This is me and Mom. She’s my biggest fan. My Mom also taught me (and is still teaching me) some important lessons in life. But sometimes you forget about those lessons and hit a pretty hard bottom as I did in 2011.
In Spring of 2011, I got a final callback to a top 3 school. I get super stoked. I end up getting rejected from a top three school.
I moved to New York with one of my best friends. I threw my hat into the ring once again in 2012. I got another final callback to a different top three. I got rejected again.
I got scared. I got really scared. If I’m honest, I had given up. But I had friends and family who reminded me of those lessons my Mother has been teaching me all these years. The reminders were in friends who advocated for us to be each other's biggest fans and to know each other's worth. The reminders were in coaches and directors who want nothing but the best out of me. The reminders were in training partners and co-workers who are my greatest of inspirations. The reminders were in family who were pursuing their own dreams and by extension believing in my dream. The reminders lie in the people around me who held me up when I felt I couldn't stand any longer.
Our Journeys in life will inevitably be filled with pitfalls, roadblocks and what we perceive as failure. Our journeys remind us that we have nothing to hide nor anything to be ashamed of. They teach us that being yourself is the greatest gift you can give people. They indicate to us that we have to believe in ourselves and our self worth. Our journeys are not paths to scarcity but roads to generosity. They are missions to stop beating ourselves up. They are quests to slay the dragons of shame and humiliation because those dragons don’t even really exist except in our own heads. Along our journey there are lots of flowers too. Stop and breathe. Because everything will work out if you follow the path of your heart.
So, don’t stop. Don’t give up. Because when you give up on yourself, you’re also giving up on all of those people you’ve met along the way. Be brave. Be bold. Be generous. Ask for help (see, I’m learning). Love yourself.
My tuition is taken care of but my first year of living expenses need coverage. I want to avoid taking out loans as much as possible because I still have undergrad to pay for. Here is the breakdown for the Year:
Rent: 7500
Utilities: 1200
Phone/Internet/: 920
Food: 4000
Insurance: 2355
Other Expenses: 980
Which brings us to about 17000 a year to live on. I got some scholarship money so I'm not looking at the full 17, but I do need some assistance to help me get through the year.
Thanks Mom. Thanks friends and family. And thank you for your generous support. Please feel free to share the love!
Brandon Burton
Yale School of Drama Class of 2020