How I got into acting

I started to write this post with the intention of starting to talk about when I started acting in middle school but I realized that it actually started prior to that.  I think we are all actors as children, playing make believe and what not, so I'm not going to start there.  I believe it started in fifth grade for me.  I don't remember if I did it for an assignment or if it was just for fun but I wrote my first play in the 5th grade.  It was based on a dream I had had but also a bit on true life. 

The play was called "The Day the Unicorns Came" and it was about a little girl who lived in the country (even though I lived in a beach town, the country seemed to make sense for the story) and was sad and lonely most of the time.  Her family was always upset or sad about something and despite her efforts to bring happiness to her family, home life was a little depressing.  The farm was struggling and the family was broke.  One day this little girl spots a beautiful white horse in the field and upon approaching it she notices the horse has a horn, but she is the only one that can see it.  I don't remember all the details of the story but in the end the unicorn saved the family.   It helped the fields grow and it helped the family become more of a family and the girl wasn't lonely anymore.  Of course the unicorn couldn't stay because it was only there to bring happiness to the family so the little girl had to say goodbye but she was much happier now.

My childhood was tense most of the time.  There was always tension in the house, someone was always mad at someone else and you could cut through the tension with a knife if someone didn't bite your hand off first.   I didn't like drama.  I hated the fighting.  I dreamed of a loving and kind family all the time but that was a pipe dream.  And I had had a dream that a unicorn came and made my life happy and brought my family closer together so that's where I got the idea for the play.

So in fifth grade, for whatever reason, I wrote this play and casted it with fellow classmates and we rehearsed and then performed it in front of the class. 

I had almost forgotten about that until this morning.  I think that is where my acting career truly started.  :)