the unexpected part of this blog has been the emergence of the possibility of this whole thing being a hobby.
i know it’s not …….. it has been my full time occupation. however i have expereinced evidence that others might view what i do as a hobby.
of late i’ve realised it’s been a long long time since i considered i had a hobby. in fact i have to go back to when i was lower sixth student. for my formative teenage years the family pride was in my aspiration to become a teacher. i’m not sure where my aspiration began and i knew that i didn’t fully believe it.
in my school career there was evience of the as yet to be recognised dyslexia.
outside of school i found solace and friendship from further exploring the theatrical experiences i’d had at school. a new theatre opened where i grew up and soon they started a youth theatre. with some friends from school i joined up.
the exact timing of what happens next eludes me. the youth theatre told us of the national youth theatre (nyt). it seemed something exciting and something i could possibly do. i was after all quite competitive at school, playing and representing the school at football, rugby, atheltics and volley ball.
at the same time of the news of the nyt at school was the time to make higher education choices.
it wasn’t until very recently that i saw i was good at art up to when i had to make my choices at school … i don’t think i’ll ever fully understand why i didn’t take art further than year 3.
i do however have a memory of sitting with the school career adviser discussing post school choices. the details of the conversation are faded but the overall outcome still sits with me. i sat and persuaded him to let me apply for something other than teaching on the basis of my application to the nyt being succesful. i was taking a huge gamble on turning my hobby into something more.
when i applied to university as a teenager there were very few opportunities to do the sort of thing i wanted to do. i got a place at goldsmiths college in london. it was conditional. i never met those conditions. everyone was surprised i didn’t reach my potential.
i was in london when the a level results came out. i took the day off from my nyt duties and took the tube to the goldsmiths. without any sucess i pleaded with the college for a place.
during 2014 i found my offer papers from goldsmith. it was good to see them again as i had no recollection of what degree i’d applied for. the paper informed me it was sociology and communication studies.
i’ve gone through the wondering about what my life’s path might have been like if i was accepted into goldsmiths college, who i might have met, what i might have done.
but … my dsylexia was unrecognised … my path was ill informed.
instead of goldsmiths i took turning my hobby into a career further …. i took a year off and applied to several drama colleges. i was accepted by lamda to their stage management and techincal theatre course.
i did indeed turn my hobby into a career.
so what if my art practice is a hobby ? it might be easier as i’ll be more able to do what i want.
and …
i have previous experience of making a hobby into a career….
and …
this was aided and abeted by the help of others….
umm.
something i can address in 2015 …… my connection with others who can aid, and abet me.
