Dreams and Jobs: Can We Have Harmony?

I am working a second job, and have been for a while. It’s a contracted job, and I only work various Saturday mornings for three hours at a time (the extra cash is very nice, let me tell you). Recently, this employer offered me more hours on a regular basis; about ten additional hours a week. She said this is because she really appreciates my ability and would like to work with me more and possibly have this be a permanent job in the future. I had to weigh this in my mind and discuss it with Ryan for a while before I could make a decision. Would it mean more income? Yes. Would it mean more experience? Of course. Is this how I want to spend the free time that I have? Possibly. It finally came down to this: will this second job help to advance my dreams or will it hinder them?

The answer that I eventually came to was that it will possibly become an obstacle. This second job has nothing to do with acting or theatre, and I told her the truth. I need the weekends open for possible rehearsal times. Do I want to be able to pay off student loans sooner rather than later? Yes, yes I do. But this is not the way. I need theatre in order to survive emotionally and socially. I thanked her, and said I was flattered. I also said that I am at a point in my life where I need to chase my dreams, however frivolous they may seem to others.

I have to try.

I don’t want to wake up in thirty years and wonder what might have been if I had just tried a little harder, and let go of material things for a while in order to be the artist that my soul needs to be. Will I be successful? Who knows, and honestly, I don’t count success as “making it big” (though I wouldn’t complain). For me to be successful at this dream, I simply need to participate in any way that I can. Be it on stage, off stage, directing, or sweeping floors, I will do what I have to do in order to be a part of something that really matters to me.

Right now I’m acting for Katrina in her directing final. The script she chose is heartbreakingly beautiful. Please come and see it if you can – December 14th, 10:00am at NU’s theatre. Also, I just got a part in The Seven Year Itch at Redwood Theatre in Redmond, playing Miss Morris. I’m pretty excited about that. Performances will be Fri's-Sun's in February of next year. I’ll give more details when it gets closer.

What are you doing to follow your dreams? Now is the time to live – let’s do it. I hope that we can honor the King who gave us our gifts and our passions by using them to their full extent. Amen!

And Merry Christmas!