Chasing Dreams

Jennifer Butler

t seems lately that I know two kinds of people, those who support my career in the arts and those who question it. Most of the time I am surrounded by and meet the supportive group but yet somehow it’s the negative comments from those who are questioning me that seem to stick out in my mind the most. It drives me nuts because they don’t know how I got to where I am nor do they seem to understand what I have been through. As I have grown up people have always challenged me and told me that I wasn’t good enough and that I shouldn’t even try.

My high school guidance counselor once told me that I should not even bother to apply to four-year colleges because I wouldn’t get accepted, I wasn’t smart enough. So when I went off to college I was determined to attend a four-year institution and I did. I also studied teaching but realized shortly afterward graduation that it really wasn’t the career for me and I needed to make a change. People thought I was crazy that I would walk away from a stable career to follow my passion for the arts. And the more I became involved with Community Theater the more I knew that that was what I was meant to do.

And now I am about to take everything to a whole new level. I have spent the last 3 years gaining experience on what I wanted and rebuilding my life, and now I have that opportunity to take the leap and follow my own heart. I have decided that I don’t just want to be involved with theater but I want to write for theater. Now, I know that writing for Broadway or even getting into the right writing program is highly competitive and is a long shot. But when I can’t see myself doing anything else, I have to and I am giving it all I have. Because if you put forth enough effort you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. Just take it one step at a time even if it’s only a baby step, it all adds up.

All my life I have been proving people wrong. Apologizing for being where I am when I should have to and feeling bad because, well, the people around me are living their dreams while I am still chasing mine. So, when those folks tell me that I won’t be moving to New York and write for Broadway, it just gives me more determination than ever to achieve that goal and add them to the list of people who told me I couldn’t do it and then I did.