Why I stopped...

Believing what other people said about me. 

"She decided to free herself, dance into the wind, create a new language. And birds fluttered around her, writing “yes” in the sky." -Monique Duval

I'm starting to get this whole blogging thing which is very exciting! I have so many ideas and many of those ideas include certain segments. Last week was "A day in the life of...an actress in NYC" and I plan to do more...this week however, I wanted to start a new segment called "Why I stopped...." and I wanted to delve into the murky waters of opinions. 

Everybody's got 'em so the saying goes 😂

But (no pun intended) why did I give so much power to what other people thought of me and my abilities?

I have been told all sorts of things (good and bad) ever since I started singing at the age of six. And many people told me that because of the industry I chose, I had to suck it up and deal with it. 

I've been told I'm too tall, too fat, not pretty enough, too pretty, not quite fat enough, an "okay" singer, that I'm too good, voluptuous, a leading lady, character actress, that I haven't grown into my type, that I'm a "B"-word, or too nice. 

This is just a small amount of things I've been told and it is enough to make any head spin. And mine did spin. For years, I let what other people told me I was become true. 

I let their opinions of me become my truth. 

Think about that for a second. 

I was letting people who spent five minutes with me, who didn't truly know me, tell me everything that I was and what I was worth in their eyes and I believed them. 

I was miserable and I pretended not to know why for so long. 

Until one day, I woke up. And that day was way more recently than I would have liked. 

Okay, so follow me here, YES, I chose an industry that makes a living off of beautiful people who are talented, but WHY was I taking what people said about me in that little room for less than five minutes, outside with me into my real life????

That is CRAZY, right?

So, I began to leave my expectations at the door and entered those rooms as Emily Emmett, badass and happy to be there. "Let me show you what I bring and if you don't want it or it's not right for you, than thank you for your time." 

This epiphany led me to better auditions and a better life. It was and is hard thing to do, but what these people say about me DOES NOT DEFINE ME OR YOU. 

And this isn't to say I've mastered this at.all. I still have days where I get inside my head and I trip myself up, in fact this just happened two weeks ago at an audition I attended. (Story time anyone?😂)

The fact of the matter is, when I stopped making other people's truths and opinions my own, I started living a life I wanted to live. I started smiling more and finding other passions that awakened my soul and realized I had a lot to say.

When you take your power back, it makes all the difference.

And when you can laugh at what people say to and about you, when you can really realize how fickle not just the entertainment industry, but LIFE can be, you'll be all the more happy. And you'll laugh a lot more... I guarantee it. 

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. I was told in the same week, I was a leading lady and more of a grandma type. IN THE SAME WEEK. By two different people in the same position. 

No two casting directors or agents think alike. In fact, no two people think alike. So, if the people in your life are telling you who you are, you can first listen and then choose what you want to do with what they tell you.

I usually throw it away.

Only you know you.

The best way to be happy in this life, is to be happy with who you are and what you bring to the table.

No one is you and that is your power.


<3

Em

PS: You won't want to miss next week's post...alllll about my worst/funniest audition stories😂 Should be very entertaining.

What I'm listening to: "Number One" https://open.spotify.com/track/5WsjSKEBcZGVjpn3liGgzu?si=K3YM4InWQdi3UcVE8f_cCQ