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Successfully
completing professional acting training in Los Angeles has been
one of the most challenging and significant experiences in my
life. I had to learn to lose my identity, my inhibitions and take
emotional risks in order to grow as a performer. Yet, in trying
to do so, I had to shake the foundation of my own personality
and self-confidence - a foundation I had constructed with great
effort.
Acting is a daunting task for any individual. In my case, to
even dream of acting as a career required courage. Many years
ago, when I first came to America, I was afraid and scared; people
often humiliated me and laughed at me because I couldn't speak
English well. It caused me to withdraw to protect myself, and
I became afraid of showing whom I was inside. I also lost confidence
in myself as a person.
Yet I held on to my dream and persevered. I chose acting as my
major and here I was - attending acting training sessions. I was
asked to put my guard down - anything that was going to create
a wall between the coach and I had to go. I wasn't comfortable
with the whole situation, because I wasn't used to leaving myself
emotionally exposed. I found many of the acting exercises very
stressful and this caused a lot of conflicts with the coach in
the beginning.
Slowly, my emotional barriers began to give way to a new, more
confident individual who could shout at a wall with no hesitation,
or take on another personality at a moment's notice, however different
or ridiculous. My coach told me that my training was not just
about learning how to act and express myself, it was also my path
to self-discovery.
There were tears and laughter throughout this exhilarating process,
but in the end, it was all worth it. Every single moment, every
single action that I took was a story of success for me. Most
importantly, by learning to act, I also fashioned the role I would
play on the stage of life - that of a new, confident individual
with a desire to succeed and the perseverance to work hard and
overcome any challenges that lie ahead. Thank you for everything
, you helped me grow a lot as a person.
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