Thoughts... and hunting the dream!

I was reading the Tips and Tricks article, in this months AM newsletter by Shawn Kelly, and it really hit home for me. I could completely relate to everything Shawn had to say. His article really solidified my dream to animate and I am actively hunting that dream down, now, more than ever! :)

It's easy to get discouraged with graduation looming.. (which is indeed a most happy event!)... but with it comes the worry about looking for a job. Questions arise, like am I good enough? Will anybody see my potential? Will my dream really come true? Who am I kidding anyways? What in the world am I going to fall back on if I don't get a job in animation? It's all I've ever wanted to do since I was 7! (that's right..7) I have no back up plan and to be honest, that's a bit frightening.

Anyways, if you let yourself get caught up in all this worry it can be downright miserable... I have been trying my hardest to push all of this self-doubt aside and remain positive. After talking with my friends, watching The Pixar Story, and reading Shawn's article I feel like I did when I was 7. I feel like anything is possible and I can't give up... no way.... not after I've come this far. This is my dream and I'm going to give it all that I've got! The older I get and the more research I do... there is all this talk of how much competition there is out there..and how unrealistic it is to dream of getting into Pixar or a big studio.. but you know what? I'm a big believer of if you want something bad enough and work as hard as you can to get there, then why not give it a shot? Somebody has to work there. My high school teacher always repeated the quote "luck is when preparation meets opportunity." Well... when that opportunity comes knocking, I'm going to be ready! I love how Shawn said that you shouldn't be afraid of the competition, and that if you want it more than anyone else and work harder than anyone else.... it's them who should be afraid of you. I've got to start telling myself that so I don't get freaked out and fall back into that self-doubt.

When Shawn talked about wanting to animate on Star Wars even though they hadn't announced plans to make any more of them... that part was completely relatable to me. When I was 7 and saw Toy Story in theaters... I knew that's what I wanted to do more than anything else in the world! I wanted to animate Toy Story... so from that day forward I made Pixar my goal. Now they have plans to make Toy Story 3!!! oy... anyways....moving along...

I'm not exactly sure how to put all of my thoughts into words... but I kind of want to talk about why animation is my dream and how long it has been a dream of mine. I say that it was when I was 7 and watched Toy Story in theaters for the first time, but I think the seeds of it started even earlier than that. lol, who knows maybe it dates all the way back to my Mickey and Minnie Mouse birthday cake for my 1st birthday!

or the Mickey and Minnie Mouse birthday cake my dad made for my 3rd birthday... :)

I guess I really can't pinpoint exactly when any of it began because I feel like animation has been such a big part of my life all the time. I'm really not sure how my parents didn't see this coming.. lol, no actually they realized I wasn't going to grow out of it early on. In fact my mom has always told me to go for it!
My passion for the art runs so deep.. I get so excited just thinking that this dream could really come true! I grew up on all of the classic Disney and Pixar movies and I can't picture a more rewarding career than getting to be a part of that process and make films that will be enjoyed by generations... by kids you don't even know, but have the ability to inspire them to dream big! To just be able to give back to what I've enjoyed so much growing up would truly be a dream come true.
I loved so many great characters growing up.. and to be able to be one of the ones behind the scenes giving those characters life and personality would be so much fun!
All of the great stories touched my life and shaped me to be who I am today... a dreamer!







I really can't put my passion and love for the art in words.. but I think you get the idea...
I will end this with some of my favorite inspirational quotes from movies!

"You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it. Period."
‘Pursuit of Happyness (Will Smith)’

"Working hard is important, but there's something else that's even more important: believing in yourself. Look at it this way: every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than we are now - students. If they can do it, why not us?" Harry Potter 5th book

Josh Groban song from the end of Polar Express...
"Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe"

"But I've always said to myself.....if I could do it over again, I would follow my dream. You've got greatness in you, Rodney. Never doubt it. You go to Robot City. You go meet Bigweld, and you show him your big ideas. And, Rodney.....never, never give up. " Robots

(lol...sorry about another "lengthy" post) :)