I suppose we all have that thing that we’d like to do if money weren’t an object and we knew the right people–be a professional roller coaster tester, get paid for playing sports, anything else that normal people pay to do recreationally. My secret ambition is acting. If I could drop everything and head off to some mystical land where I might be able to act successfully and not throw my future away, I’d do it in a second. Now, by acting I mean films or television, not Broadway. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do the theatre acting thing because I can’t sing a lick and I just don’t think I’d enjoy it. Anyway, I feel comfortable pretending to be someone else and when I’m making up monologues and characters (when all my roommates are gone and I’m feeling particularly expressive) I’m right at home.

I often watch a film and leave it thinking, “I could do that. I could pull off that role.”, but then I realize that I’ve never done any acting, never taken any acting classes and, more importantly, don’t know anyone who is already an established actor or even has connections with the “acting community”. That’s where vicarious living comes into our existence as Americans. I may not ever have an opportunity to act myself, but I see successful actors all the time and, for two-hour segments, I can pretend I’m them. I can be that prodigy with world-changing potential, or that guy who finds his niche and changes peoples’ perspectives and helps them tap into their potential. I guess that’s why it’s my secret ambition, though. That’s why it’s so intriguing to me–I may never have the opportunity to explore my acting potential, but through my affinity for cinema, I can see those who are succeeding with acting and think “Yeah, I could do that.”

Here’s to wishful thinking…