Following your passion- is it worth it?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm warning you, this is a loooong post. Please excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes.</p>

<p>I'm sure there have been tons of posts like this, but I am so conflicted. I'll be honest, I am only a high school sophomore; but I have a huge love for acting and composing music. It is my dream to become an established actress and composer. I would love to later open a school for performance as well. </p>

<p>I have been looking at schools with great art and academic programs- Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, UCLA, etc. I am interested in triple majoring in acting, music theory and composition (or maybe music as a whole) and economics/finance. I know this sounds excessive, but I have a lot of time to revise my plans. </p>

<p>The thing is I want to pursue a career in acting and composing for sure. I have no doubt in my mind that is what I want to do with my life. I know it is a tough life, and I understand completely that I will have to have another job to support myself. I am willing to do that. That being said, I am looking at going to college in the UK (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in particular) but I don't know if I should take that risk. I WANT to, but I don't know if my parents will support me or if I'll survive it. I certainly will try my hardest to be the best I can be, but I could always fail.</p>

<p>I have studied music for the past eight years or so, and I intend on continuing. I take music courses in my competitive performing arts high school here in NYC. I am a part of my school's drama club, I am bent on taking acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse and taking summer acting classes, and I am looking for a private voice teacher. I am willing to do whatever I can to make it because this is what I want to do with my life. I can't see myself without performing in some way.</p>

<p>I have other interests as well. I like to write (connected to my love of acting and drama, because I wanted to be both a songwriter and a screenwriter when I was younger) and I love to argue, which makes me like the idea of being a lawyer. I've thought about it, and I don't think law is for me, but it sounds much more stable than acting. At the same time, I don't really care about that, because I want to follow my passion.</p>

<p>I must sound horribly redundant, and I'm sorry for that. I just so conflicted. Should I follow my dream? I want to, but should I really go for it? It pains me to think of my life without being an actress or a musician. I am willing to sacrifice I guaranteed safe life to do what I love...any advice?</p>

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<p>I can see that you already realize that it will be very financially difficult for you as an actress/musician. You also, however, need to realize that it is not likely that you will become “established”; the vast majority of actors and musicians are never recognized, if even employed in their field.</p>

<p>That said, you will have a much better time finding a job as a musician or writer; drama is perhaps the worst industry right now for employment. I think you’ve got the right idea with having another major; three will probably be too many, though, especially given that none of the fields you’ve listed have any overlap. I would recommend a double major in music composition and economics/finance; you can always take lots of classes or even a minor in drama on the side. Look for colleges where participation in theater productions, etc. is open to all students, not just drama majors.</p>

<p>You also have to think about whether you want to work in the field you major in. The vast majority of liberal arts majors go on to be office workers who do nothing related to their majors. An engineer, with music lessons/proficiency in an instrument/theory knowledge, can easily become a musician if they decide they want to – but they also have a profitable plan B. A drama major, on the other hand, has to go through several expensive years of grad school to be able to find employment as an engineer.</p>

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<p>It is ALWAYS worth following your passions. Period. Your passion is what sets you apart from 95% of the people here on CC, they only care about getting into college through their extracurriculars, and that mentality is what will get them rejected. It doesn’t matter whether or not you want to pursue art or law. Think about it this way; you have to go to a good university no matter what to cultivate either passion. So the first step is deciding and getting into the university of your choice. Indulge in your passions for another 2 years, then apply to college. When you get in, you have 2 years until you have to declare your major, and you’ll have plenty of real-world experience to draw on to make a decision by that time. Don’t worry, you’ll go far.</p>

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<p>I think you answered your own question. It is definitely worth it to follow your passion, no matter what.</p>

<p>You say you’re also considering law as a more “stable” career. Well, it may be true that the average salary for lawyers is higher than that of musicians or actors. But it’s also true that law can be very difficult to succeed in. There’s a photo going around the Internet of a recent law school graduate working at his first job–as a cashier in a big box store. I can’t open a newspaper or magazine without reading about law school grads with massive debt who can’t even find a job. Established law schools like NYU are completely reforming their curricula because their graduates can’t find work, and in many states, half of all new lawyers can’t even pass the bar exam, so they can’t even practice law until they retake it. Those who do get jobs usually do very little arguing or even writing–unless you count endless negotiations with their fellow corporate drones as “arguing”, and preparing contracts, wills, and long, tedious reports as “writing”. The only lawyers who spend much time arguing, with the exception of superstar trial attorneys, are prosecutors and defenders, which are among the hardest legal jobs to get AND the lowest paid.</p>

<p>Can you get rich in law? Certainly. Is it a little easier to become a rich lawyer than a rich actor or musician? Probably. But the people who become successful in law are the ones who really, really love the law and are really good at it, not the people who go into law just to make money. The same is true of business, medicine, engineering, and all the other fields people go into to make money.</p>

<p>If you follow your passion and do what you love, you may never be famous or a millionaire. But at least you’ll always be happy.</p>

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<p>The dean in charge of musical theater at a school well known for it’s MT program, told the parents and prospective musical theater majors at the start of the year, “If you can envision yourself doing any other kind of work - anything at all - I urge you right now to do it. This is a career only for those who can not see themselves doing anything else and for most of you, it will not provide a livelihood.”</p>

<p>I’m sure the same applies to all the arts. That said, the fact that you have majored in something - and even spent several years of your life trying to make it - doesn’t mean you can’t switch gears at a later date. Most non-technical grad programs have at least one or two former musicians/actors/dancers/film producers - my business school section had a former opera singer and a pro-baseball player. So go for it and know that it’s not your last or only shot.</p>

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<p>Thank you all so much for your advice!!! schlaag, mmmgirl, and M’s Mom, you responses were really inspiring. Rasseru77, you brought up some good points…</p>