I’ve grown to learn that I shouldn’t do things that will only benefit myself. Of course, we all want what is best for ourselves, but we should also want the best for others. If there is someone who needs help getting to where they want to be in life, always choose to help them. I feel that we get so much more out of life when we stop what we’re doing to help others.
When I first started out as a dancer in the professional world, I had no idea what to do. I was so used to this tight knit dance studio that I trained at for more than half of my life, that when I was finished there, I was literally lost. I knew I wanted to become a professional dancer, but I had NO idea where to start. I searched for answers, but some people just did not want to give them. I needed to know how to make a dance resume, make myself sound appealing in a cover letter, who to talk to, where to go, and what agencies were the right ones. For 3 years, I worked my butt off in doing all of this by myself. Yes, people gave me advice, and what not, but I needed HELP. I was constantly driving to North Hollywood to go to any open dance audition that I was allowed to go to without needing an agent. And I was constantly driving back home in the prime hours of traffic in an upset mood, thinking “if I would have just know to do this….” I had no idea how much rejection I was about to face in the years ahead of me. The entertainment industry is an entirely different world, and it was quite the wake up call when I figured that out. But after those 3 rough years of hearing “no” after “no,” a dream of mine came true. After attending countless dance agency auditions, Bloc Talent Agency called me a week after I auditioned, and asked to sign me. So in July of 2012, I became a professional dancer (A blog I will soon share of my journey to that day.) This may have been an easier thing for others, but I honestly didn’t know the “right” people to get to this point any faster than I did. I have always been told, as I am sure you have too, that “It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know,” and in all honesty, I STILL don’t know the right people. I may be signed with an agency, and I may have booked a few dance jobs, but I still go to auditions and get rejected all the time.
So whenever anyone asks me for help with things like this, I legitimately want to help them. I think back to how helpless and confused I felt when I was in that position, and all I wanted was someone to guide me, because it’s really not as easy as it sounds. Just because helping someone won’t benefit you in your career path, it will give you a great feeling in knowing you were part of the reason they got to where they wanted to be.
