When I grow up...

What do you want to be when you grow up?

5 years old: Ninja

10 years old: Professional athlete

15 years old: History teach

18 years old: PR rep

21 years old: Screenwriter

This question is unavoidable. Every kindegartner has had this questioned assigned to them in class and they all have fantastically imaginative answers. Then they grow older and their answers become more and more "practical". Ninjas become athletes. Athletes become teachers. Teachers become PR reps. To me that's just sad.

Obviously I'll never be a ninja. A 6'7" crippled ninja is the beginning of a bad joke, not a career but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the idea of having a "practical job". But what makes me think about this?

Judgement and embarrassment. The number one question I get is "so what's next after college?" Then I have to give this whole bullshit shpeel about getting a Masters in screenwriting because "if I can't be a successful screenwriter at least I can teach it". All while watching the glazed over look in your eyes that says "okay Peter Pan. Grow up". Fuck you. It's hard to tell people what I want to do when I can see the judgement in their eyes.

That's the issue right there. I feel like a child chasing fairy tales because there's this societal understanding that deem some jobs or dreams are worthy and others aren't. And I'm guilty of this. I have a friend attending a performing arts school that I give shit to. I don't mean it but that doesn't make it right. STEM majors and jobs are put on pedstal while the Fine Arts are joked about. I'm in college, I know. Every PSYC, PHIL, or ENGL major is given shit about the fact that "they're never going to make any money".

That's an issue for me. Not for the obvious reasons but for personal reasons. I haven't wanted to be screenwriter my whole life. I'm an adult. I've been tainted by these "worthy jobs" ideas. So no matter how much I write or how good I am, I feel like I need a practical Plan B. Maybe you need a Plan B. Maybe you need a Fine Arts job to fall back on when you're miserable at your six figure job. My plan B through Z are different scipts. What's yours?

Now, saying all of that, I do need to play Devil's Advocate and say there are tons of supportive people. They think it's cool that I'm pursuing my dream and are genuinely interseted in what I'm writing and what field I want to go into: TV, movies, or plays. So a big thank you to those people!

—♿️

#STEM #screenwriting #growingup #whatdoyouwanttobe #finearts #college #opinions #experince