Lindsay Lohan turns 26 today, and while the media is busy wondering and documenting if she’ll celebrate her special day sober or not, I am hoping the jaded starlet is having fun despite the continuous scrutiny. Over half of Lohan’s life has been in the public eye, with her image tarnished by missteps, scandals and struggles. Give her a break on her birthday!

I have been a bona-fide Lindsay Lohan sympathizer since the tip-off of her fall from grace. Most onlookers sorta definitely disagree with my viewpoint on a complete stranger’s life, as her actions have been deserving of much detraction. But why does her ruin incite such attraction?

I don’t agree with Lohan’s actions either, but please record and analyze every move and decision I make during the most vulnerable, impressionable and difficult years of my life, then heavily scrutinize the beast that your pressure and aspersion has shaped me into, and then I’ll understand. Many celebrities can easily withstand the exposure, but some prove weaker and unable to confront the state that their lives are now forever entrenched in. Why do we keep heckling and vowing hatred on people we’ve never met? Because the media has a despicable obsession with the downfalls they are partially responsible for and we soak it up to make ourselves feel better than the famous.

I salute Lohan, not for her questionable choices, but for still managing to live in an unforgiving spotlight. People seethe at the thought of her celebrity working in her favor during her trials, but they overlook one massive privilege that they have over her – freedom. I have about 10 wardrobe malfunctions a day and always have lipstick on my teeth, so I’m thankful that a million people don’t catch my unlovely moments. She is the product of the merciless world known as Hollywood, where many child stars don’t make it out unscathed.

I know I’ll get flack for siding with the Lohan, but my dying breed is tenacious and able to resist criticism. I truly wish LiLo happiness on her birthday, whether it’s packaged in a comeback or breaking from the spotlight and living in privacy.

No disgraceful timeline of Lindsay Lohan on her birthday – just a gallery of the star’s awesome style in recent years. She’s still able to produce great hits!

How do you feel about Lindsay Lohan? Do you think she can make a comeback?

[Image Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]