College Admissions Essay: A Career As A Performing Artist

Of all career paths, I never envisioned myself as a performing artist. Until sophomore year in high school I was a football jock who relied on smarts to cruise through classes, yet when i took introduction to theater that year I was presented a whole new branch of opportunities. Those opportunities took root to where I sought a career as an actor, and am now a sophomore performing arts student at SDSU. Along the way I was honored to portray roles such as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella’s Prince/The Wolf in Into the Woods, and Dr Sedgwick in It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman! These three shows honed my singing and acting skills and helped me determine my desired path in performing arts: to become a classically trained musical theater performer alongside performing in film and television. Classically trained actors and singers are becoming a rarity in today’s sensationalistic

My inspiration, however, is to show the world what I’m made of and what I can do. I push myself through competing with others and myself, whether in auditioning for a part or shining in a show. As I’ve discovered, I operate best when I am challenged, and challenging myself forces me to improve my skills. Every time I perform I ask myself whether I can do better, and the answer is almost always yes. For instance, during my Theater 450 class I performed a pop song with little or no preparation, and the presentation came out awful because I wasn’t 100% percent memorized. In response I asked that question, and that reminded me that I must put hard work into my performances if I want to have pride in my work. While some may perceive this as a negative outlook, I believe this promotes a strong work ethic, and I do allow myself to have fun while performing. Being able to balance my pride and my work ethic is a challenge since one can overpower the other, yet the process has elevated me to where I am