125. Dreams Do Come True

"Don't worry about how bad you do the first time. You learned how to walk as a child by continually falling on your face trying to take your first steps. Life is the same way." - Caleb Wojcik, Expert Enough

Two years ago...I failed to get accepted to grad school at NYU, Yale and the University of San Diego.

Last year...I failed to get accepted to grad school at NYU and Yale.

Today I auditioned for Juilliard and made it through all the cuts to the veeeeery end of the day. And since my last name is Wilcox, I think I may have been the very last auditioning hopeful to exit the hallowed halls of Juilliard tonight.

To me...just getting called back to Juilliard is a HUGE success. I am grateful just to have had the opportunity to audition there, now that they have an MFA program. And (reminder to self) if I hadn't been rejected from all those schools in the past, then I never would have had the experience I had today. Soooo, I am glad...GLAD that I failed before.

I will be writing all about this incredible day at Juilliard in future blog posts. I promise.

But for now, I want to give a shout-out too all the courageous souls that came out to audition for grad schools today...and every day.

We are allllll the future of the American theatre. And, called-back or not, doesn't change the fact that you have passion and talent enough to have come this far. DON'T STOP! Keep auditioning...for grad school or for whatever!...Plays or musicals or TV or film or voice-over or ANYTHING that strikes your creative fancy. Just keep doing your work! The work that you LOVE!

We all have so much we can give...our unique human perspective...to enlighten, to reflect, to entertain...through our work as actors. And I hope that you know that this is just another step along that path. And sometimes failing is the best part of the journey. Doesn't seem that way at the time, often, but with hindsight...it may prove to be a HUGE blessing.

So keep moving in the direction of your dreams, no matter what! Have faith! The more you fail...the more you know you can survive it!!!...And then you can open yourself up to unforeseen opportunities, greater than you ever could have imagined.

Thanks for all your support through this process, everyone. Today I truly felt like I had an army of blog-following angels surrounding me with love.

I am overwhelmed by it all and exhausted from this looooong day and ecstatically happy to be alive.

Off to bed.

Loves,
Virginia

66. My Bucket List: Personal Artistic Goals 2011

Bucket List: A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket".

The below is part "bucket list," part "goals for the future," and part "ways I want to create my life." I wrote this list as a brain-storm exercise for the Juilliard Personal Statement. Probably not going to include any of it in the final draft of the statement, but I thought that the act of writing the list was valuable. I also thought that it would be an important thing to post on the blog... as a record of what I would like to do in the future. 

Who knows? Maybe I'll look back on this post years from now and be able to go through the list and check off a bunch of things...or maybe even ALL of them. Hope so!!! Wouldn't that be an awesome feeling???

Here's my Bucket List of Personal Artistic Goals 2011...

• I want to love my life and die knowing that I lived it exactly the way I wanted to.
• I always want to remember to be grateful for every opportunity that comes my way.
• I want earn the respect the artists that I respect and admire as a valued artistic collaborator.
• I want to serve our society in the best way that my unique talents will allow and inspire others to do the same.
• I want to be able to give back to those that have been positive influences for me along the way. I would love to be a mentor to up-and-coming artists or stay involved with my former school as an alumni who gives back.
• I want the process of “getting there” to be just as enjoyable (if not more so) than achieving my “goals."
• I want to work on projects with passionate people that also want their art to make a difference in people’s lives.
• I want to be a person that others enjoy working with.
• I want to create a sustainable life for myself, financially and creatively.
• I want to be able to pay my bills and take care of my family and thrive on the pay I receive from my acting.
• I want to attract an agent that truly believes in my abilities and versatility as an actor, understands how to best represent me within the industry, shares my vision for my artistic career and will have an unwavering work ethic because he/she LOVES his/her job.
• I want to have fun.
• I would like to voice an audiobook.
• I want to find a life partner who will love me unconditionally and will always support me in my life's work.
• I want to constantly grow and be challenged and always pursue excellence.
• I want to get really confident in my skills as an actor. I want to create such a strong foundation in my work, that I can look forward to a life-long career.
• I want to work with people I LOVE and am inspired by.
• I would like to be a regular on a televisions series that feels like a company of  super-skilled, excellence-pursuing, like-minded artists all working together to create the best show on television.
• I want to be a part of a community of like-minded artists in New York City and Los Angeles.
• I want to be a smart business woman.
• I want to live debt-free.
• I want to own my own home.
• I want to have health insurance.
• I want to travel and experience different cultures.
• I want to be able to afford to fly home and see my family whenever I want to.
• I want to originate a role on Broadway.
• I want to write a book and have it published somewhere.
• I want to write a play and see it produced someday.
• I want to create a successful enough career as an artist to be able to have creative artistic choice is selecting my jobs, such that I can choose my jobs because I LOVE them and I BELIEVE in them, not because I need the money.
• I want to be remembered as someone that left a positive impact on the world in my own small way.
• I never want to stop learning... EVER.
• I will stop doing all of the above… on the day I die.

What's in your bucket?

Loves,

V

"You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes you might find

You get what you need"

- The Rolling Stones