Don't give up stories, they can save your life.

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On how fairy tales continue to guide me, even into adulthood.

Even today, in my venerable old age of 30, one of my favorite movies is "Spirited Away", from Myazaki. I could argue about the intrinsic quality of the work, but the real reason it is dear to me is has nothing to do with its obvious artistic qualities.

The first time I saw it (I was about 19), from the first frame, the atmosphere of this movie transported me right into my childhood dreams. And every time I watch it again, it never fails to reconnect me instantly to a primal part of myself, both serene and enthusiastic, generally stifled by "the realities of life".

When I was a kid, my favorite dreams might have been regarded by others as nightmares. But this notion was foreign to me (at the time, I had the ability to change dreams at will, and thus never found myself "trapped"), and I reveled in the strange and dangerous worlds and fabulous adventures that filled my nights.

Try a little tenderness - Crazy Town Post

What is this sorcery? Sometimes a good artist can also be a mean person.

When I was 19 years old, I learned the hard way that being a good artist did not automatically imply being a good person. As a first year music student, I became an assistant for one of my teachers, wonderful singer/performer and very dysfunctional human being. I escaped the very dysfunctional relationship that ensued after nine months, jolted awake by a family emergency.

Nearly ten years later, after very little contact, this person wrote me the meanest, low hitting things anyone has ever hurt me with, mean to the point where I refrained from reading that letter more than once, so afraid was I that I would never be able to forget it otherwise.

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The purpose of this blog

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*Edit* : While waiting for this blog to start in August, you can find me blogging at CrazyTown for the summer.

One year ago, I didn't imagine that, by August 2012, I would be living in New York, going to school on Broadway, fulfilling a 15 years old dream that I had never dared caress before. And all this at an age when, according to the common census, you're supposed to "settle down". No matter how big of a change this means, or how terrifying it can seem at times, I can honestly say that I have never been as excited about the future as I am now, nor as happy. Maybe I did it all backward, but I'd much rather have the hope I have now, rather than when I was 20 years old. I know it won't easily be crushed, because I come from a worst place. I take everything that happens from now on as an extra gift from life.

In August, I will start blogging here to document this change of venue, as well as life at Circle in the Square Theater School. When I was looking at schools on the internet, I had the worst time finding students thoughts on the different programs. Hopefully, my experience will help others making their own choice. So, if you're so enclined, check back in the summer for the beginning of this adventure!