...cheesy with a hint of wisdom

Ever seen the film Postgrad? No? Well, good. Don’t. Let me help you avoid the pain of watching this film by providing a short summary of it. Small Town Girl has Small Town Guy-Best-Friend who is madly in love with her and (surprise, surprise) the feelings ain’t mutual. They graduate. She goes off to make it in the big, wide world, pulls a Hottie in the process, then realises all she actually wanted was the Small Town Guy-Best-Friend all along.

Of course, don’t we all?

Anyway, as with all successful, American, cheese-fests this one came with its singular moment of intense, self-reflection (provided, of course, by the deep and meaningful musings of the Hottie). In the film they dragged this moment out but I’ll keep it short. Basically it went like this: it’s not what you do so much as who you do it with.

Now, it was not my intention to cheapen this piece of advice to a meagre sexual innuendo, and of course, in the film, they put it so much more eloquently than I ever will (mainly because I don’t really give a sh*t, not because I am any less eloquent than the cheese-barrens who wrote the film) but basically what they are trying to express is that it is the people you spend your life with that should matter, not the things you spend your life doing.

As my graduation fast approaches and the panic about “the future” sets in, the question on my lips is, ‘WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!’ This is a fair enough question. I believe the majority of us like to be safe in the knowledge that we won’t be signing-on in the next 3-4 months. However, this question has begun to haunt my every move and I end up thinking of nothing else. But, why is this? Why has society put such huge pressure on us, as students, to enter the world of work and responsibility the very moment we graduate, so much so that we lose track of everything else important to us?

I do not have the answer to this question (I know you were all hoping I would), although it probably has something to do with the archaic views of our Grandparent’s generation that still infiltrate society today. The phrases, ‘in the old days/when I was a lad/things have changed’ should be forbidden under the ‘No-one Cares’ Act of 2011 - it’s about time they all threw the towel in anyway, isn’t it*? Regardless of the reason that we are put under so much pressure, the fact of the matter is that this pressure clouds our vision and forces us to lose sight of something potentially more important.

And now here is my chance to get a singular moment of intense, self-reflection in.

The question we should all be asking is not ‘what’ but ‘who’. Who do I love and care about? Who do I want by my side for the good times and the bad times? Who will always be there to support me? Who will help steer me in the right direction?

What we all end up doing is a pressing matter, however, I feel that the Hottie had a point when he explained that what you do becomes less meaningful if you don’t have the right people around you when you are doing it. So, the moral of this story is (yes there is a moral), fret not about what you need to be doing in 3 months time but focus on the people you still want to have around in 3 years time. Don’t sacrifice your goals for others but take into consideration what and WHO makes you happy, and things should seem a lot rosier all round.

If, like me, graduation is imminent, I urge you to treasure the last few weeks with your close friends, spend time with those you may not see as often, and keep in mind that whilst you may not have a job, and you may feel a bit lost, there will always be people to pick you up and brush you off, ready for whatever comes along next.

Wow. The Hottie would be proud of me (if no-one else).

*I do not mean to cause offense to anyone with living grandparents. I commend them for staying with us for so long. Just so long as they never utter the phrase ‘kids these days’. Then there will be trouble.

...as wise as this man: A Note for The Day

...Best Supporting Actress

It's that time of year again - award season. All of the best films of the past year get honoured and celebrated, and all of the best actors and actresses get applauded and appreciated. And what do we do - us mere mortals? Many of us pay no attention to these award ceremonies, some sit and admire but don't really care, others - and I can include myself in this final category - watch the actors, and silently pray that some day it will be them accepting the award.

'And the award for best actress goes to...(pause for effect)...GEORGIA ROBSON!'

How wonderfully fantastical that sounds.

Although, perhaps, I am one step closer to this fantasy coming true since this month I was offered a place at a London drama school. It still feels like a bit of a miracle, I shed a tear on the phone to mum when I told her the good news. It really is a wonder to me every time I think about it - I have done the rounds of auditions twice before and been highly unsuccessful. With more auditions to come in the next few weeks, I can only hope that my success so far hasn't been a fortunate stroke of serendipity, and that I have, actually, developed a modicum of talent and experience in the years since my first attempts which will see me through the rest.

