Personal Connection – Week 2 Reflection
The movie reminded me of a book I read: “How Children Succeed” by Paul Tough. This book was my first introduction to the research that has been done on the personal attributes that allow children to flourish. The common thread in both the MTLS film and the above mentioned book is – GRIT – and I’m not talking about the kind that gets into a grazed knee after a fall – I’m referring to tenacity, endurance, and over-coming adversity. Grit seems to be the quality that propels some students further than others.
I also have a personal connection to the movie. Like the students at HTH, I didn’t follow the traditional path. After graduation, I attended a performing arts conservatory instead of a post-secondary institute that would have provided me with a degree. Consequently, the movie had me comparing my non-traditional academic choice to my friends who attended universities.
During grade 12, I had been accepted into UVIC’s theatre program. I was all set to attend when my plan came to a screaming halt. I received a letter of acceptance (yes, a LETTER, email was not the preferred method of communication at that time) from a theatre conservatory program in New York. A few months prior, I had previously auditioned for the school after encouragement from my high school drama teacher. I had done so, more for the experience than the desire to get in. I was completely surprised and unsure of what to do when the school accepted me with scholarship. Did I follow the predictable, safe path of attending a university close to home and graduating with a degree (which equated security) or did I move across the continent, attend a conservatory program in a major city, and study a profession that’s about as stable as a house of cards?
I didn’t choose the safe route, I chose the intimidating, yet exciting, life changing route and began preparing to move to NYC. Why did I make the choice to chose NYC over UVIC? It was based on something my Dad said: “Christie, the skills you will learn living in New York, studying a program that teaches you awareness of how you’re presenting yourself, navigating life in a new country are skills that will forever assist you in life.”
He was right. Moving to one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world at 18 years old, studying in an intensive conservatory, meeting people from all over North America, getting yelled at on the SUBWAY for walking too slowly are all skills that have scaffolded me my entire life. But, and I mean big BUT, when I graduated from https://www.amda.edu/ with a wonderful sense of self, and the ability to walk into an audition and be judged by a whole bunch people, I still didn’t have a degree.
I moved back to Vancouver and for a number of years auditioned while serving at various restaurants. I eventually came to the realization that this lifestyle was not conducive to the path I wanted for myself. I hated the instability of it, the lack or security but I still loved theatre. I couldn’t help but wonder where I’d be if I’d gone to UVIC as planned, graduated with a Fine Arts degree and was now in the post-degree program learning how to be a drama teacher. The safer route now seemed like a much better choice.
Here I am at UVIC (many years later) finally pursuing the goal of a degree. Did the skills from New York assist me in life? Did they help propel me further? It’s hard to measure. Would the safer route of getting a degree at UVIC have helped me succeed more – again it’s hard to measure. However, like the students at HTH, I did something different, something the rest weren’t trying and there is something to be said for taking the path less travelled by. It sets you apart from the rest, and teaches you about non-cognitive traits and less about retaining knowledge.
