BWW Blog: Tara Folio - Keep Reaching

Ever since I was a little toddler in a tutu every adult I have come in contact with has told me to "reach for the stars", and that "I can do anything I set my mind to". Now, this might just be my experience, but it seems like somewhere along the line "reach for the stars" morphed into "it's nice that you have big dreams, but you should probably be more reasonable". When did this switch happen; when did adults begin to frown on the big dreams they told us to believe in for so many years? Of course, I can see where they're coming from, they want us to be cautious and and aware that our ambition might lead to our new home address being a cardboard box on Broadway, but does that fear mean that we shouldn't try? I've always been told that this business is an uphill battle and that in order to succeed you have to pay your dues and continue to learn, but it wasn't until recently that those words started to sound more like a threat than friendly advice. This business is hard, this business will knock you down, but you have to get back up. I believe that in order to really find out who you are and what you are capable of, you have to take a running leap out of your comfort zone. If you remain where you are, how will you know what other opportunities are out there; how will you ever really challenge yourself? If anything, I feel that the recent rise of nay-sayers and doubters that surround me are only helping me to validate my choice to move to a new opportunity. I am at a point in my life where I do not want to settle for safe, and I don't believe I should have to. So, my fellow emerging artists, I encourage you to reach, leap, jump, run, sprint into that next phase of your life, even if it terrifies you (because I know it scares me). Don't let others tell you what to do with your future because it's not their call, it's yours. Please keep reaching for the stars because it seems to me, if it's gotten you this far, then you must be doing something right.