The Challenge - Day 1

I had a little solo outing yesterday and took myself to see the movie "Julie & Julia". I absolutely loved it and really related to the Julie character. Here was a woman approaching her 30th birthday, in a dead-end job and feeling like she's lost her way in the world. She gives herself a challenge - to cook her way through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a year, and to track her progress on a blog. As she makes her way through the recipes she discovers a lot about who she really is - what makes her happy and what impact she wants to have on the world.

I left the movie theatre feeling completely inspired - what would happen if I assigned myself a similar project? What if I turned this little blog of mine into something a little more focused, and used it to charter my course and steer me back on track? Of course, people may not find it all that interesting - but maybe others could relate to my feelings of being lost and wondering "how the heck did I end up here?" Others still may relate to feeling the tide of time feeling stronger and faster, and in my case pulling me closer and closer to what I feel is a point where I really should have it all "together" . . . my 30th birthday.

Here's the deal - I'm a creative person. I love to act, sing, write, tell stories and entertain people. I love how art (in it's many forms) can make people think about things differently, see things in a new light, can comfort them in times of sadness or lift them up when they feel on top of the world. I love how the arts can inspire, encourage, motivate, calm, energize, and simply make one really feel.

Here's the reality - I have let myself get way off course. There is no one to blame but myself. For reasons I will explain in a later posting, I decided to stop pursuing my dreams and settle into a job I don't really enjoy and that, while I am good at it, doesn't engage me and doesn't bring out my true talents. I have become lazy and complacent. I know it and I'm changing it.

Here's the challenge - I am going for it. I still really don't know how, but I am going to pursue my dream of being an actress and a singer/songwriter. Yes, I need to do both. Many have told me to only focus on one - but for me, one is not complete without the other. In order for me to really be me, I have to do both - it's just the way I work. How I will do this, I have no idea. It's been a loooong time since I've done anything professional in the entertainment industry, so I really don't even know where to begin, but I'll figure it out. I'm going to give myself a year. One year. At the end of the year, I hope to be at a point in my life (career-wise) where I can honestly say that I am back on track, and that I am doing everything in my power to make my dreams of being a professional actress and singer/songwriter come true.

So . . . what does this all really mean? Well, the format of this blog is going to change a little bit. You may have already noticed that it is no longer called "Here comes the Judge!" While that was cute, it wasn't really indicative of what this blog is now here for. My new blog title is "The Road Less Traveled" - I thought this was fitting as I know this will be quite a journey and I'm also hoping I learn things about myself and my place in the world along the way. I will also be posting every single day - sometimes maybe even more than once a day. It will be my way of holding myself accountable and keeping me working towards my goal. You'll also see more media on here - once I get some songs finished, they will be posted on here- so please feel free to post your thoughts and feedback.

I haven't totally figured this out yet - I'm just going with a gut instinct here, but I hope you (whomever you are) will join me on this journey and will hopefully be able to relate to my writing and the musings of a self-described "artiste".