Tag Archive: Thoughts

1. Alone or Lonely – Is There a Difference?

   August 25, 2012 10:25 pm 6 Comments

   It finally dawned on me that I will be 40 years old in October. This realisation came about after someone asked if I envisage myself growing old alone, this made me reflect back on my life. After two marriages and divorces, I realised that relationships are not for me, why does this shock so many people? I am a capable woman, I am able to support myself and my three children, provide them with food, a roof and most importantly love, respect and acceptance, so why do I need a man?

   ‘Because you will be lonely once the children leave home’ came the reply. This made me think, so okay, I may be alone but would that mean that I had to be lonely? I have many online friends, this site and a houseful of books and DVD’s to keep me occupied. Hmmm, sad and alone then, but not necessarily lonely!

   I am going to attempt to combat some of these questions but please be aware that this is only my take on the subject, I am not saying that other opinions are not valid because of course they are but what I write here is just the way that I currently perceive this subject matter. I would love to hear your opinions on the subject too so feel free to write a comment or drop me a line at michelle@successcircuit.com if you want to discuss this subject matter. For now, I will continue with my thoughts.

   I then got to thinking that so many people who are surrounded with friends, family and colleagues appear sombre and sad. We often hear the expression of someone being lonely when surrounded by people and it makes me wonder what makes people lonely. Some people are more than happy to be alone without feeling lonely, whereas others are alone by no fault of their own yet no matter how hard they try to interact with others whether online or face to face, they are (or maybe just feel) ignored and invisible which in turn makes them feel lonely. (more…)

2. Heroes – What Defines a Hero?

   July 2, 2012 8:20 am 2 Comments

   Once again I have been inspired by the reflections of my Twitter friend Curt. He is often found reflecting his thoughts and they really make me think about the reality of situations even when he muses over fictional ideas.

   In this particular case, he reflects on what it is to be a ‘hero’ and why people relate so much to fictional heroes. I find myself thinking of all the children and adults that I have worked with over the years whom I see as heroes due to struggling with mental or physical issues but seem so happy with life and carefree. They do not see their issues as a struggle although they are often unable to cope with everyday life without a lot of support from others.

   We often think of fictional heroes as Batman, Spiderman etc when in fact every piece of fictional writing has a hero, whether it be Captain Nemo, Jack Sparrow, Romeo or Mr Darcey, hey! Even Tin Tin (Hmmm, why are the heroes nearly always male? I will save that thought for another time!). So back to Curt’s original question, why do we relate so much to heroes?  What defines them as heroes? (more…)

3. Peoples Misconceptions of Others

   June 28, 2012 8:37 am 4 Comments

   After talking to an online friend, I realised how different people’s ideas are. In relationship to an actor’s success there appears to be a misconception that once an actor has appeared on a popular television show that they have suddenly made it big and can find any role they desire.

   Personally speaking, after watching an actor on a show for over a year, I assume that they would be reasonably well off financially, quite secure in finding other roles and content that they can support themselves and their loved ones. Apparently I was wrong, although I am grateful that from what others have said I am not the only one with misconceptions of others. However, are our misconceptions about the actors themselves or about what it means to be famous? So what is fame? Is it being known by a few thousand people for being on a show or a film? Is it having walked down many a red carpet for film premieres and galas? Do you have to have a mansion and be known wherever you go in order to be seen as famous or are you famous if it is only people that watch you on the screen that recognise you? According to a dictionary definition, fame is ‘The condition of being known or talked about by many people, especially on account of notable achievements.’ So according to this, being on a show for over a year and having people know you and talk about you on places such as Twitter or Tumblr means that you are famous. I would love to hear the readers opinions on this!

   I would also love to know how actors view themselves? Being me, I just had to ask!

   ‘I think that there is definitely a misconception of what “fame” means. For example, seeing someone of TV and assuming what that may mean their life is like when in reality it’s quite like everyone else’s. Just trying to get by and balance that with pursuing what you love. I think people sometimes tend to assume it’s all red carpets and premieres when in reality it’s working side jobs and going to class and competing with thousands of others for one or two available jobs which, to me, is part of the process. It’s earned. But there’s definitely an idea that if you were ever on TV, you’ve basically “made it” which is not the case. There’s much work to be done before you get to a level of complete stability with your craft’. I assumed that having a solid role would help to get new ones but according to Curt  ‘it does help  but it doesn’t guarantee anything and most productions want big names to be attached to their projects so it’s about being persistent and patient enough to earn the trust to finally be given bigger opportunities. The thing with acting is that while you’re working, it’s great but then that job goes away, you have to fill in the gap until the next job or the same job comes back.’ Curt Mega

    Therefore, although I knew that actors still have to audition and I guess I was vaguely aware that many would still have other projects to work on, I guess that I did not fully understand that although I personally may be a huge fan and know many other people are their fans too but they would still have to hold down a normal day job even after appearing as a regular on a show or staring in a big film. So next time you are in Starbucks or Tesco, look around, you never know who may be working there!

   This discussion made me wonder what other misconceptions we may have of people, I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts, maybe even your own experiences of seeing differently to others.