Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says it's just so hard to be a superstar congresswoman: 'Sometimes I just want to be a human being'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said this week that it's way more difficult being a person in the spotlight than you might think. The freshman lawmaker is known for never shying away from sharing her thoughts and personal life on social media.

What are the details?

During a Tuesday interview with Huff Post, Ocasio-Cortez said she relates to Meghan Markle, the American-born Duchess of Sussex.

Recently, Markle lamented fame and a lack of privacy during an emotional television interview. The freshman congresswoman said of Markle's comments in a tweet: "Sudden prominence is a very dehumanizing experience. There's a part of your life that you lose, & it later dawns on you that you'll never get it back. The people who treat you like a human make all the difference."

During her interview with the Huff Post, Ocasio-Cortez said that she just doesn't "get to be a human."

"Sometimes I just want to be a human being. And you don't get to be a human any more," said Ocasio-Cortez, who turned 30 on Oct. 13. "Everything you do from wearing sweatpants to the bodega to getting a haircut ― every personal decision you make for yourself is never going to be yours any more."

“I feel an enormous amount of empathy for [Markle]," she continued, "because it requires an enormous amount of tools to be resilient ― and also to stay human in that."

Ocasio-Cortez also added that her own rise to prominence was "one of the most stressful experiences ever."

“You kind of grieve for [your old life]," she admitted. "It has its highs and it has its lows. A lot of people look at the highs, but sometimes it feels like you got a tattoo on your face that you didn't ask for. It's hard. It's very hard. Sometimes you just want to get a drink or eat a hamburger."

'My job is to love people'

Despite the traumas of instant fame, Ocasio-Cortez said that she isn't going to fail her constituents by hiding herself away.

"In order for me to do my job, I need to be connected to people," she said. “My job is to love people. And that's very difficult sometimes given the amount of barriers."

Ocasio-Cortez added that she enjoys spending time with the friends she made before she skyrocketed to political fame.

"[T]hey knew me when no one cared who I was," she said. “They let me know if they think I'm wrong or if they want to ask me a question."