I'm a Product of My Childhood

I was thinking about this topic a couple of times today in different situations.

I'm the same person I was when I was 7. That's an over-simplification, of course. But the same things I loved as a child, I love now. Singing has always been one of the greatest loves of my life. It was true when I was 7; it's true now. When I was 7, I wanted to put on pretty dresses and pretend to be a princess or a peasant or an orphan or an heiress and live in a different time period. And it's still one of my favorite things (and one of the things that draws me to acting).

Today at my voice lesson, my teacher told me I have the "perfect" voice for Belle in Beauty and the Beast. (Lyric Theatre is having auditions for that show coming up, which is why we were working on one of the songs.) He said I have that Disney-style mix-belt. At first I thought that was a fascinating evaluation. My second reaction was to not be so surprised. Disney musicals influenced my formative singing years more than any other genre. How many times did I sing "Part of That World" from The Little Mermaid while in the shower? I loved that song! If I had grown up listening to rock, I'd probably have a more rock sounding voice. But I listened to The Sound of Music and The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and things like that.

And, too, I think a lot of my insecurities and weaknesses are based in my childhood, too.

It's funny to think how I'm officially an adult — and yet I'm still that same kid singing and playing dress up. It's a good thing I adore that kid. :)

Update

It's been a while since I've posted. Too long, actually. It's difficult to keep up an acting blog when one isn't acting or even auditioning.

There's been a lack of new developments that leaves me feeling stalled. I feel like I'm in a rut. There are times when I feel absolutely empowered to take control of my destiny. That feeling has been more elusive lately. Optimism and empowerment go hand in hand, but they're not the same thing. When I feel optimistic, I feel lucky. I feel like I can make it as a professional actor. I feel like I can audition for shows and be cast. When I feel empowered, I feel like I can make things happen for myself even when they don't happen naturally. Maybe I won't get cast, but I can put on a cabaret or make a movie or do something else to create opportunity for myself. When I feel empowered, I am motivated to work hard on what is in my control.

I haven't been feeling very optimistic or empowered recently.

But I keep plugging away at things, and I feel good about those. I stretch every day to improve my flexibility. I can almost do the splits (left side only) now. My fall dance class was excellent, and I'm going to take the same class again this coming semester. I am continuing with my weekly voice lessons. I asked Adam for a digital voice recorder, and I got one. So I will be able to record my voice lessons and work on them between lessons. Putting in that extra work will be very good for me, I know.

Onward and (hopefully) upward!