Why Acting Is Important To Me

Words: 576
Pages: 3

Acting, in retrospect, is something that I always wanted to do. I put on shows as a small child, and played pretend longer than most of my peers. I became obsessed with theatre in 4th grade (I wrote a TERRIBLE Grease Sequel called Grease 3: High School Reunion and wanted to be Maureen Johnson from Rent for Halloween). It seemed like an intense and obnoxious phase to everyone around me. However, years went by and my love only grew. I realized that I am my best self, my truest me, when I am playing another person.
At first it was an escape, I was plagued with awful self esteem, as many pre teens are, and being able to be someone else freed me from the doubts I had about myself. As I was coming into my teens, these feelings got worse and I was a shell of a person. Many things played into my recovery, and I would be wrong If I said years of Prozac and a brief stint in a youth mental hospital had no effect on me, but acting has given me a purpose even in my darkest times. It was less of a hobby and more of an oxygen tank for me. I can say without a doubt that if I did not have this passion for acting I would not be alive right now.
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Approximately 20% of adolescents have a diagnosable mental health disorder but on account of old stigmas and offensive stereotypes these kids and their peers are wandering blind into a dangerous situation. Amazing characters are effective ways to show mentally ill people that they are not alone and they are worthwhile despite them not being neurotypical. Representation is essential in creating art that is positive to the world and as an actor I want to be able to give a voice to the people who may not have one right now, to the people who may not ever find their voice, and the ones that did not live to tell their