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school
Hi, you seem really wise so here it is. I love acting, it is a great passion of mine even though I've never really really gotten to show my talen because I am afraid people won't like me, I am always looking down on myself feeling thatI am ugly, and that peple won't like me. I have have spent my whole highschool experience afraid to try new things, well I start college next year and I want to explore everything I want to do, including acting, but I am afraid I will be rejected by people. Any idea of how I can overcome this. Please help me. Thank you so much. I will love you forever if you help me please!!!!
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Let me start by telling you that I'm only a level one moderator, so I don't know anything about you apart from what you've told me - not your name, age, or gender. That's too bad, because there are some factors that would certainly make a difference in my answer to you.
But let me try anyway.
First, be aware that you're lucky to have a passion, and to know it so young. That's a real gift, and you should cherish it. I'm VERY serious about that.
That said, clearly you have problems with self-esteem. But even that can work for you as an actor! Many great actors have had serious doubts and fears about their own looks and talent, and that actually helped spur them to even greater heights.
But you need to work on it, of course. Acting itself can be a good way to work on low self-esteem. When you're on a stage, and everyone is looking at you, it's scary, yes; but there's also an incredible feeling of power, because you can make everyone LOOK at you.
From the way you write I can't judge what you really look like. You obviously have low self-esteem, so I have to take your own assessment of your looks with a big grain of salt.
But even if you ARE unusual-looking, or even ugly - I won't deny the possibility - that too can be an asset to an actor. I have an unusual face myself, and that's why a director stopped me cold at a party and asked me to appear in a short film that he was making. We'd never even been introduced.
What I'm saying is, the point isn't so much to have a beautiful face; that can be useful, but it isn't necessary (unless you're "acting" in porn). A face with character, an INTERESTING face, is worth far more. Was Alec Guinness a hunk? How about James Earle Jones? No, but they're both considered among the very best actors of their respective generations.
As an actor, your face isn't what other people's faces are to them. It's a *tool*. You use it, as you use your body and voice and even feelings to express yourself and to touch the minds and hearts of your audience.
"I have have spent my whole highschool experience afraid to try new things..."
I was exactly the same way. And I can tell you that I missed many wonderful opportunities, and now that I look back, I regret it bitterly.
In fact, I was pondering the issue and I reached an insight about new things. I posted it a while ago in my journal (that particular entry is at [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) ), but here's the key part:
"Basically, it makes sense to try new things in life. Because if you try something new and you hate it, you won't do it again; you'll have had one bad experience, and that's it. But if you like it, you can do it again and again, for the rest of your life.
So even if you don't like nine out of ten of the new things that you try, in the end you'll come out way ahead.
Of course, that doesn't mean you should try stuff that's likely to get you killed."
If you find that you simply can't cope with feelings of low self-confidence, I'd suggest talking to a counselor. I did, in the year before college, and it helped me quite a bit. You'd probably want to start by talking to your parents, or to your regular doctor to get a referral. Make sure that you're comfortable with the counselor; not every therapist works for every patient, and there's no point in staying with the wrong therapist out of concern for their feelings.
And please keep in mind that the reason for therapy in your case wouldn't be that there was something *wrong* with you; after all, you're functioning, although not as well as you'd like. It's just that you want to get the most out of your time in college, and to get yourself on the right path as early as possible.
It's a wonderful time. I wish you the best of luck in making the best of it. Feel free to write to me again any time!
PS - You probably already know this, but one thing I can't recommend strongly enough to an actor is to stretch and develop your memory-muscles. A good memory is a priceless tool, so practice it as much as possible. Make a game out of it; memorize Shakespeare, or poetry you like, or *anything*. Good luck!
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