My Ex-Teen Icon | Teen Ink

My Ex-Teen Icon MAG

July 21, 2009
By Mmbusch BRONZE, Fox River Grove, Illinois
Mmbusch BRONZE, Fox River Grove, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not pity the dead. Pity the living. And above all pity those who live without love."


The other day I was walking down the aisle of my neighborhood Super Walmart, desperately scanning the shelves for Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds. To my dismay and shock, there were none. I turned to leave when suddenly I came face to face with my mortal enemy: Hannah Montana. There she was, staring into space as though a crisp hundred dollar bill was dangling from a fishing pole before her.

“Hannah Montana cereal,” I muttered, cursing Disney. But I suppose I should have known better. Did I honestly expect Disney not to cash in on every opportunity to plaster Miley Cyrus's face onto products? It was as if Disney had been shipping off Hannah Montana stickers to every manufacturer with the note, “Use these at your discretion; they'll make anything sell.” Because why wouldn't I want to buy a product if a chick in a wig is telling me to?

I was a sixth grader when the Hannah Montana phenomenon landed on our planet. My friends and I became obsessed with the show, to the point that we made our own music videos and memorized the title of every episode. When I was in seventh grade, this success grabbed the attention of those out of range of Disney Channel's hypnotron, and Miley Cyrus slowly but surely approached the teen audience, eager and cautious.

It was fine, it was all fine. No one expected her to stay young forever, she had a career to worry about and pressure to be cool among her own peers. But as the reports of tasteless photos appeared, I stopped staring with a blind eye. Who was this girl I looked up to? I was the same age this “role model” was when she started running off the track, and I had never done anything remotely like that.

So now, whenever I walk into a store, I feel betrayed by my ex-teen icon. Her very image screams “Look at me! I may act trashy and dim, but as long as I'm not caught pulling a Winona Ryder, Disney will continue paying me a gazillion bucks!” I wish I could say to her, “Be a role model or stop putting on that wig to reap all the benefits.”

I'm not as cynical as I seem though. I hope Miley takes the right path. I hope she doesn't become the next Britney. Or Lindsay. Or Jamie Lynn. But everyone grows up, and odds are that if they come from Disney, they end up in Vegas. And I don't appreciate Miley trying to persuade me to buy her bicycle.


The author's comments:
Hey, my name is Margaret. I'm 15 and considering becoming a journalist. When I mentioned this to my dad, he encouraged me to practice writing, as I have obviously done so. My work is nothing great, but I hope you like it. I know it has too much teenage attitude to be published as news, but your site sounds very open to all types of writing, so I hope you'll appreciate my work for its own personality. However, if not, I completely understand. I'll just keep practicing.
The work I have pasted here is simply my own thoughts after having come across a cereal box endorsed by Hannah Montana.
Enjoy!

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This article has 208 comments.


Mary said...
on Mar. 7 2011 at 2:24 pm
Thank you for sharing this artical! it was very, very well writen :) i am not a Hannah Montana fan (and never have been), i completely agree with you! Keep up the good work! Don't ever give up on your dream! You can be a Journalist! You've got the talent. you've proven that!

on Feb. 22 2011 at 4:40 pm
Tbug1997 PLATINUM, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
29 articles 1 photo 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
When in doubt... Blame it on your siblings
when life gives you skittles throw them at random people and yell FEEL THE RAINBOW

Miley Cyrus well lets see i dont hate her music wise she was a good role model before she became a lil well... trashy

on Feb. 13 2011 at 9:46 pm
Yousmell-likealoser BRONZE, Belgium, Wisconsin
4 articles 5 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life may not always be what you want, but life is all you've got; so stick a flower in your bellybutton and be happy!"

She does need to choose whether she wants to move on from Disney or stick with them. But honestly, with a career so big, do you think she meant for those photos to get out? She hasn't exactly given off any sign to me personally that she's gone off the deep end like a lot of the Disney stars but she's getting there...Great aritcle, by the way. I love it.  

callmeIN GOLD said...
on Feb. 13 2011 at 2:41 pm
callmeIN GOLD, Atlanta, Indiana
13 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
‘Maybe Richard will find another way. Just tell him, Alice. Tell him that his own Confessor never stopped loving him. And that if he can’t undo the magic, if he can’t return to her then, she’ll be waiting for him, in the Underworld. Forever.’
-Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell,
Legend of the Seeker

She needs to understand that little girls look up to her.  If she did, she wouldn't be doing all the things she is.  And if she does know and just doesn't care, then she doesn't deserve a cent of all the money given to her by Disney, a KID'S COMPANY.  She's none to smart, in my opinion.

on Feb. 13 2011 at 6:50 am
HorseLover SILVER, Dallas, Texas
7 articles 0 photos 55 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A boat is safe in the harbor. But this is not the purpose of a boat."~Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist

I totally agree with you. Great article. :)

on Feb. 13 2011 at 1:59 am
Noxfaratos SILVER, Traverse City, Michigan
5 articles 8 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
To the world you may be but one, but to one you might be the world. :)
Wise people think all they say: fools say all they think.

