After doing a production of RENT my junior year, going into my senior year of high school I learned that I wanted to act. That this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. My parents weren't exactly thrilled because unless you make it big you don't exactly make it out there in the real world. I will be waitressing, bussing tables, and living off paycheck to paycheck.

In high school, I had a director, and who is now a close friend named Jasmine and she taught me how to fight for what I love. The acting industry isn't sunshine, and rainbows and I learned that real soon. It is going to be cattle calls, working with directors you don't exactly like, and not always getting the role you want. Each audition is an experience; a learning experience.

The first time I ever leaped out into the real world and chased my dream was when I went to NYC for an open audition for Hairspray LIVE! I just nineteen and I was squished in the backseat of a Subaru Forester with my two little cousins and was on an adventure for a lifetime. I was in NYC for less than 48 hours and I have never felt so scared, overwhelmed, and free at the same time.

Callaghan Carter

Walking into an audition where no one knew anything about me was a first for me. I went to a small high school with the same directors, and then am currently at a university where my acting professors were the directors. They know me as a person. Yet these talent scouts knew nothing about me and it gave me this freedom and confidence. I had the New York skylines in the background as I belted the opening number and it was amazing and terrifying at the same time.

After my fourth year of school, and the second year at UMaine I have decided to chase the second dream of mine—to be a writer. I've decided to minor in creative writing because I've always wanted to write. I've been writing since middle school, filling notebooks on the weekly. This is a huge step for me because I hate people reading my writing, but I will have to be comfortable with it with my professor's, and even my classmates reading my work.

I've learned a lot while chasing my competitive dream: to never stop chasing my dream, and to never stay in your comfort zone.