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Living In The Real World: A Conversation With Julie Stoffer by Charles White
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Julie
was born in Provo, Utah. Due to her father’s job, she ended up calling a
myriad of places home. Although her parents ultimately put down roots in
Wisconsin, where Julie went to high school, Julie now calls Southern
California home. After
finishing high school, Julie was accepted to Brigham Young University, a
private religious school. It seemed that Julie was living the life of an
average teen until she attended a casting call, on a lark, for The Real
World: New Orleans. When she was placed in the house, along with her other
castmates, her life changed forever. It’s
an experience that she looks back on with positive feelings. “It
was a really good experience,” Julie related.
“I had a lot of fun. I went on a whim and tried out and I made it.” However,
this experience had a downside as well. An extremely conservative institution,
Brigham Young University has a rigid honor code which forbids members of the
opposite sex from living together before marriage. When Julie entered the New
Orleans set for The Real World, she never thought that this would cause her to
be suspended and four years later expelled from BYU.
Although
The Real World cost this twenty-four year old her academic future at
BYU, it also gave her an instant celebrity status that offered her the ability
to champion the causes that are so dear to her. Following her work on The
Real World, Julie was inducted into President Bush’s Points Of Light
intensive training course which prepared her to serve as a role model and
spokesperson on topics affecting young people today. Julie has crisscrossed
the globe speaking on topics such as her focus on high moral standards, her
stance against drugs and alcohol and her commitment to sexual abstinence
before marriage. She often partners with Syrus, another The Real World
alumnus, and other young people such as Columbine survivor Richard Hoover and
teen activist Billy Hallowell to offer young adults positive role models and
positive messages. “I
have a platform now and I really want to take advantage of that.” Julie
admits. “The more that kids see
that there are musicians, actors and models that have a decency to them, the
more they will start to make them their role models. Then we won’t need
people like Brittany Spears running around ripping their clothes off all the
time.” Julie
also tries to break down the myths surrounding reality television and reminds
people that although they call it reality, these types of programs couldn’t
be farther from the truth. Instead, reality television is a producers attempt
to create a product that is most palatable to consumers. “What
they portray to be real is definitely not a depiction of real life. Because
the media is so saturated with immorality, kids get the impression that that
is what everybody is like. The entertainment industry is just out to shock and
they’ll portray whatever is the most shocking.” “What
we need to do as a society is to turn that filth off. Quit accepting it and
have the courage to hit the power button or change the channel when something
comes on that we don’t like and do not endorse it. If we don’t watch it
and only support programming that is uplifting and of a high quality then that
is what the producers will make.” Although
Julie has parleyed her fame into a wonderful career and appeared on numerous
talk shows and in a myriad of major publications, this not is where Julie
finds her ultimate joy. For Julie happiness is rooted in the things that she
holds most dear: a strong character, love of fellow man and a deep
relationship with Christ. “You
need to really get outside of yourself and be a loving person that stands for
good and has Christ in their countenance and really makes a difference.”
Julie explains. “It is what I am striving for every day. It is more
important than any kind of monetary success or fame. Even if my family died in
a plane crash tomorrow and I lost all my friends, the thing that would keep me
happy and give me joy would be knowing that I have a relationship with God and
that I can walk with Him everyday. That is what gives me my ultimate joy.”
“Never
forget your worth. Don’t ever question your value. Eleanor Roosevelt once
said, ‘No one can make you feel inferior unless you give them consent.’
You have so much power in your actions." "Try
to learn how to love and control your thoughts because of the old adage:
‘You thoughts become your deeds and your deeds become your character.’” What
does the future hold for Julie? If she has anything to do with it, the future
will be much more of the same with a lot more opportunities added into the
mix. “I’m
considering a lot of other things,” Julie states. “. I want to continue lecturing.
I have been working with an organization called Path-U-Find
speaking on different topics. I
love music and so hopefully I’ll be able to pursue my music as well. I would
also like to get married and have a family.” If
you talk to Julie Stoffer for any length of time, you begin to realize that
reality isn’t something that is captured on film and portrayed on the small
or big screen. Reality is about living a life that is defined by a truth more
real than anything that man could ever create. That truth is only found in
Jesus Christ and not in a house on a street somewhere in New Orleans or any
other city for that matter.
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The
biggest craze on television today is reality shows. Shows like The Amazing
Race, Survivor and The Real World capture our attention,
emotions and imagination. Although they are called reality shows, this
couldn’t be farther from the truth. Don’t believe me? Just ask Julie
Stoffer of MTV’s The Real World: New Orleans and Extreme Challenge.
“When
I first got suspended I was so hurt and angry, but eventually my feathers
settled as I realized that I was a grown woman who wanted a degree,” Julie
explains on her website, planetjulie.com.
