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I consider myself blessed in that I actually get to do a job that I love and at just 23 it feels like I got a head start in life in many ways.
I'm a teacher, which in itself is a great thing, to get to teach the most talented kids in the country how to act is more like a dream come true.
Then yesterday things got a little more complicated. To cut a long story short, one of my most talented, confident students (who it's worth noting, lacks all of the typical insecurities of a 14 year old making her a fearless performer) tells me, and my boss, that she's taking diet pills. In itself this was a frustrating conversation, to then discover that this new revelation that she needs to lose weight is a direct result of a ballet teacher pointing out that she's bigger than the other girls was shocking.
Even more shocking was that my boss then proceeds to agree that in 'this industry' larger girls wont get anywhere and that's probably why said ballet teacher pointed this out.
I think I actually had steam fuming from my ears at this point, I was so angry. Despite my protests that the West End is more diverse now than it's ever been, I was shouted down.
There are so many issues here that I can't even begin to scratch the surface without boring any potential readers to death so I'll summarise.
1) These are children we're dealing with who already have enough insecurities without us, as teachers adding to them.
2) What will ultimately get them the jobs they want is confidence and taking that away from them is far more detrimental to their careers than the way they look.
3) If my boss is right then surely we should be providing these kids with the confidence in themselves now so that if and when they are knocked down due to their image, they'll have the strength to stand back up.
What this conversation then made me realise was that 10 years ago I was the teenager with a million insecurities that other people only served to encourage. I was different, I didn't fit in to the mould and I gave up chasing my dreams because of that. I love my job, I have no regrets about the course my life has taken, but I realised that I never pursued the things I truely wanted because of other people, not because of my self.
So to my students, and any other kids out there trying to chase a career in the entertainment industry, know that while image is important, it's confidence in yourself that will make your image far more appealing than any weight loss, hair dye or superficial change ever could. Don't give up on the things you want for anyone, have the strength to stand up and believe in yourself.
I'm a teacher, which in itself is a great thing, to get to teach the most talented kids in the country how to act is more like a dream come true.
Then yesterday things got a little more complicated. To cut a long story short, one of my most talented, confident students (who it's worth noting, lacks all of the typical insecurities of a 14 year old making her a fearless performer) tells me, and my boss, that she's taking diet pills. In itself this was a frustrating conversation, to then discover that this new revelation that she needs to lose weight is a direct result of a ballet teacher pointing out that she's bigger than the other girls was shocking.
Even more shocking was that my boss then proceeds to agree that in 'this industry' larger girls wont get anywhere and that's probably why said ballet teacher pointed this out.
I think I actually had steam fuming from my ears at this point, I was so angry. Despite my protests that the West End is more diverse now than it's ever been, I was shouted down.
There are so many issues here that I can't even begin to scratch the surface without boring any potential readers to death so I'll summarise.
1) These are children we're dealing with who already have enough insecurities without us, as teachers adding to them.
2) What will ultimately get them the jobs they want is confidence and taking that away from them is far more detrimental to their careers than the way they look.
3) If my boss is right then surely we should be providing these kids with the confidence in themselves now so that if and when they are knocked down due to their image, they'll have the strength to stand back up.
What this conversation then made me realise was that 10 years ago I was the teenager with a million insecurities that other people only served to encourage. I was different, I didn't fit in to the mould and I gave up chasing my dreams because of that. I love my job, I have no regrets about the course my life has taken, but I realised that I never pursued the things I truely wanted because of other people, not because of my self.
So to my students, and any other kids out there trying to chase a career in the entertainment industry, know that while image is important, it's confidence in yourself that will make your image far more appealing than any weight loss, hair dye or superficial change ever could. Don't give up on the things you want for anyone, have the strength to stand up and believe in yourself.