Nyc Ged

Q: I am a 17 year old actress hoping to go to New York next year to act... I have received a lot of advice that if I want to act, college is a waste of years and it won't make much difference to directors if I'm college educated or not... This may seem like a real horribly teenage-rebellion point of view, but the truth is that I'm suffering from depression and that it's extremely hard for me to function in school. I'm very intelligent and could take the GED with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. I'm seriously considering taking a medical leave from school, learning and working on my own time, and taking the GED as soon as I'm eligible so I can have an equivalency degree. High school is simply not for me right now. I need to know if I'm correct in my assumption that it probably won't make a hell of a lot of difference as long as I can sing, act, and dance. Opinions? Experience?

A:There's no denying that some school experiences really suck. 50% of high school was a waste for me. And has anybody ever found out what we need algebra for in the real world, if we're not scientists (or sadistic math teachers)? but college ... I think you're wrong to dismiss it. It's not about getting a degree. It's not about impressing your future employers with the sheepskin. It's about finally getting to teach yourself about what _you_ want to learn

about. When you live in NYC, the first priority is getting a job, paying the rent. And In NYC that's a big struggle. It doesn't leave much time to polish your craft and your skills. I knew a lot of young aspirants who ran to the city, and got so distracted by their money jobs that they lost the time to take acting and singing classes ... soon they got lazy about making it to auditions. When you hit NY, you'll be doing it with another 100 people who get off of the train each day It's a blow to the ego to show up at an open call with 300 other people. It really helps to have been a big fish in the small pond for a little while, and to build up your confidence.