Remember in Thelma and Louise when they robbed a convenience store and Thelma told Louise something like, "I think I might have a knack for this shit."?That's sort of how I feel about this acting thing. It's funny.
What's not funny is that everything I'm fairly decent at is not anything you can make money at unless you're really, really, REALLY good. Like writing and cooking and gardening. And all of those things are wonderful and they make my life richer than dark chocolate truffles but once, just ONCE in my life, I'd like to earn some money.
I find myself wishing with all of my heart that I'd never gone to nursing school. Now don't get me wrong- I don't think those four years were wasted. I learned a lot of stuff in nursing school. Mainly (and this is sad) that I didn't want to be a nurse and that's the crux of the problem. My husband looks at what nurses make and he's all like, "Girl. What is stopping you?"
And I'm all like, "Uh, the smell of alcohol makes me want to puke, unless it comes in the form of a martini with a blue cheese olive in it?"
Really.
And then he's all like, "But you can do a lot of different things as a nurse," and I'm all like, "Yeah. There are so many fun, frolicking jobs in the nursing profession."
Maybe there are and I need to get off my ass and get one. Or at least one I can stand.
But I have to say that anyone who might be on the receiving end of my nursing skills at this point better have a will made up and notarized because I have no nursing skills. Listen- even putting a bandaid on a boo-boo is not my forte. I'm pretty good at kissing boo-boo's to make them better but I don't think that's standard medical practice.
And besides that, my youngest child, Ms. HoneyLuna, told me once several years ago that even when she was a wee thing she knew that my boo-boo kisses didn't have any healing powers at all but she, being a compassionate and understanding human being, knew I was doing my best and so she'd just allowed me to kiss her boo-boos, even if it didn't help her. She knew it helped me. She's always been so wise.
So what am I saying here? I'm saying if you're young and you're wondering which career path to take in this economy (or any other, to be honest), do your best to consider whether that career is something you can fathom doing for a long, long time. If you dislike being around the sick and the injured, perhaps nursing is not your field, even if it's a safe bet as to a good salary with benefits. Same is true for being a lawyer or a doctor or an actuary. Try to find something that makes your heart leap, just a little bit at least, or at the VERY least, you're slightly interested in.
I'm quite aware that going to work is not a joy for most people. Nor was it meant to be. I suppose. Who knows what work is meant to be besides the earning of your bread? But I don't think that the thought of getting up every day and doing it should make you have to run to the bathroom with various intestinal emergencies.
And maybe, just maybe, you should consider what your talents are and where your joy lies and see if somehow, through education and great effort, you can make those talents work for you while you work to make a living.
As an example, I will offer up this image:
If you look like that and have even the slightest knack for acting, get your ass to Hollywood and go for it.
That's Ms. Moon's advice for the week.
And listen- I'm giving this shit away for FREE!
It's your lucky day.