I like your writing, but I can't agree with you. I don't feel like she's gone off in an awful direction. I know she needs to put up a certain image, but kids are not her responsibility, it's not her job to raise them. Plus teens do stupid things, but she has the whole world watching. I don't agree with some of the stuff she's done, but I also can't hate her for it. Just my opinion.

on Jan. 26 2011 at 8:18 am
wannabeaphotogirl BRONZE, Forest, Virginia
3 articles 14 photos 27 comments
i also see that she meantioned now that she knows it has too much attitude. i must have forgot that part and im very sorry.

on Jan. 26 2011 at 8:15 am
wannabeaphotogirl BRONZE, Forest, Virginia
3 articles 14 photos 27 comments
yes i am aware that is an opinion article. i was reading the note/information on the side and referencing that. I think it is an incredibly well written article. i much enjoyed reading it. i just know i tended to do better when i wrote my opinions in articles than when i wrote unbiased articles it was merelly meant as a reminder that news articles are to be unbiased. i in no way meant to offend anyone. its a GREAT article.

Wordgasm GOLD said...
on Jan. 26 2011 at 7:29 am
Wordgasm GOLD, Kingfield, Maine
12 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
If it was a unicorn it would have gored you.

Not in a news article they aren't, but this is an opinion article. It is all about bias and the authors own thoughts and experiences

Wordgasm GOLD said...
on Jan. 26 2011 at 7:27 am
Wordgasm GOLD, Kingfield, Maine
12 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
If it was a unicorn it would have gored you.

^ Agree :) ^

on Jan. 1 2011 at 7:03 pm
wannabeaphotogirl BRONZE, Forest, Virginia
3 articles 14 photos 27 comments
I liked the article. Just a heads up though, since you do want to be a journalist, journalists are supposed to not show bias according to my journalism teacher, and as much as  i love sarcasm, it is not supposed to make it's way into journalistic pieces

eye543 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 31 2010 at 9:28 pm
eye543 BRONZE, Frederick, Maryland
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I heard about that. Apparently she was holding onto the pole for support, but the picture made it seem like something else.

on Dec. 31 2010 at 7:59 pm
haha the last line was epic! I totally agree with you on every part of this :) 

PeetaMellark said...
on Dec. 31 2010 at 1:49 pm
I dunno if it was intended to be funny or not, but I found a lot of the sarcasm and stuff really entertaining...:) This is good writing, too, btw!

on Dec. 31 2010 at 1:12 pm
NicoleS PLATINUM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
22 articles 0 photos 46 comments

Favorite Quote:
If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal.
- John Lennon

i completely agree with you! it is her life, but she took on the role of hannah montana, and with it the responsibility of a role model for millions of girls...she's so irresponsible and she just gets worse with time

it's inevitable that she'll end up like britney or lindsay, which is unfortunate, because, even though i dont like her or her show or her music very much, she had a good thing going for little girls to look up to


georgia117 said...
on Dec. 31 2010 at 12:34 am
that just made my day...

on Dec. 24 2010 at 5:00 pm
UNKNOWN........, Coon Rapids, Minnesota
0 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself... and spiders

shes just growning up

on Dec. 24 2010 at 4:59 pm
UNKNOWN........, Coon Rapids, Minnesota
0 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself... and spiders

Just let her mess up her own life! dtop posting things that makes her life suck even more

WiseChild GOLD said...
on Dec. 16 2010 at 9:02 am
WiseChild GOLD, Kampala, North Carolina
14 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

you never know, keep watching your TV screen and you might see me there. and when u see me there you will see a big difference between me and her.

KellyR GOLD said...
on Dec. 15 2010 at 5:04 pm
KellyR GOLD, Richmond, Virginia
14 articles 0 photos 258 comments

Favorite Quote:
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

Okay, let's see you go out and be a celebrity and not make mistakes.