I am a musical theatre major, and I am proud of it. But if I had a dollar for every time a friend, relative, or complete stranger asks what my backup plan is, I would be able to pay my way through college and whatever else comes after.
Note how I said, "whatever else comes after," because here's the thing: We are college students. We are growing and learning more about ourselves and our futures every day, but surprisingly, most of us don't have the rest of our lives figured out yet. All I want to do is scream from a mountaintop somewhere that that is absolutely 100 percent OK. I have no idea what my life will look like five years from now, let alone what I'm eating for breakfast tomorrow morning... but, I digress.
Getting back to that scary phrase "backup plan." We have been brought up in a society that continually expects us to fail. I don't know if it's because we're millennials, but for some reason our generation has been branded with the stigma of being lazy, ungrateful, and uncooperative. And let me tell you, musical theatre majors have it even worse. While our community is small and extremely supportive, we get a lot of backlash from people who don't understand why we would choose this as a career path if there's no guarantee of financial stability. Well, here's a newsflash for you guys: We don't do it for the money.
If art was solely about monetary affluence, no one would make art. Granted, money does play a big role in art in various ways, but it does not fuel our passion. Art fulfills the soul. It nurtures a part of each of us that is vital to our well being; it fills a thirst that is rarely quenched. It is the purest form of self-expression, and life would be a lot less beautiful without it. The world needs art in order to survive, and that's where we come in.
We as artists deserve to be valued and validated. Our passion should not be looked down upon or underestimated. No one should ever feel pressured or obligated to come up with a backup plan, because our art is our backup plan. For some of us, we didn't choose this lifestyle; it chose us instead. It is our vocation and our livelihood, and we owe it to ourselves and the rest of the world to honor it without fear or doubt.
So, what is my plan?
My plan is to follow my dream, to create and perform meaningful work, and to continue sharing my joy and passion with the rest of the world. My plan is to offer a different perspective, and to make art that heals as well as fuels others. My plan is to unapologetically do what I love and love what I do every single day of my life.
And yeah, I may not know where I'm going to end up, but I'm sure as hell going to enjoy the ride.
