Writer's Block: Nothing ventured, nothing gained

[mazz0626]

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Being too silly, impatient and full of unfounded faith in myself to do my A-levels. I genuinely believed, at the age of 16, that I would get into Laine Theatre Arts, they would starve me down to a decent size 8, I would graduate at 18 and be a darling of the West End by 21.

Yeah. Well, we live and learn. I should have done what everyone told me to do - stay at school and get A-levels in English, Maths and Music, gone to a good university(my deputy head once told me I was Oxbridge material - good god, why did I ignore her???) and THEN, once I had a degree, pursued the stage, enrolling at a musical theatre college at 21.

I gained nothing anyone would respect by the path I took(one and a half BTECs and an HND), and only got into Stella Mann at 21 anyway. If I could go back to 17...

Comments

[writerwench.livejournal.com]

Ach. Youth. Wasted on the young! Yes, I have regrets too... but remember, you were convinced that staying on at school was impossible, because you believed the most important teacher for your subjects hated you? Your convictions were unshakeable.

But, had you gone to university, you might well have then felt Obliged to follow an academic or business-career path, as that is what you'd have been steered towards. You would have agonised over 'wasting' your three years obtaining a university degree, by then applying to performing arts colleges country-wide.

You are STILL Oxbridge material, my darling girl. Your educational life thus far has taken an unconventional route, but you do have a VERY useful BTEC-and-a-half and an HND, and you are perfectly at liberty to do A-levels or just go straight to university as a full-time mature student. Or enrol with the Open University and get a degree that way. It can be done. You Have Permission!