a HUGE Miley Cyrus fan. Heck, I took her to her first concert at the Rosemont Horizon {I think it’s the Allstate Arena now….} anyway, me and my dad took her to Indiana to see Miley and then my husband and I took her to a third Miley concert, so yes, you could say, she was definitely an idol of my daughters. With my other business, Baby Swags, we had the opportunity to meet her sisters {Brandi & Noah} at a gifting event. It was a time in my daughters life that left many fun memories. It was also a time in her life where she had no idea what was in store for her in the years to come. You see, the next few years would be Hell for her. She was bullied through out middle school, both verbally and physically and those years completely changed who she was. While my daughter knew that Hannah Montana was just a show and that Miley Cyrus was the girl playing the role as Hannah Montana, she was over her being Hannah as soon as the show ended. While Miley was growing up, so was my own daughter. Did I think Hannah Montana was going to stay around forever…no. When was the last time you actually saw a Hannah Montana show? I don’t think it’s aired since 2010-2011…it’s been awhile. It’s time for all those hanging on to the “she’s doing this or that because she’s trying to get away from her Hannah Montana and Disney image”….if you haven’t noticed, she shed that image a LONG time ago. I really want to say, please, move on.

If I would have wrote this two weeks ago, I would have been on the I’m banning Miley Cyrus bandwagon…BUT, I’ve had a change of heart.

Now, I know that a lot of people have wrote and commented about her behavior and her twerking, and her choice of clothing, hair cut, this, that and the other thing. You also have to realize that she is TWENTY. What were YOU doing at TWENTY? I recall a few parties, driving while intoxicated {NOT that I’m proud of that today}, getting into bars with a fake id, wearing clothing and styles that I would not like to admit to, and who can forget BIG HAIR and extra large shoulder-mo-pads? I mean, really, when you think about it long and hard, what were YOU doing when you were that age? I actually met my now husband when I was 20! You see, being young is about having fun, making mistakes, learning who you are, experimenting with clothing, hair styles, accessories, yes, even getting tattoos that you may one day regret and smoking {stuff}!! It’s called growing up. I actually can admit this… I envy her. I wish I would have been a little more like that when I was younger, and by that I mean, being an individual. She is who she is, and she is happy with that. The only thing we all want in our lives is to be genuinely happy, don’t you think we all deserve to say that we are, even Miley?

You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. –Deepak Chopra

With her twerking and tongue sticking out, it’s one of those things that I believe she will look back and be like, “What was I thinking”…but then again, maybe not. The awards twerking with the finger, yeah, I could have done with out seeing that, but it wasn’t something that I couldn’t quickly change the channel or distract my kids by doing my own version of dancing which makes them laugh, then roll their eyes. I mean, it was on MTV…my kids don’t even normally watch MTV anyway… and we’ve {my husband and I} had to do some pretty quick remote action with some network shows and content that we didn’t feel appropriate either. Parents have to be aware and be able to make those quick adjustments when they feel necessary. The whole tongue thing she mentioned on The Ellen Show as being a nervous {anxiety} related thing. I get that. My oldest doesn’t know how to take photos without making goofy faces, throwing up a peace sign or cutting off half her face…so that doesn’t phase me at all. She does however, have a very long tongue….but nothing I haven’t seen before…thanks to KISS.

Choice of song lyrics, swinging on a ball naked and licking a hammer. Would I be doing it? No, and believe me, you wouldn’t want me to. She really isn’t singing about anything that isn’t going on in the real world. Sadly, this is the world we do live in. There are kids doing drugs all over America. There are drug issues in every community all across the United States. The problem isn’t her singing about it, it’s more of what are we doing to prevent the drug use from happening in the first place? In our own community, I’ve heard from other teens that kids are doing drugs to “escape life”. Now, every parent needs to tune themselves into their kids, their kids friends, and anyone else they come in contact with. What exactly are they “escaping” from and why do they feel the need TO escape? If you’re like me, you change the lyrics anyway… they’re dancing with MILEY not Molly… when you say it really fast, you can’t tell the difference. There is a saying it takes a community to raise a child…and there is a reason for that, don’t you think? As for the naked ball swinging…maybe it’s liberating, I don’t know but it’s her form of expression and it isn’t any different that Lady Gaga wearing an outfit out of beef, or emerging from an egg in latex, or Katy Perry shooting whipped cream {or what ever it was} out of her candy bra…jus’ sayin’. As for licking the hammer…that’s just weird and I didn’t get that part, but my kids have eaten their fair share of dirt while they were “gardening” or “digging for worms”, so I can’t say too much on that.

Miley’s engagement…come on really? Are you that shocked? She’s 20! Would you have rather her go through with the marriage and be miserable and end up getting divorced a short time later? It wasn’t like she was jumping from guy to guy to guy, she was in a committed relationship and I’m happy that they called it off when they did. They realized it wasn’t working, or wasn’t going to work and decided to end it. There is nothing wrong with that. Maybe you weren’t engaged at 20, but I’m sure you’ve broken up with someone once or twice, no?

I don’t believe that celebrities are role models, but others do. I believe that parents are role models, teachers are role models, grandparents are role models, people like that, at least that’s what I tell my kids. I have always been open and honest with my kids. They have learned a lot from our conversations. I’m not saying we are perfect, by any means. There is no such thing as perfection in this house, which is another thing my kids are told. I am not here to judge them, I am here to teach them and along the way, they end up teaching me a thing or two. I know when I need to be a friend, and I know when I need to be a parent. I’m sure Miley’s mom is supporting her, because that’s what {most} moms do! We support our kids, through the good and the bad. All my kids are doing well in school, honors and accelerated classes and a whole lot of A’s on the report cards. They’re good kids. I have never sheltered them from the real world because quite frankly what good will that do? My oldest wants to move to New York, my son wants to become a video game developer, and my youngest, who knows and I am sure that they will do everything they feel necessary to get there. Do I want them taking off their clothes to get where they need to go…of course not, but at 20, my kids are adults and they are able to make those decisions and they will know the pros and cons of any decisions they are faced with.

Miley does everything she needs to do. She is a pretty smart business woman if you ask me. She knows what sells, she knows how to stay current, she gets it. She isn’t a stranger to the entertainment business, she’s playing the game. Yes, we’d all like to have her keep her clothes on but that wouldn’t be Miley. When I saw and heard her A Cappella with Jimmy Fallon, I was so happy because it showcased her talent. Yes, the mom in me wishes she’d keep her clothes on and let her voice do the work for her instead of her naked body, but we all know sex sells…and some people prefer to not wear clothes and you know what…she’s an adult, she can make those choices on her own.

Miley, I may be the only mom in America that gets you {aside from your own mom that is} and one that supports you as a business woman. I can honestly say, I get it, and I’m ok with it, so keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t let the nay-sayers or those who wish to judge you, get you down. With that I will end this with a quote I read that I feel is quite fitting… “If people are trying to bring you down, it only means you are above them”.