Drama Schools have always functioned as gateways to the world of agents and casting directors, and whilst the training you get there doesn't necessarily propel you straight into the next Coen Brothers film, it does offer you the best opportunities to get you started in the ruthless and over subscribed world of acting.

Unless of course you are the son/daughter/cousin/godchild/friend/lover/pet of someone already established in the acting world; then you need not worry, the next Coen film may well be waiting on your doorstep. Lucky bastard.

The way in which you get into the business becomes irrelevant when you are up on that stage, gong in hand, with a million thank yous to get through and a huge audience beaming up at you - so impressed and proud of your work. I can imagine that a lot of things become irrelevant at this moment actually - there is no need to worry about the caliber of your last role; no need to fret over the critics reaction to that tv series you did; no need to panic about the next move, because someone, somewhere is probably already on the phone to your agent, booking you for their next big blockbuster.

You can be assured at this point that it wasn't just a fortunate stroke of serendipity but a huge dollop of talent and experience you got landed with, and that you really have succeeded. I would give my right arm for that. Maybe I'll get the chance to some day if Danny Boyle has anything to do with it.

...new in the New Year

It is the new year, and I am finally writing again. It has been a while but as you may have read I suffered for a short time from that horrid affliction they call writer's block. So I took a break, I relaxed, I spent quality time at home...then I flew to South Africa and spent two weeks in the sun!!!

It was amazing, and yet slightly odd at the same time - my body was sure it was winter (the 2 week period at the start of the holidays when I began storing food for hibernation may have had something to do with that) and yet there I was, in my bikini, sunbathing in 40 degree heat. Like I said, odd.

I was over there for New Year's eve, and spent the night in ridiculously cool surroundings, looking out over a pretty spectacular view of Cape Town. It was one of those nights that makes you feel happy to be alive and a bit sentimental, and I decided right there and then that 2011 would be no ordinary year for me. It was to be the year I would do what I wanted, when I wanted; I would make things happen for myself, and in return good things would come my way. Whilst I cannot take the praise for this phrase, 'just wing it' was adopted as my new mantra. In a year which will no doubt be a rocky one, with the end of university and the start of something very much unknown in sight, this phrase seems the perfect antidote to all of those worries and apprehensions bumbling around my brain.

Just wing it; essentially, don't think it over, just do it - go for it, engage, live it, be brave. Some may say it's radical (not many will), I will say it's necessary if I am going to survive this year. However, this mantra is not just about making it through the more challenging times ahead but also about being able to appreciate the here and now - the home stretch, here in the safety net that is university. I want to be able to look back on this final chapter without a single regret or doubt obstructing my view.

As long as I endeavor to do the things that make me happy and content, this will be the case. Don't most people always do the things that make them happy and content, you ask? Well, yes, but most people are not me...I have a tendency to do things because others think I should; because I can't say 'no' to people very easily; because I hate to feel like I've let someone down; because my ego likes a good boost from time to time and if someone wants me to choreograph a dance piece for them because they have noticed I am quite good at that then that's quite nice really, isn't it? So I do the dance piece and it is fine, but it's not something I particularly wanted my tuesday and friday nights to be taken up by. This term there will be none of that; there will be no dance pieces founded in obligation or flattery - there will just be activities chosen by me, for me, and that is that.

Since coming home from SA I have felt unusually high-spirited; I am content and happy with life for the most part. Maybe it is the effect of the African sun; the excitement of being tanned amongst a sea of pale Britons? Or is it perhaps my new mantra? I have been busy since being back on home soil, as is the norm, but busy doing things I actually want to do, not things I feel I should be doing for someone else's sake (or for the sake of my C.V.) and it is this, I believe, that has brought this eternal sunshine into my life.

This may be the year I actually stick to my new year's resolution - I think I shall be 'winging it' for a while longer yet.