A few years ago, a close friend who is now deceased, asked me one night, repeatedly, why aren’t you famous?

The truth is, I never wanted to be famous because fame comes with a price that I have never been willing to pay.

To be famous, I would have to be willing to open up my life a lot more than it already is. Famous people have to put up with a lot of b.s., and if they wish to remain famous, they have to people-please: much more than necessary if you ask me.

The thing that has mattered most to me in a little more than five and a half decades in this life is respect. To gain respect, all I have to do is get better and better at being me, with no apology.

So, the primary reason that I am not famous is that personal integrity is more valuable to me than keeping others happy, which is an illusion anyhow: and totally beyond my control.

Indeed, I am grateful to have come to such an important understanding.

Thank you for asking, my friend.

~annalise fonza, Ph.D., MURP, M.Div., MPA

© 07/08/2025