Zara
Go to group page
Is it fair?
Like many others, I would love to perform on Broadway and maybe even in a few movies. I don't aspire to be a famous starlet, but I want to live out my dreams. All of them, but I don't see how I can do that. So here's the question: having only one life to live, is it disappointing to you to know that you may never fulfill all of your dreams? Do you think it's right? Especially since you can be the most talented person on earth, but you may never be "discovered" since, in the arts, things are not an exact science. Such as "do this and you'll become famous." What are your thoughts?
Discussion started by Bethany , on 10 April 02:20 PM
Wall
You will need to be a member of this group first before you can post a reply.
I know how you feel but whenever I start feeling that way I have to pull myself out of it. For all I know, we have one life and I have so many abilities and dreams and only a lifetime to live it. Having lost many friends to death at an early age, this has been the source of much anxiety. However, Prosserj is right - the reason people love "rags to riches" stories is because that person never gave up - and you shouldn't either. I've made awesome strides just since January and am finally seeing my goals before me. But it took seemingly forever to get here.
dantbird is right, too, though - it's who you know. You have to be in the right place at the right time and make the perfect impression so timing, luck and perseverance are the keys. Seek out mentors on Broadway - ask their advice! On playbills, they often post the actors's websites, MySpace, etc. I've made a ton of connections by doing that - you'd be surprised at how much advice you can get just by asking.
dantbird is right, too, though - it's who you know. You have to be in the right place at the right time and make the perfect impression so timing, luck and perseverance are the keys. Seek out mentors on Broadway - ask their advice! On playbills, they often post the actors's websites, MySpace, etc. I've made a ton of connections by doing that - you'd be surprised at how much advice you can get just by asking.
Saturday, 24 April 2010 14:58
Life is perfectly fair. We are all born naked and even. It is the choices we make and the choices of the people around us that make the difference. We all start at zero. We have all heard of people who started with nothing and through hard work or circumstance became quite successful. It depends on the work or effort you are willing to put in. If you have been born in a bad situation, make the choices, set your goals and engage. I am not being harsh, i am being a realist. Just saying that life is not fair is defeatist. If you want to be a famous actor, move to where they make movies. Either that, or make your own.
Friday, 23 April 2010 08:38
Fair or unfair... doesn't really matter, especially to those who have realized their dreams and goals. I'm inclined to believe that it's all about who you know, where you are, and are the finances available? Being at the right place at the right time, knowing the right people and sometimes having the ability to "buy" your way in. I'm not sure if this is negative thinking on my part, but I do know that I continually try to position myself to find the next step towards my dreams... what else can one do?
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 08:15
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/index3.htm
Poem about this from Jorge Luis Borges
Poem about this from Jorge Luis Borges
Wednesday, 21 April 2010 08:02
Very nice, everyone. Keep posting! I am really enjoying your viewpoints. I agree, jcstantley, that it would be terrible to be in the third group and accomplish nothing. I think it would be terrible to be in the second group because there is no importance to life when it is viewed like that. I know this is not a religious discussion, and I'm not trying to turn it into one, but I believe that there is an afterlife and what you do here on earth matters too. It's like practice for the afterlife, whether that be heaven or hell. I feel comforted knowing that in heaven, I won't have to worry about time and all of these things. It will be paradise.
Monday, 12 April 2010 13:21
Sigh, life is not and never will be fair. Fate hands out crap and diamonds randomly, and as Clint said in Unforgiven "Deserve's got nothin to do with it."
Is it possible to find happiness? Yes. Is it possible to chase dreams all your life and never achieve them? Yes.
So far, every direction I've gone into (career wise) has slowly built up and then been yanked away from me.
My childhood desire of becoming a mechanical draftsman? Ended 4 months after I graduated high school, and I was so jaded about my brief job that I stopped drawing entirely.
My next path to become a computer technologist that I pursued in college dried up when the internet bubble burst mid 2000s and none of us could even get unpaid co-op positions.
My dream job that I stumbled onto as a panel builder and wireman building multi-million dollar mining vehicle control systems suffered blow after blow as I tried to advance myself, and now, with the state of the economy its like pulling teeth trying to even get an interview for minimum wage part time positions.
So yeah, every career direction I've branched into in the 2000s has sort of melted away and turned to crap. Did I deserve it? Probably not. Does that change what's happened? No. I just need to pick up the pieces and move on. The 2010s are a different decade, and despite a really rocky start, I have high hopes for it.
Now I'm going to see if I can find some sort of satisfaction in writing. I'm not delusional, I know I'll need some kind of day job to get food and shelter, but if my writing does gain a foothold I no longer need to care about my day job, or even like it at all.
I've had to roll with the punches and change my dreams. Am I disappointed that I haven't fulfilled the ones I've had? Yes. But things change. I'm a different person than I was 10 years ago. Hell, I'm a different person than I was last year. Through everything in the last 15 years I've had my writing hobby to fall back to. Its about time I've expanded it into more than just a hobby.
Will I become a best seller? I have no idea. But I'm going to do what I can to get at least something published. I agree with jcstanley that dreams get the leftovers. Its a shame, but a fact of life. That's why I'm not diving head first into my new direction. I still have to eat.
What really matters, more than success, is that you are really passionate about something. If you are able to do something that you are passionate about, then things will just feel right, whether you're making a million dollars in a movie or working in some small local community theater. Beyond that there are other uninteresting things that can be done just for a paycheck.
