Your Dream Job
As a person with a lot of opportunity in life, the idea of a dream job was never very far away from the actual motives behind my actions as a kid; basically anything was possible to (at least) try.
So, I'll admit that my dream job now - the job I think I'd really like to do day in and day out - is something more or less akin to this: writing and shooting a blog. It's a fun creative outlet and provides for a flexible schedule. I do enjoy it.
But if we're going to get into stretch goals of the kind that little girl's fantasies are made of, then I have to go all the way and admit my BIG dream job (or at least my used-to-be BIG dream job). Occupation: movie star.
What a surprise. ha.
It is a strange culture that we live in where film and television actors are adored so much. I mean, all they do is pretend to be someone else. They're not saving lives. But indeed, there has always been a fascination among humans with other people and their lives, so I suppose it is an easy step for most people to find fascination in beautiful people who are made equally attainable and unattainable at the same time. Maybe that's the real appeal of celebrity: you can look, but you can't touch.
So I suppose my childhood dreams of becoming an actress spoke to this somewhat ubiquitous fascination with the culture, and why not? The film industry is just that: an industry that sells. It's goal is to build investment in its stars to increase their value and boy, it does a great job at that.
But the flip side of that pancake is a real and tangible love of the art. Even as a kid, the image of actor that I had of myself was the sort that haunted dark theaters and frequented acting classes. I wanted to be a serious actor and I loved stage acting as much as the more commercial film variety. I didn't want to be famous, I wanted to act and acting that got you big success is the movie kind.
So, I'll admit that my dream job now - the job I think I'd really like to do day in and day out - is something more or less akin to this: writing and shooting a blog. It's a fun creative outlet and provides for a flexible schedule. I do enjoy it.
But if we're going to get into stretch goals of the kind that little girl's fantasies are made of, then I have to go all the way and admit my BIG dream job (or at least my used-to-be BIG dream job). Occupation: movie star.
What a surprise. ha.
It is a strange culture that we live in where film and television actors are adored so much. I mean, all they do is pretend to be someone else. They're not saving lives. But indeed, there has always been a fascination among humans with other people and their lives, so I suppose it is an easy step for most people to find fascination in beautiful people who are made equally attainable and unattainable at the same time. Maybe that's the real appeal of celebrity: you can look, but you can't touch.
So I suppose my childhood dreams of becoming an actress spoke to this somewhat ubiquitous fascination with the culture, and why not? The film industry is just that: an industry that sells. It's goal is to build investment in its stars to increase their value and boy, it does a great job at that.
But the flip side of that pancake is a real and tangible love of the art. Even as a kid, the image of actor that I had of myself was the sort that haunted dark theaters and frequented acting classes. I wanted to be a serious actor and I loved stage acting as much as the more commercial film variety. I didn't want to be famous, I wanted to act and acting that got you big success is the movie kind.
"I'm ready for my close-up Mr. Demille!"
At its heart, acting is a combination of play and a more serious search for truth in character. I love the idea of becoming another person and the best kind of acting is the transformative sort where emotional instinct takes over.
Because acting is the sort of work that's done with and through the body, there is a different kind of energy that it takes to do the work. I always loved the rush of a theater performance - the way taking over a character feels can be a fascinating experience.
All of this to say that I (spoiler alert!) did not become an actor. That's ok. There are a lot of technical aspect of becoming an actor that make it not a dream job: the bad money for working actors, the constant rejection, the lack of financial security, the chance (and likelihood) that you'll never break into the upper echelons of the industry, the pressure to always deliver. Over the course of our lives, we begin to realize that we can use the talents and passions that we have in all kinds of different mediums, not only in our profession, but through other dimensions of our lives. There's time for all of that and a million ways to be. Our jobs are not the sum total of our lives.
Because acting is the sort of work that's done with and through the body, there is a different kind of energy that it takes to do the work. I always loved the rush of a theater performance - the way taking over a character feels can be a fascinating experience.
All of this to say that I (spoiler alert!) did not become an actor. That's ok. There are a lot of technical aspect of becoming an actor that make it not a dream job: the bad money for working actors, the constant rejection, the lack of financial security, the chance (and likelihood) that you'll never break into the upper echelons of the industry, the pressure to always deliver. Over the course of our lives, we begin to realize that we can use the talents and passions that we have in all kinds of different mediums, not only in our profession, but through other dimensions of our lives. There's time for all of that and a million ways to be. Our jobs are not the sum total of our lives.
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