Almost a year after reaching my 100 follower goal, I just got the notification that I hit 200!  Neato, team!  I love to think that a community has gathered over the past five years to share in my mental wanderings through the ups and downs of pursuing this wacky career.

Blogging has taught me something way more valuable over the years though.  I meet many actors and writers alike, including myself, who say that they want to pursue this career to affect people–to challenge their thinking, to touch them emotionally, to support them through a life change.  When I was 13, I was in a show at The Growing Stage, an incredible theatre for young audiences in North Jersey.  The show was about an orphan searching for a place to feel at home without a family.  It was one of the most beautifully written shows I’ve ever been a part of.  After one of the performances, an older woman approached me, probably in her 80s, and said that she grew up as an orphan in a similar time and part of the country and really appreciated the show and how it made her feel less alone.  This has never left me, and I use it as an example of why I stay in theatre each time I get disheartened.

But the difference between then and now is that I was a kid with my parent’s support to find acting opportunities, not to mention the logistical and financial support to allow me to do so.  In adulthood as artists, we can feel lost–both with the feeling that there are endless opportunities to wade through and none at all at the same time.  Blogging has taught me that your audience only truly grows when you reach out to other artists and support their work.  When you actively seek out writing, art, or performances that speak to you, you are developing yourself as an artist and reaching people who are equally reaching out to the world.

So in short, if you wish to reach people, keep reaching out.  Go to someone’s show, write a supportive email, follow people on twitter, WordPress, Facebook, ask someone’s advice, give someone advice (if it’s welcome), and above all, show up.  Ten dollars to a person’s kickstarter or a like of a Facebook page opens a door of connection to allow both people to continue creating and sharing with the world.

Thank you to everyone who has sent supportive words my way in the past several years.  Please send blogs/shows/other awesome things my way.  We should just keep creating a community of sharing, that’s why we’re all in this any, right?