"Don't give it five minutes, if you're not gonna give it five years."

That was the rule of thumb I was told about this industry. And I think it stands true.

What happens though, is that within those five years, when your savings run low, the will to keep subjecting yourself to the brutality of auditions feels kind of stupid. [Trust me, I have soooooo been there.]

"I'm a smart girl," you tell yourself, "I could be doing countless other things, and making a good living." And if that's true, then that's when you have to ask yourself, "How badly do you want this? And why?"

And if it's for the right reasons (whatever those are for you), then you stick it out...and save your pennies, and get a part time job at night, and piece it all together, and you survive while pursuing this dream.

And then one day, this starts to happen: You work with amazing actors, and Oscar winning directors, and you go to gifting suites (where I kid you not, they give you free vacations to Hawaii). And you get fan mail, and walk red carpets; you work your craft, and have fancy producers tell you they love you, and bigger agencies trying to poach you. And you no longer have to look under couch cushions to find some spare change.

And you breathe a sigh of relief, and go "Holy shit, this is working! I'm doing it!"

And it feels great, and you take it all in, and then you remember...you still gotta find your next job. No really. All that fluff is fun, but it doesn't pay your bills. And if the razzle dazzle is what you're looking for, then go be a reality star and enjoy your fifteen minutes (but know that this is probably not the right blog for you). Because the years of hustle it takes to get to the point where you get bags of swag is not nearly worth the aggravation. You can buy your own face creams and jewelry.

Someone once said, "Act if you can't do anything else." They understood just how tough this industry is. And while I don't fully agree, I would certainly say that it's a serious commitment, and that you shouldn't give it five minutes unless you're gonna give it five years.


With that said, off to a 4pm audition and then prepping for a 2:30 tomorrow. I'm in it to win it.