I guess I'm like most people: I find myself intrigued by the Britney Spears saga and yet, I have no idea why. Really, what's the big deal? So she got divorced, whoopee; half of American marriages will meet the same fate. So she shaved hear head. Again, who cares: I shave my legs (regularly if I'm dating someone) and no one every really seems to notice. I simply don't get why we as a society care so much about what Britney Spears is doing.

Yet, we are always like this - wide eyed and bushy tailed each time a celebrity falls on their face, breaks the law, or gets caught doing something to tarnish their public image. Britney certainly isn't the first celebrity to be at the center of a tabloid circle, she is merely one of the latest.

Now, part of me thinks that Britney, and really celebrities in general, ask for this. After all, they wanted to be famous and this comes as part of the package. And, with their million dollar contracts and 2007 Bentleys, they are more than compensated. However, with Britney I can't help but think that our obsession has gone a bit too far and I find myself wondering how she snowballed into a tabloid poster child. She, so it seemed, used to seem so normal.

Britney started her career conventionally. After a stint on The Mickey Mouse Club and Star Search, she made a name for herself with the release of her first album, Baby One More Time; it was an album that went all the way to number one to the top of the Billboard charts. Her second album, Oops..I Did it Again was also largely popular, setting records and helping Britney obtain nominations and awards. So far, so normal, but that was about to change.

After being amid a bit of controversy - thanks to breast implant rumors and a hairy breakup with Justin Timberlake - Britney dove head first, or rather lips first, into much more. At the 2003 MTV Music Video Awards, Britney, Christina Aguilera and Madonna appeared on stage to perform, "Like a Virgin." The song ended with Christina and Britney each sharing a passionate kiss with Madonna. Though both kissed Madonna, it seemed that Britney's kiss was the lip lock that locked the attention of both press and public.

Britney's encounter with Madonna wasn't the only merger that would end in controversy. In 2004, Britney married Jason Allen Alexander, a friend of hers from childhood. The till-death-do-we-part union lasted a total of fifty five hours. It ended in an annulment.

Britney soon began a relationship with Kevin Federline. She married him three months later, while Kevin's former lover was pregnant with his child. Soon, Britney decided to also become pregnant with Kevin's child and she gave birth to her first son, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.

Shortly after, divorce rumors began to circulate. These rumors were compounded by questions regarding Britney's capacity for motherhood, questions that arose after she was photographed driving with her unrestrained son in her lap. It was an incident Britney chalked up to simply wanting to get away from paparazzi in a hurry.

On September 2006, Britney delivered her second son, Jayden James Federline. Two months later, she filed for divorce from Kevin.

Since ending their marriage, Kevin and Britney have been in a heated custody battle, a battle that came to an apex when Britney entered drug rehab in February of this year. She left after staying for less than a day, found a hair studio, and shaved her own head. A few days later, Spears admitted herself to rehab once more. After leaving for a brief period of time, she returned and stayed, eventually completing the program. She left rehab on March 20th.

As Britney begins to put her life back together, I can't help but feel for her. None of her past actions have been that much worse than what other celebrities, or even regular people, have done, what they have done without the world eye's fixed relentlessly upon them. She's made mistakes but so has everyone else. She's made poor choices, but we all do. She has a weird hairdo but think of all the money she will save on beauty products. What it comes down to is that nothing she has done is unforgivable and nothing is career ending. For someone as young as she is, I hope she can rebound and surprise the world by doing it again, baby one more time.