Category Archives: Passion

Never Give Up

A few years ago, at a local dive, I ran into a few girls I went to middle school with. One of them was a local actress. We spoke about our artistic pursuits. Both of us, about 22 at the time, had reached some sort of slump. Acting was such a tough business to break into that she finally decided to enroll in a local state college to study psychology.

A few nights ago, I watched from my living room as she performed on the Tony Awards. Not long after our meeting, she got her big break when the producers of Hairspray needed to replace the headliner Nicky Blonsky. She was perfect for the lead and since Hairspray, she has continued to go on to bigger and better things.

The worst thing you can ever do is give up, especially if you are bluffing and intend to eventually go back to what you started. As a writer and artist, I received many rejection letters over the years. After I got rejected from MFA programs, I was so discouraged that I stopped writing for six months. The road had been bumpy even before the subsequent MFA rejections started to come in. Before finishing my undergraduate degree, I began asking my professors to write me letters of recommendation. When I asked one of my professors, one that I respected the most, for a recommendation for MFA programs, he laughed in my face. I told him that I wanted to be a professor. He told me not to bother and to “just go teach elemetary school or something.”

Continue reading

5 Comments

Filed under Dreams, Inspirational, Life Lessons, Passion

The Worst Piece of Advice I Ever Got

Mariah Carey, Rainbow

Mariah Carey is quoted saying, “Never, never listen to anybody that tries to discourage you,” and she’s right. She is just one example of a person who faced adversity and challenges, yet continued to work hard until she achieved success and then some. When most people think of Mariah Carey, J.K. Rowling, Barack Obama, etc, they often view their great achievements as effortless, and fail to acknowledge the years of hard work they put into getting there.  Most people have put them on pedestal so high, they believe it’s impractical for the rest of us to reach such lofty goals, or even dare to dream them.

Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under Inspirational, Life Lessons, Passion

How to Find Your Passion

 

Image Via Detritus

I have found the “secret” to identifying your passion. It’s not like all those other “how to find your passion,” articles you may have read. The method I discovered is obvious- and if you hadn’t already figured it out, you’re about to have one of those- But Dorothy, you’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas– moments.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Inspirational, Life Lessons, Passion, Sea Glass, Writing