When I was at school the only things I knew were:
- I loved drama, but I didn’t have the confidence to do anything about it.
- I HATED exams.
- I was pants at art, but I could normally blag my way through my splodgey paintings being a ‘modern’ interpretation.
- I didn’t want to be known in the playground as ‘monorail’ anymore, just because I didn’t discover tweezers until I was 15 (thanks mum).
- Trigonometry and algebra will get me nowhere in life.
- I need to actually discover myself, my passions, goals and independence before deciding what degree is going to shape the rest of my life.
It was actually after a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon that made me ditch my UCAS applications and decide to stop letting my insecurities, lack of confidence and fear of judgement from getting in the way of admitting what I actually wanted to do with my life.
So bright-eyed and bushy-browed I applied for Year Out Drama, despite the thought of improvisation, dancing, singing and larger than life personalities all scaring the shit out of me. And I’ve never looked back. If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt in life, it’s that making yourself uncomfortable makes for the most rewarding and amazing experiences. I mean, I honestly never thought that having to simulate an air conditioning unit at drama college would be useful. Honestly, never. But then when a couple of months ago in the space of a few days I had two castings; one where I had to interpretative dance my way around imaginary sofas, and another where I had to simulate being on a rodeo whilst acting very cool and casual about the whole thing, I’d never been so grateful to get the humiliation of it all out of the way when I was 18.
Whilst going to uni is great for many, it’s not for everyone, and if anyone’s school was like mine, they’re often not supportive in recognising that there are other options that work better for some people. It wasn’t the right choice for me, but Year Out Drama was, and that’s something that I’ve never regretted. After the course, friends of mine went on to university or drama school, but in a more decisive state of mind. There’s so much pressure on you to know exactly what you want to do and where you want to go when you’re barely 18, living at home perhaps and in full time education; how on earth are you meant to know?! I don’t envy any of you going through that now.
I know drama isn’t for everyone but whatever it may be for you, I can’t encourage you all enough to have the confidence to break the mound and pursue what makes you happy and that you’re truly passionate about. There’s no time in life for regrets and ‘what ifs’. Coincidentally that is a mantra I also employ when it comes to eating excessive carbohydrates and drinking wine. #YOLO (if that’s still a thing).
For those of you that are interested in the performing arts then follow this link to the Year Out Drama website (http://www.yearoutdrama.co.uk/), they are now accepting applicants for September 2018. Please feel free to get in touch with me on my instagram @lucybennettmodel for a chat, and be sure to share this with any friends that may find it interesting! #noragrets #notevenonelittleletter
xxx
We Only Get One Body 