Leo Season and the Strange Desire to Be Seen

essay written by madison martinez

There is something about Leo Season that reminds me of fame. Not exactly in the literal sense of celebrity, but the desire to be seen. Leos are often described as dramatic, attention seeking, or obsessed with the spotlight, but I think there’s something interesting beneath all of that. Why do we want to be noticed so badly? Why does being ordinary sometimes make us feel we are failures? And why, even after watching celebrities get hated on or lose everything, even themselves, do so many of us still secretly desire it?

Why Do We Want to Be Famous

Money, recognition, and power are obviously huge parts of why we want to be famous, but I think there's a deeper appeal in receiving validation that we as humans crave. 

Having fame seems to promise that people will remember you, your work will be important, or that you have proof that you did something with your life. I honestly see why it’s so tempting.

Having an audience watching you can be exciting and I have caught myself going places and thinking about what photo I can take to post later to social media to show people. Social media makes it so easy to experience your own life from the perspective of an audience. 

There isn't anything wrong with wanting to document your life. However, sometimes I wonder how often we confuse having an experience with having proof that the experience happened. 

When Being Seen Becomes the Point

We don't have to be famous to start performing for an audience. Sometimes it happens without us even realizing. We dress up cute and make sure we get a good picture to post. We accomplish something and think of who we can tell and show online. We go somewhere beautiful and immediately think of how it could be a cute instagram story. 

I am guilty of doing this at times, at the end of the day we are all social beings. It feels good to be noticed and appreciated. The issue is when being noticed becomes the thing that makes the experience worthwhile. 

Psychologist Mark Schaller has written about how fame can create a constant state of self-consciousness. Public figures live with a constant audience, making them more aware of how they are perceived. Schaller suggested that self-consciousness can become chronic or unavoidable. (Blogier, 2023).

When we are constantly aware of how others see us, it can become difficult to separate who you are from the version everyone else knows. Maybe that's the part of fame we don't think about. We picture the attention, opportunities, compliments, and feelings of importance. We don't always picture what it would be like to be constantly watched and judged.

I think that's what makes our desire to be seen so interesting. We crave the audience, but we don't always think about what comes with constantly performing for one.

Is Celebrity Culture Actually Dead?

People have been saying celebrity culture is dead, but I don't really think it is. I think it has changed. 

You don't necessarily have to be a movie star in order to have an audience. Social media such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube has allowed it to be possible for almost anyone to become known by thousands, or even millions, of people. 

We can follow strangers through their entire lives, we know what they wear, eat, or where they travel to. Sometimes we have become invested in someone's life and we don't even know them in real life, simply because we have watched enough of it. I know I have felt almost close to influencers I don't even know in real life just because I keep up with them.

In a way, everyone now has access to their own little spotlight and maybe that's why the desire to be seen feels so normal. We are surrounded by it.

Maybe Being Seen Isn’t the Problem

I don't think wanting attention is necessarily a bad thing. It feels good when people are proud of us or when we dress up to post a picture and we get compliments. I don't think we need to pretend we don't enjoy these things,

The problem isn't wanting to be seen, but believing if we aren't seen, our experiences or our life doesn't count or isn't important.

There are many things we do that no one else knows about except ourselves such as the conversations we have that mean something to us, the hobbies we do alone, or the moments we are having so much fun we forget to take a picture. These things still matter even if no one sees them.

Finding Your Own Spotlight

Maybe instead of stopping ourselves from wanting the shine, we could change what shining means. 

Leo energy isn't only about attention. It’s also about creativity, play, confidence and courage. We can dress up because we want to, make something nobody else sees, go somewhere you've always wanted to go without worrying about what it will look like online.

We can do things that make us feel truly alive, not because they will make our lives look interesting to someone else. I think it’s freeing to do things in life that don't need an audience, and that are just for ourselves.

I think one of the best lessons Leo Season can offer us is this: you don't need an audience to have a spotlight. Sometimes, the most meaningful parts of life are the ones that only belong to ourselves.