<p>I agree with what everyone else has said.</p>
<p>In addition, I am struck by something you said “I can’t imagine doing anything else and still being happy.” I’m actually in the same boat right now, I am not doing theatre and so I am NOT happy.</p>
<p>If doing theatre is the only thing that will make you happy, then if you want to be happy you are going to have to do theatre. And yes, there will be obstacles. Everyone has obstacles to their happiness (I may not have dealt with mine very well in my life). But if you are determined to be happy you will find a way through those obstacles. Keep focused on what your goal is.</p>
<p>Out of all the people who auditioned for the Tisch program, the faculty decided YOU were the person they wanted in their program. There were many, many people who they decided were not good enough for the program. (someone else here will know the precise statistics) So despite the things you have been saying, that very few folks from Singapore become succesful in entertainment, despite the fact that the odds are against Asian actors, you have already beaten those odds by getting into Tisch. And if you stay focused, you will continue to beat those odds in your career.</p>
<p>If you are serious about theatre (and as I say, if it is the only thing that will make you happy, you really should be), then one day you are going to have to move to a serious theatre city, such as New York. And whenever you do it, that will involve a certain amount of “Culture Shock” if you have never lived in a city that large. I think you will find it easier to make the move if you move when you have the support of a college or university like NYU, instead of waiting until after you graduate and just moving by yourself.</p>
<p>I don’t know about NYU Tisch specifically, but American colleges and universities are very supportive of the needs and issues of their students. There will be specific people on the faculty who as part of their job deal specifically with the issues of foreign students. There will be faculty that you can go to if you feel you are beginning to “fall behind” who can help you get “caught up”. All of this help is available, but usually it is only available to people who know enough to ask for it. The only people who do not succeed at American colleges and universities are the people who do not ask for help when they need it. And the very fact that you were even admitted to NYU Tisch shows that the faculty figured out that you were someone who could succeed in their program–and there were many many people who they knew would not succeed, so they did not admit them.</p>
<p>You may want to contact NYU Tisch and find about these support programs. You may want to call or write and ask “Do you have an office that helps with the specific needs of foreign students? What should I do if I am a student at NYU Tisch and feel as though I am falling behind–where do I go for help?” I am sure they will be glad to put you in contact with these folks.</p>
<p>When I was a theatre undergrad, the simple fact that I was studying a subject that I really enjoyed and gave me happiness and satisfaction motivated me to get out of bed every day and get to class. The alarm would go off and I would think “great! I get to go to my theatre class!” If I was majoring in some subject that I didn’t really like, then I would have had difficulty getting motivated to get my homework done, get to class on time, and so on. Which would definitely have brought down my grades. But by majoring in theatre I was able to graduate with a GPA high enough that I graduated “With Honors”. I think you might find something similar, since you say theatre is the only thing that makes you happy.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>