In Hollywood, the only thing that’s free is advice. I have received more life advice on this trip than I have at my entire time at Colorado College. What turns out to be costly is time. A lot of people we have had the pleasure of meeting are extremely busy, and the biggest sacrifice they make for us is their time. As students trying to understand the world of Hollywood, we are given a special kind of access in a space where donated time meets good advice. Because many of the people we are meeting are alumni of Colorado College, we also have the advantage of an established trust and understanding. You know you are in a unique position when you can bond with an agent about living in the same hall in Slocum or share the story of your favorite block break with a TV producer you just met. We all share a common love for CC that transcends age and success.
Last week our clan of 10 was fortunate enough to find ourselves in a room full of time, advice and CC pride. This past Thursday, we stepped out of the van clad in our dress-to-impress best. We walked through the elegant doorway of the Paley Center for Media, grabbed an official name tag and entered a party full of Colorado College Alumni, all of whom are currently working and living in Hollywood. The crowd ranged from the most successful CC alums to former students who had taken “On Location: Hollywood” and decided to try out Los Angeles for themselves. The keynote speaker was Neal Baer (MD), a pediatrician and TV writer with an impressive and eclectic resume that floored me. Again we were given a unique access to advice, and as Baer spoke about the way his interest in writing and interest in medicine grew and evolved, I thought about the emerging themes in the advice we had been given over the past few weeks.
What I realized is that the best advice we received was vulnerable. The advice that stuck with me most came from people who didn’t shy away from doubt or failure, but in fact embraced those moments as valuable learning experiences. I also was struck with how many people pressed the point “pursue what makes you happy.” This advice may seem obvious, but I think it is something that is easy to forget in the environment of Los Angeles.
Lastly, I found that good advice sometimes comes in the form of a story. At its best, Los Angeles is a land of storytellers. The storytellers we have encountered shared with us their assorted paths from their time as a Colorado College student all the way to where they are now. We heard stories of cars breaking down, auditions and projects bombed, and embarrassing and hilarious side jobs. No speed bumps and uncertainties were omitted, and no false narrative of consecutive success was painted. There is no one right way to get into doing what you love. There is no one right way to be successful. There is no way to know what kind of person you’ll end up being. And after hearing all this advice, these truths are far less scary than they used to seem. I am more inclined to trust the process.
Today in our meeting with prolific voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, he shared his own story about being a fresh CC graduate, and finished it all by saying “you don’t know who you are yet.” Even CC alums who had only been in Los Angeles a few years were clear on this point — you cannot anticipate how things will turn out even a year from now, but what you can do is pursue what makes you happy. Below I share with you a photo of a group of young people, dressed to impress, who don’t know who they are yet. And not only is that okay, it’s pretty damn exciting.
