Achieve your dreams by just getting started. For Lauren it was starting something completely new that allowed her to achieve her dreams. It may not always be what you thought it would be, but you can achieve so much more than you ever thought you would in no time at all.
By Lauren Delaney
“Just know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture”….Spencer Tracey
This was the quote that I chose for my high school year book. I had a dream of becoming a professional actress my whole life ever since I got my first taste of musical theatre with the movie Annie.
This was my all-time favorite movie growing up, and I would wear out my parent’s VCR by constantly rewinding and replaying that movie. I knew the songs, the lines and even sported the infamous red dress and curls for Halloween a few years running.
I was enchanted, obsessed and somehow saw dressing up as a vehicle to a better world. This was an ironic quote for me to choose at the time, because I had not really done much acting yet. I was told by my acting teacher that I had promise, but wasn’t part of the high school theatre clique, so I did not land any roles in the seasonal plays.
I managed to achieve…
I do not really have all that many memories of high school since I really floated around the periphery with few friends, no boyfriends and no sports or the like to keep me within those dreaded high school halls longer than I needed to be. I managed to achieve excellent grades and waited in hope that my college experience would be better than my high school one.
My college experience was better…eventually. I chose to live at home and commute to a local private college so it was tough to find my place there and make connections on campus. I did eventually, but I was also living out my dream of being active in theatre. I was staring in numerous plays and helped to start a student run theatre group. I was doing everything from organizing props and costumes to trying my hand at directing…in short, I loved it.
When I graduated, I planned to work full time, but pursue my passion for acting on the side. As we all know, it is probably one of the hardest and poorest paying professions….unless you are one of the chosen few. I struggled to keep this up for quite a while, but alas I was not making any real money even though I was technically “working” all the time in theatre and small bit parts in local films.
As my day job started to become more demanding, it was simply too tough to keep up two careers any more. So my dreams started to fall by the way side little by little. I would take an occasional class or think of auditioning for a play, but something always seemed to stand in the way. I would worry I might have to travel for work or have a project come up that would take priority, and I wouldn’t be able to leave work on time. While I was grateful for my job, I felt that I was always missing that creative outlet that acting provided to me.
About two and half years ago, I was in a horrible car accident that ended up changing my life. After being hit by a tractor trailer during black ice right before Christmas, I was left with terrible back pain. I was being treated by a chiropractor who encouraged me to start working out. By encouraging, I mean that he told me that I would never feel any better unless I started to use weights and get stronger. I was a total novice at the gym, and perhaps a total cliché that I ended up dating my personal trainer, but that’s what happened. I ended up discovering a love of working out which was an absolute surprise to me. It also led to a passion in learning more about nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle.
Achieve with writing
It honestly never occurred to me, but my boyfriend (the trainer of course) encouraged me for months to start writing a blog. I would argue that I didn’t have the time or the background. Who would be interested in what I had to say? At the same time I had started following a lot of healthy living blogs and reading articles, and it started to occur to me that maybe he could be right. I actually loved reading about real people, and their experiments in the kitchen on the weekend or what they would pack in their lunches to take to work. I could relate to how challenging it was to find time to work out while traveling for work or on a vacation. It was refreshing to read articles about real people, and how they managed to balance healthy living in a world that supports fast food and cancelling gym memberships.
Little by little, I started writing future articles for a blog and saving them to my computer. I was not really sure what my next move was, but I was simply enjoying the writing process. I was crafting articles that I wanted to write and that I too would enjoy as a reader.
There was no pressure and I found a little bit of that escape that I used to appreciate about acting. So about two weekends ago I took the plunge and started a blog. I decided it was time to just dive in and figure it all out later. I chose JustBeYourBestSelf.com as the name because that was truly what I wanted to encourage others to do.
For anyone who has ever done this it was so much harder than I even imagined it to be! It was beyond frustrating as I tackled dealing with WordPress, URL redirects and placing countless calls to customer support at Go Daddy. I worried whether I was doing something worthwhile or just wasting time and money. I had no clue what I was doing! I am not naturally technically savvy so it was all making my head spin.
It all worked out OK in the end as I managed to get it launched that weekend. I figured out scheduled posts and labels. I am now researching how to utilize social media marketing through Facebook and Twitter. It’s coming together slowly but surely and all with a little help from Blogging for Dummies which I ordered through Amazon.
I was incredibly proud of myself that I managed to accomplish such a feat. It’s always so tough to learn something new…as the saying goes, change is simply uncomfortable.
Whether or not the blog is successful I am still glad I did it. Why? I proved to myself that I could. I did it on my own and used all the resourcefulness I had to make it come to life. More than that, I am thankful to be creating something fresh that is entirely mine. Is there a change you want to see or a challenge you want to take on? I say do it…just go for it, and the rest will begin to fall into place.
Laura answers the Identity 5:
What have you accepted in your life that took time, physically or mentally?
Patience – and I am still working on it!
What do you appreciate about yourself and within your life?
Accepting that not being perfect is okay.
What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? What goals do you still have?
A successful career in marketing. I would love to own my own company eventually.
What is your not-so-perfect way? What imperfections and quirks create your Identity?
I tend to be obsessive and a perfectionist, but I’ve learned to let things unfold a little more as I’m getting older.
How would you complete the phrase “I Love My…?”
I love my determination and resourcefulness. It’s come to my rescue many times!
Lauren Delaney is in her early 30s and lives in New Jersey. She works as a Marketing Manager and recently started her blog justbeyourbestself.com designed to help women improve their lives by sharing her love of fitness and healthy eating. It all comes down to making positive choices today and every day.
All of Identity’s October articles will be representing the Charity, Sole Ryeders. Sole Ryeders will be raising money for a fund to supply Breast BFFL Bags to the under-served in White Plains, NY at White Plains Hospital. Tax Deductible donations can be made directly to the hospital or Sole Ryeders. Please feel free to make a donation below.
