Retrospect Series: Chapter 1 – Unique

Of course, “doomed” is all a matter of perspective. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” as they say. When I engage in my creativity, I feel alive and free. As opposed to when I try to get a respectable job with a monotonous schedule; that’s when my wings are clipped and my soul is put into a cage, like a canary you keep in your kitchen. Except my passion is not a mild canary; it’s a vicious tiger. And the longer one keeps the tiger caged, the harder it will spring forth once the cage is opened.

This zealous range of emotion has always been with me. I recall tales of my infancy, when I would cry and scream so loudly my sisters swear my eyes glowed red; I also caused my mother to lose a bit of her hearing in one ear. Quite the devil child I could be! But there was a quiet, shy part of me as well. I did not attempt to walk until I knew I could, settling for crawling to get wherever a toddler needs to go. And I did not speak words until I could form small sentences. But I still managed to describe what I wanted – through sound effects. Cat was the obvious “meow”, the restroom was “Psss”. My parents were a bit worried I was special needs because of my unique antics (that and the fact that I was born with the cord around my neck).

But that wasn’t the case. I was simply just that – unique. I lived in a world of wonder and magic and I didn’t really ever see the real world until I could mentally handle it, like walking. Sure, I went to school and followed my mother as she shopped and did chores but my mind was always away, dreaming of larger things.

It helped that my best friend happened to be my sister, who is 6 ½ years my senior. She was old enough to know what could get us into trouble but young and carefree enough to play games. We moved around quite frequently due to my father’s career, so we stayed close as the faces and scenery changed around us. I never really minded; it was sad to say goodbye to friends for sure but a new location meant a new adventure! 

You may be wondering at this point what my young childhood had to do with my acting career. But in actuality, I credit my childhood for shaping everything I do as an adult. My childish creativity’s longevity led to my desire and passion to keep the wonderment in life flourishing. It was the vibrant imagination of my sister that taught me the possibilities were endless. Every lego I stacked, golf ball I herded, controller I held, shaped my acting style.