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Artistic Philosophy, Background, and Goals
One of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had as a performer – one of the times in life I’ve felt most useful – was in the hospital room of a dying man, surrounded by his family, singing his favorite Gospel songs. I began singing and performing leading children’s roles in musical theatre as a very young child – initially because it was fun, interesting, and something I was good at (Annie was the first dream role I performed). While enjoyment is still a motivating factor, my passion for the work I do (and the way I try to live) stems more from a desire to influence people’s lives for the…
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A little philosophy, courtesy of “The School of Life”
I started reading L’étranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus after discussing a passage from it in my French course. Yesterday, this video on Camus popped up in my e-mail, from The School of Life’s YouTube channel, which I subscribe to and highly recommend. Favorite takeaway this morning: enjoying the magnificence of this life instead of pining for another one (i.e., heaven). That led me to Michel de Montaigne, “Camus’ favorite philosopher,” according to The School of Life. Though some of his ideas are not unfamiliar to me, I haven’t read any of his works (yet!), and I’m very intrigued by this introduction. Some ideas that resonated: authenticity – value and pursue what is useful/appeals to you; value your own mind; recognize…
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The Pursuit of: Intellectual Freedom
Throughout your upbringing and education, how many concepts were “truth,” and how many authority figures were “infallible”? I don’t know how to balance the need for children to have things they can count on – how to determine how much “grey” they can handle when they’re first developing – while instilling the idea that it is good essential to ask questions and to investigate ideas from various viewpoints before forming an opinion (we don’t even need to have an opinion on everything!). I fear that critical thinking is sorely lacking in (or even condemned by) many educational systems. We all have unique challenges to our growth and psychological development; some of my mine…
