I'm 25, male, and my passion in life is situated within the theatrical world. When I was younger and in middle/high school I was in some way involved with every production my school ran. I even received some awards displaying my talent. After school ended, I told my parents that I wanted to become an actor. Their response? If I wanted to become an actor I would be unable to live for one second longer at home, and they would never help me in any way whatsoever. However, if I wanted to attend university then they would be more than willing to allow me to stay home rent free(I had to chip in for other stuff, but still that's pretty generous). I cowardly chose school. It was the more logical choice.
So in accordance to my parents wishes, and later on my friends, I entered into the labour workforce and started attending school. And....I hated it. Hated, hated, hated it. Nothing sparked any interest as I had hoped. I honestly and earnestly was looking for something to grab onto. Anything that I could picture myself doing for a lengthy period of time. Nothing came. I attended university for three years. I enrolled in criminology, computer science/information systems/animation/web design, psychology, sociology, english, economics, marketing, business, linguistics, communications, library technology, the list goes on. Basically anything and everything that was listed as a 100 class, and some things that were not. I ended up failing several classes, and doing very poorly in general. A far cry from my academic results in high school.
So after I realized that university is pointless unless you have direction, I decided to opt for general labour. After all I knew several people who seemed happy with their industrial jobs. And besides that, some jobs can pay very well after you move up the ladder. I think Managers of successful companies can make upwards of 60K. So I figured I'll just start at the bottom, keep my head down and work hard. And....I can't do it. Okay, I could do it. Anyone can do it. A retarded monkey wielding a couple of shoehorns can do it. But with every job I possessed, there came a point where it felt like my soul was being crushed. Depression would set in, friends would be ignored, job performance would begin to suffer, and then...poof, job goes away. And then I would realize that I need money to live, so I would get my ass in gear and find another job pronto. And repeat said process. I mentioned that I'm 25. Well I'm currently working in my 28th job. To reiterate and to clarify, I have had 28 successful different job interviews. Everything that requires no training or experience, I pretty much have it covered. Retail jobs, construction jobs, recreational jobs (golf courses, camp counsellor, snowboard instructor, etc.), industrial jobs, salesman (both door to door and in house). I have worked in an ice cream factory, a chocolate factory, a cheese factory, a bunch of lumber yards, nanny (yes guys can do it too), and even worked overseas in japan for six months.
And I can sum it up in one word: Blech. I know full well that there are people out there that have it way worse than me. People that can't choose their jobs and are forced to work under horrendous conditions. But to me, that doesn't mean that I should just be thankful with what I can get. It means that I should try and live life to the fullest because I have the chance to.
So after careful deliberation and procrastination, I have decided to pursue wholeheartedly my desire to become an actor. I'm moving to Vancouver soon, and taking acting classes/workshops as soon as possible. I have some money saved up, money that I was saving just in case my car broke down, or something like that. Guess I'll be using that money now for headshots, and mentoring.
I would say only 1% of actors are successful. I define success as an actor as being someone who can pay their bills without supplementing their income with a different job. Of that 1%, 1% becomes famous. My desire is to be successful.Whether fame comes or not isn't a big deal. I mean, if fame were to come, I wouldn't push it away, but it's not my goal.
This is it. My last hurrah in life. I plan on pursuing this dream until I am no longer draw breath. If it doesn't work out, I don't care. I'm not giving up. I'm never throwing in the towel. Even if I must sacrifice everything else to achieve it, I'm going to become an actor.
If I ever receive a part in something notable, then I'll reveal my true name. But until that day, I will forever be:
Fumanchu