Is it possible to find happiness? Yes. Is it possible to chase dreams all your life and never achieve them? Yes.
So far, every direction I've gone into (career wise) has slowly built up and then been yanked away from me.
My childhood desire of becoming a mechanical draftsman? Ended 4 months after I graduated high school, and I was so jaded about my brief job that I stopped drawing entirely.
My next path to become a computer technologist that I pursued in college dried up when the internet bubble burst mid 2000s and none of us could even get unpaid co-op positions.
My dream job that I stumbled onto as a panel builder and wireman building multi-million dollar mining vehicle control systems suffered blow after blow as I tried to advance myself, and now, with the state of the economy its like pulling teeth trying to even get an interview for minimum wage part time positions.
So yeah, every career direction I've branched into in the 2000s has sort of melted away and turned to crap. Did I deserve it? Probably not. Does that change what's happened? No. I just need to pick up the pieces and move on. The 2010s are a different decade, and despite a really rocky start, I have high hopes for it.
Now I'm going to see if I can find some sort of satisfaction in writing. I'm not delusional, I know I'll need some kind of day job to get food and shelter, but if my writing does gain a foothold I no longer need to care about my day job, or even like it at all.
I've had to roll with the punches and change my dreams. Am I disappointed that I haven't fulfilled the ones I've had? Yes. But things change. I'm a different person than I was 10 years ago. Hell, I'm a different person than I was last year. Through everything in the last 15 years I've had my writing hobby to fall back to. Its about time I've expanded it into more than just a hobby.
Will I become a best seller? I have no idea. But I'm going to do what I can to get at least something published. I agree with jcstanley that dreams get the leftovers. Its a shame, but a fact of life. That's why I'm not diving head first into my new direction. I still have to eat.
What really matters, more than success, is that you are really passionate about something. If you are able to do something that you are passionate about, then things will just feel right, whether you're making a million dollars in a movie or working in some small local community theater. Beyond that there are other uninteresting things that can be done just for a paycheck.
Monday, 12 April 2010 04:39
Even though I'm not an actor, I joined Zara to reply to this, because I feel the same way. If I only get X people to recognize me for this talent and Y people to recognize me for this other talent, and if I get my name on Z and my face on W (ran out of letters), then I will be successful. I agree with Michelle, though, in that time is my limiting factor. With the tools available to me in today's global society, I feel like if I cannot properly express my talents to the world then the lion's share of the blame is mine. Creative people today have the ability to accomplish more than ever before. Musicians who have never been played on the radio are gathering large fanbases, amateur moviemakers get tons of hits on youtube, comic strip artists can make a living online.
What amazes and frustrates me is that my dreams get whatever is left after family, job, and grad school. Every day I choose to put these other things first. I love my family, I love my job, and I love learning (plus I'm almost done with school so I might as well finish up). What if I want to have children? That makes everything harder.
To view dreams this way can be very stressful, probably unhealthy, but I can't help it. This is why "Vienna" by Billy Joel is one of my favorite songs.
When it comes to dreams, allow me to define three groups of people: those who believe in an afterlife, those who believe that there is no afterlife and that what you accomplish during your life doesn't really matter, and those who believe that there is no afterlife and that what you accomplish during your life does matter. It must be terrible to belong to this third group and to never accomplish what you wanted.
Good luck everyone!
What amazes and frustrates me is that my dreams get whatever is left after family, job, and grad school. Every day I choose to put these other things first. I love my family, I love my job, and I love learning (plus I'm almost done with school so I might as well finish up). What if I want to have children? That makes everything harder.
To view dreams this way can be very stressful, probably unhealthy, but I can't help it. This is why "Vienna" by Billy Joel is one of my favorite songs.
When it comes to dreams, allow me to define three groups of people: those who believe in an afterlife, those who believe that there is no afterlife and that what you accomplish during your life doesn't really matter, and those who believe that there is no afterlife and that what you accomplish during your life does matter. It must be terrible to belong to this third group and to never accomplish what you wanted.
Good luck everyone!
Monday, 12 April 2010 01:07
A great book by a friend of mine, called "A Binary Life", where the main character has choices, this woman or that woman, kids or no kids, summer cottage or vacation, that type of thing. He is/was a minister at a church I attended before. It's like an ultimate what if I...? What would happen. Willard K. Pottinger is the author.
Sunday, 11 April 2010 18:49
Good answers. To clear things up, I really don't believe in the whole "fair" thing, because, hey, life's not fair. I used the word because I really am not good with titles. :) I agree that time is a major factor and is mainly my concern. I don't want to be famous, I just want to do everything. I like what you said, Michelle, about dreams are things that make life worth living, unfulfilled or not. Very nice. Also, you're right about commitment. I know people who moved to California with hopes of becoming an actor,singer/dancer, and body-builder. Those people never made it, but when I was writing this, I thought of something Leonard Nimoy wrote in his book "I Am Spock." He was having one of his "conversation" with Spock and arguing over the existence of luck. Spock pointed out that every time Nimoy did something career-wise, such as moving to Hollywood, he increased his chances of becoming the unforgettable Mr. Spock. What you do does have some impact, but not completely. There are a multitude of other factors.
Sunday, 11 April 2010 17:06