I remember in grade school having a group of friends and enjoying that sense of community, enjoying living in an imaginary world that wasn't just by yourself or your sibling but a whole group of people.
As much as I know people love the method and what you can draw out of yourself, a lot of acting is very imaginative.
Practicing is not only playing your instrument, either by yourself or rehearsing with others - it also includes imagining yourself practicing. Your brain forms the same neural connections and muscle memory whether you are imagining the task or actually doing it.
There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you're involved in, whether it's a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.
I have been portrayed by actors in three television documentaries, two plays, one musical and a film. It's no fun watching yourself being traduced and imitated by an actor.
To be a writer you have to be out in the world, you have to risk yourself in the world, you have to be immersed in the world, you have to go out looking for it. This becomes harder as you get older because there's less energy, the days are shorter for older people and it's not so easy to go out and immerse oneself in the world outside.
If you don't have to worry about socializing because you don't like it, you can more fully immerse yourself in climbing.
When you immerse yourself in a community, you tend to rise in that community.
My biggest bit of advice would be to spend some time actually helping caterers or Chefs, even if it has to be for free or as an intern of culinary externship. It helps immerse yourself in what you potentially want to do.
It took me a long time to know enough about writing to really write short stories. You can't just immerse yourself, as you do in a novel, and see where everything goes. Novels are a very flexible, accommodating form. Short stories aren't.
If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely alien to you and go traveling?
You have to immerse yourself into a product and use it in order to really understand it and that's why I have a new cellphone every month or two.
If a sanctuary city means that our police department does not enforce federal immigration laws, then we are one. But declaring yourself a 'sanctuary city' also signals to a lot of people that you are protecting hard-core criminals, which I don't, and I don't believe in.
You find yourself in the world, without any power, immovable as a rock, stupid, so to speak, as a log of wood.
Fire Yourself. Outsource some of your life. Because you know what won't be cute on a tombstone? 'Her grind was impeccable, and she did it all by herself.'
It's not about finding relevance or perfection or imperfection in objects, but it's that you can accept yourself and then go out and accept others.
Self-awareness is value-free. It isn't scary. It doesn't imply that you will subject yourself to needless pain.
Growing up, I felt like it was very dangerous to mess up in any way, both in front of men and in front of other girls. It was like you couldn't make mistakes. So having a female friend who's like, 'Get over yourself. You're driving me crazy!' - that's been one of my most important parts of becoming an adult.
I think one thing I've learned over the years is just that you're not going to ever please everyone, and the most important person to please is yourself.
No matter what your mission is, have some notion in your head. Forget the model, whether it's government or nonprofit or profit. Ask yourself the more important question: Is my mission improving the world? Are you sure about it? Seek to disconfirm that all the time. And if you can, change your mission.
