Twenty one

Miley’s choices of designer and outfit for the amfAR charity gala were right on the money. People like to tell Miley she’s dressing immodestly, and I’m not sure why. I’m happy for her. She has access to Tom Ford, a genius designer and he wanted her to show off her body.

Twenty-one is the best time to really experiment with your presence, image and style. You have no inhibitions and you’re not as self-conscious as you will be in ten years. Your capacity to predict the future is limited. At 21, you don’t have any perspective and very little useful life experience. Everything you’re going to do is risky. A “mistake” could very well be the blaze that’s needed to light up a trail for your peers and those coming up behind you. Sometimes, you have to be the first one out the gate.

I never did drugs, drank or smoke, but I did a lot of crazy, wild, bizarre, off-the-wall fashion and lifestyle related things at 21 that were not accepted at the time. I never factored into my choices what anyone thought of me, because it was never really important to the bottom line: graduate university and find a new, exciting path.

I appreciate Miley. She doesn’t live her life according to others’ expectations of her. You can only be mediocre if you do that. She’s working to find a definition of herself that she’s comfortable with, and I like that she’s ignoring everyone. She’s rich, talented, successful, confident and happy-go-lucky. She should absolutely treat her body as a canvas if she wants to.