Soy Ester

It's Friday night and this week I celebrate two years since I moved here in Almeria. I arrived on February 3rd 2020 and it is truly amazing to see how time has gone so quickly. Furthermore I am really craving for a burger in these days, so tonight I decided to go out to the American-style restaurant near where I work (and where we have discounts) to finally be able to eat and also to take some time to write this post.

I think it would be very obvious and also quite repetitive, if I start now to list the things I am grateful for, which are the ones I always talk about. I would like instead to reflect on the life of those people who have much more (economic) possibilities than us mere mortals...are these people really luckier? Now I will explain why I asked myself this question.

Have any of you recently seen the new Netflix documentary "Soy Georgina"? I just finished watching it, I don't know why but I was curious. For the people who does not know I am referring to the documentary on Georgina Rodriguez, the young partner of Cristiano Ronaldo and he certainly does not need a presentation.

For those who are used to stay out of the gossip I will summarize it in a few lines. A documentary made in a captivating way, which follows Georgina in her daily routine between family, work, friends and various travels. And so far nothing strange, except that for some reason my brain does not want to stop thinking about it and about what message this documentary should want to give to the world.

Let's start from the fact that we understand that Georgina is really a normal person and she is also nice. Argentine father and Spanish mother, as a girl she lived as I could have lived. She was not poor but not even rich. Recently after her 18 years old, she moved to Madrid and worked in a high fashion shop. Like all of us she had her own difficulties, but she also had friends, the dream of a family, in short, what I was saying, she was a normal person. A girl like many others, one of those who walks by you down the street and you don't even notice.

Then one day, something happens: she meets Cristiano Ronaldo. For some reason the two like each other and it's done. She quickly becomes his girlfriend.

This happens every day in people's lives. The problem is that there aren't many Cristiano Ronaldo in the world. And he is not only one of the best existing football players, he also seems to be a hard worker and a good person. The fact that he's a billionaire should only be a minor thing, but in this case maybe it makes all the difference.

And now I come to the point. I am one of the many who likes to watch these reality shows, to see what these people who have possibilities above the rest of the world, likes to do. To see the houses they have, the life they lead, the clothes they buy, the fashion shows and photo shoots, the trips on a private jet...and dreaming. Because then they are like us, they are sad, they are happy, they get stressed, they fall in love, they get angry. And so I watch these programs and dream. I dream what I would do if I had their same possibilities.

Then suddenly I hear Georgina say: I am the proof (or something like that) that dreams come true! At first I don't pay much attention to it, but during the first few episodes she repeats it more than once and then I come out of my dreaming phase and I ask myself this question. Ok, I also strongly believe that dreams do come true...but in this case...what is the dream? To meet an unlikely rich man and then to be able to live an incredible life with the possibilities that all this money can give?

I admit that at first I felt very annoyed by this thing. It was clear that she was referring to the dream of having a family, a good job and a happy and satisfying life, but honestly the feeling that this reality gave me was that yes, dreams do come true but the only way to be able to realize them it's money. By the way, Georgina is not the kind of woman I usually relate to. Only when she finally opens up in the fifth episode, she talks about her past and shows her more human side, I did manage to feel a little more empathy and almost even a hint of admiration.

And here I am going back to what I was saying at the beginning. Are these people really luckier? It is clear that they have different possibilities, but are they really happy? I noticed, for example, their impossibility to go out and walk down the street without being attacked by fans and paparazzi and for this reason they always have to go around with an escort or with bodyguards. Their actions are always commented and judged by the peolple and I believe that none of them are immune to the physical, psychological and emotional difficulties that could affect any other human being.

It is normal to see these things and feel a bit of envy. Now I am worried about money every single day, I haven't bought a new dress for months and I try to save also on the weekly shopping, but at the same time I feel that I don't miss anything. Because the things that make us happy can't be bought with money and I have everything I ever wanted. In spite of everything I continue to work day after day to improve things and who knows, maybe one day even my wildest dreams will come true. Like buying a house here by the end of the year. This is why I feel like saying, that the things that make Georgina really happy are the same things that make me or anyone else happy.

Finally, I would like to say one last thing. Until now people knew Georgina to be "Cristiano Ronaldo's girlfriend". Perhaps the main purpose of the Netflix reality show was precisely to show who this girl is beyond who her partner is. I'm not sure, however, that the goal has been achieved, at least for me. If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that I would never want to be known or remembered for being "the wife of". For heaven's sake, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but it's certainly not for me.

And so I'm here tonight, half sleeping after the hamburger and the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream, to retrace in my mind all the steps taken so far. And it makes me smile because I really feel I do not envy anyone for their economic possibilities and I don't want to envy anyone for having achieved great goals or accomplished great things. I wish I could continue to feel this way, full of satisfaction for the past, gratitude for the present and hope for the future. Dear Georgina, you could also be Georgina but me, "Soy Ester".