An Open Letter To One Direction's Zayn Malik

Subject: An Open Letter To One Direction's Zayn Malik
From: Your normal 22-year-old
Date: 26 Mar 2015

Dear Zayn,

I'm writing this letter in response to the news that you left One Direction, well not so much that, but rather the reasons you gave for leaving. You said "I want to be a normal 22-year-old and relax", reading this got my goat a bit and I thought "it just goes to show how little you know of the average 22-year-olds life".

For starters, this isn't the stage in anyone's life to be resting! The majority of us at 22 are either fresh out of university and trying to figure out our lives or already slaving away in a poorly payed job we don't like. This is something that we usually have to do without a security blanket of millions of pounds and a mansion to sleep in. Instead we have to enter the job market however and wherever we can, then work our way up from the crap to hopefully reach a position where we are even able to be noticed for our talents.

I'm not sure if you've followed the news recently but more and more people are having to room share and even share beds to simply make it in the city they want to be in. So for you to say you want to live a normal 22-year-olds life seems naive and silly...will you start by giving up your belongings and your home? You're already rich after all. Are you going to enter the real world and struggle to find a job like the rest of us? I continue to be surprised by the callous and senseless remarks of 'famous' people and how far away from reality they truly are.

Just by quitting a band doesn't mean you are going to immediately revert back to a 'normal' lifestyle. You'll still be living the life of a rich, famous guy in his early 20s, who still has a famous fiancé. You'll still receive beneficial treatment from everyone you meet, be gawked at in public and hounded by teenage girls. You aren't going to get rid of the downsides of fame simply by leaving the band that made you such a success. I just hope to god this isn't a publicity stunt to drum up sales for another tour.

I don't really care about why you quit a manufactured pop group - it has no impact on anything, even the band itself - but why not let your agents do what they do best and speak for you. Stick with the 'stress' card and go on holiday, don't complain to the public of how you just want to be like them, if this is the case then you should turn over all your money, have a fresh start. You don't lose fame and you'll have to try pretty hard to become a regular person again. Why don't you start by giving yourself a budget of £15k a year?

I know you might argue that money and fame don't buy you happiness, but I've always maintained (and I'm sure so to has any person who isn't financially comfortable) that it does! Money allows you to live a lot more comfortably and therefore you can focus more on being happier as a result of this. You'll never have to worry about bills or a mortgage and even your time as an unemployed member of society won't be realistic compared to your average person.

Fame can be an overwhelming thing but how can anyone ever take it for granted? It always seems to be young people who resent it in the end. It never happens when someone becomes successful when they're in their 40s because they've struggled for it. Perhaps what you need is an old fashioned kick up the backside - you're a fellow northerner after all - so I'm surprised someone hasn't told you to toughen up and get on with it.

I'd like to finish by saying if you gave either the time or the willingness to think through your actions, then you would realise that the 'normal' person at your age would be striving to achieve what you have done; make a success of themselves so they can support their families, own a home and live a comfortable lifestyle.

Sincerely,

Your normal 22-year-old

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