By Bonnie Berger
Reporter
Miley Cyrus experiences a surge in positive PR, breaking the long streak of negative rapport as a bad influence on America’s youth.
The teen sensation was named a Global Action Youth Leadership Award winner Friday night for her outstanding charity involvement.
Cyrus supports Blessing In A Backpack, a nonprofit organization caring for elementary school children who quality for Free and Reduced Price Meals.
The star was also commended for her efforts with Get Ur Good On, an offshoot of Youth Service America that provides students with community service opportunities.
This award comes as a surprise to many. Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, recently disclosed in an interview with GQ that he was “scared for her,” in light of salvia smoking, indecent photos and questionable stage outfits.
Regardless of her past mistakes, it is apparent she is striving to regain her Disney image.
America watched Cyrus’ transformation from the adorably blonde Hannah Montana to the sensationalistic “Can’t Be Tamed” diva as she roughly transitioned to a teenager.
Clearly, she is intentionally maiming her pristine image in offbeat attempts to enter the adult world.
Thrust into the spotlight from a tender age, influences from the media and other stars presented Cyrus with unique opportunities to grow up too quickly, or in this case, the chance to follow in the steps of pop princesses like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga.
Despite her new trend of poor decisions, it must be tough being the good girl in Hollywood. Justin Bieber is consistently assailed for his “boring” image, which demands a lineup of new projects and performances to keep this Canadian heart-throb fresh.
Maybe there are only so many directions Hannah Montana can go, thus driving Cyrus into typical self-destructive teen behavior.
How does this less than graceful transformation affect her younger audiences that hold dearly to the squeaky clean Hannah Montana image? Disney does an excellent job building a strong fan base for stars like Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez; however, once these teens begin to abandon their innocent identities, fans are left wanting until the next wave of hopeful stars enter the market.
We can’t write off Cyrus and other rebellious stars as wholly “bad;” they are simply creating extra work for parents struggling to explain to their children where their beloved wig-wearing role model went wrong.
My teen years weren’t perfect; however, striving to rectify mistakes and learn from past experiences proved key in gracefully making it through my pitfalls. From what we see, Cyrus is more interested in living the life of a typical young adult, experimenting with partying and finding her identity as a performer, than contritely seeking restitution for public blunders.
An unfortunately classic example of “do as I say, not as I do,” audiences should carefully scrutinize Cyrus’ actions and mantras before implanting them into practice.
However, we may see Cyrus return to the spotlight a more weathered and well-rounded artist in the end.
