I believe in myself. Despite whatever odds may be placed against me I have an overwhelming amount of confidence in myself. The root of my self-assurance can be traced back to my dad. My dad has always loved music more than anything. As a kid growing up in a huge school district with poor parents his opportunities to learn music were few. My dad had never been in a choir, let alone a musical, before going to college. The only singing experience he had was in church.
Once there my dad discovered that performing on the stage was where he was meant to be. He studied music and education at Missouri Valley College and went on to get his masters at Stony Brook University in New York. As a music major the steadiest work you will be able to find is in teaching, so that’s what my dad did. After over 15 years teaching in North Jersey he finally got a huge breakthrough.
In the late 1980s, my dad was cast in his first Broadway musical as an understudy for the villain. The show was called Chess, and it was only open for a few weeks, but he was still able to become a Broadway actor. After that, my dad toured with the National Opera Company, and eventually returned to what he knew best, teaching.
Hearing about the kind of success my dad was able to achieve with hard work has made me certain that I can do the same. I want to be a writer, and thanks to him I believe I can be one. Knowing that someone so close to me was able to reach such tremendous heights has made me realize there is no reason I cannot do the same.
I strongly believe that one day I will write something big, and that confidence is part of what will carry me there. If my dad had stopped driving into the city after work every day he would have never gotten cast. Just like he did I will never give up on myself, and I will never stop writing.
Even now, when my dad has retired from teaching, he continues to audition for roles. Nothing would make me happier than to see him land something big, and I’m sure nothing would make him happier than to see me sell a script. I am sure a day will come when I can say a strong work ethic and unbreakable self-belief have carried me to the top, just as they did for my dad.