Confessions of a Drama Student

I have always loved the idea of acting.

Even as a small child, I recall having this overwhelming desire to act; being on stage, to me, meant everything;  But I also had it drummed into me that acting, as a career, just wasn't an option.  It isn't a safe, secure career, unlike office or shop work, so on leaving school I decided that I wanted to join the police.

That didn't work out.

I then worked in an opticians as an ophthalmic assistant for three and a half years, but left for a job working in a council contact centre. I stayed there for almost five years, but throughout this time, I never felt satisfied.  I felt like I was constantly searching for something, but could never put my finger on what that was.  To try and find out exactly what that was, I studied law for a while and creative writing; I joined various groups for art and sports, but none of them were satisfying me.  The creative studies and groups were piquing my interest, but none felt like they were really me.  The only time I truly felt like I could be me, was when I was playing someone else.  Ironic isn't it?

I joined a few local theatre groups and participated in amateur dramatics and it really was great - but it still didn't quench my thirst and passion for acting professionally.  You see, I was trying to juggle acting with "real work", as a hobby, so the people I was performing with, my friends, my family and my employers, weren't taking it seriously and, to an extent, neither was I.  I was quickly becoming frustrated with my life, feeling like I had no goals or opportunities on my horizon.

Then, in November 2014, my new journey began, a direction I had never thought my life would go in.  My four and a half year job at the council contact centre came to an abrupt end; I no longer had that security, the reason I'd always had drummed into me as being so vitally important.  I found myself at a complete loss as to what I wanted to do with my life.

The first thing I turned to was my education; I had no formal training or qualifications, so the world felt like my oyster.  I decided to go college and the first course I looked at was acting. Unfortunately, I had left it too late to join that course, it had already started and the waiting list for it was colossal!

I also still had this feeling of uncertainty about acting professionally; limiting beliefs told me it was still too uncertain a business to get into and that I might just not be good enough for it. So... I took a much safer option.

I studied events management, marketing and PR to gain an HNC qualification, but it was during this study that I hit my 'hallelujah' moment.  You see, as part of my course I had to do a week's work experience placement. I chose my first love of theatre.  I assisted at the NYT Connections Festival and it was whilst watching all these young actors performing, that I realised just how much I missed it.

Travelling home, with thoughts of going back to work that I hated, a job where I was constantly fulfilling someone else's aspirations, earning a fraction of what they were and constantly feeling as if I was barely surviving, merely existing.  I had to get out...I found myself blurting out loud, "I can't do this any more!", I just had to find away to become a professional actress.

As soon as I got home, the first thing I did was fill out an application form for the acting and performance course at Inverness College UHI.  It felt like such a relief to have finally submitted that application, but the wait was a killer!  I wanted to get on the course so badly and feared I may have missed my chance, but several weeks later the letter arrived, inviting me to an audition.

I was on cloud 9!

It really was the best thing that I ever did for myself and now that I have almost completed my first year, I can feel a vast improvement in my acting ability and my knowledge of acting. My happiness levels are through the roof, because I am no longer denying myself what I want and who I really am.  There are still some days when I worry, "have I made the right decision?", "what if I don't make it?", it's only natural; but we really must fight back these limiting beliefs in order to fulfill and enjoy our true potential.

I took a chance when I applied for my course, but I'm so glad that I did.  I'm out of something that I didn't particularly enjoy and I am now doing something that I love.  Being a drama student is tough and it isn't just about showing up to class, reading a few lines and then going back home - as some people believe.  It's about commitment and having the right mindset to tackle it.

My top advice to drama students is to start reading scripts and practice your sight-reading early.  You would be surprised at how many people don't do this.  Practice all of the exercises that you are given on a regular, if not daily, basis and take time out of your day to people watch.

People-watching has been one of the best tools that I've been given as a student. It doesn't cost you a penny to do, but you can learn so much about other people's actions and emotions through doing it.

Above all though, the most important piece of advice I can give to you, is to follow your heart, get out of anything you don't want to be in and chase your dreams.  Do not let other people's negativity and misconceptions get in the way of what you really want!  It's your life and you will only be on this planet for a short time, so enjoy it whilst you can, live to your full potential, take risks and learn from every mistake you make.

I'll leave you with one pearl of wisdom that a friend gave to me, something that constantly comes to the front of my mind.  Thomas Edison created the light bulb, but it took him over one thousand attempts to do so.  When he was asked during the process why he didn't just accept his failure and give up, he told the person that he had not failed, for now he knew one thousand ways in which a light bulb will not work......

All about me

So I've seen many people with blogs in this modern world in which we live; some of these people are celebs, wanting to share parts of their daily lives, other blogs belong to ordinary people, like me, who just want to share things on their mind, their experiences or their beliefs.  However, until now I never thought I had anything worth sharing, never believing that I did enough in my day to day living worth talking about; but I've been persuaded to give it a shot.  So here goes...

Well maybe I should start by introducing myself?  My name is Kym, but you can call me Skittles.  I'm twenty-three, going on twelve most of the time, and live in the Highlands of Scotland.

It's an amazing place to live with the most gorgeous and dramatic views in Britain.  We've got so many spectacular animals and they all live right at my doorstep.  When I walk out of my front door in the morning, I walk straight out into countryside, next to fields and rolling hills.  One of the great things about where I live is the fact I'm on the outskirts of a village, meaning I'm close enough to people and to wee shops, but behind my house is absolutely nothing.  There's a river, trees, hills and animals, but that's literally it.  The nearest town to me is twelve miles away.

My drive to work isn't filled with traffic, streets and people everywhere, instead it's a twelve mile drive surrounded by fields, woods and a country road that I'm convinced was build by a drunk man.  It's so twisty with it's sharp bends and it's wild track, so bumpy and unkempt that you have to add a few extra swerves to miss the deep holes.

My place of work is based on an industrial estate, but it's not like most I've ever seen.  Our version of an industrial estate is to have a few call centres and offices, and by few I mean four, and a small fish factory.  There are also a couple of childrens' nurseries so that the mums and dads close by have somewhere to place their children whilst they work.  But once again my work place is surrounded by fields, one of which has cows in which provides much hilarity in an average mundane day.

Unlike the cities and bigger towns, the areas in which I live and work do not have the same mentality.  Here everyone knows everyone else, no one is rushing to get somewhere, you can't vanish into a crowd and be forgotten here.  On a simple five minute journey it can take half an hour, because everyone wants to stop and talk to you, find out how you are.

There's also still some old fashioned customs that have been going on since before the war, something many people rely on as part of their daily routine.  We have a little man who comes over in a white van every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; he's known as the fish man since he sells fresh fish from his van, along with local eggs and bread.  He's been doing this job for decades, as did his father and his father before him, the only difference now is the fact that he uses a van instead of a horse and cart.

Our little village thrives with tourists who come to visit us on an annual basis, who come to enjoy our traditions and sights.  Every Thursday night during the summer they join the locals in the village square to enjoy the traditional Highland dancing, musicians and our Pipe band who wear their own, custom made, tartan and traditional dress.

When people ask me where it is I live I tell them that I'm at the top of Scotland, almost as far up as you can go without actually dropping off the edge, but even then you still have over a hundred miles to travel before you could do that.  So if you ever get the opportunity to visit you should and enjoy our sights and experiences, our traditions and our way of life; and if you do, don't forget to stop and say hi, after all, we don't bite...but the midges might.