Better to Give, than to Receive

Well, it's day six.  One of our last days in the city.  My experience here has been so incredibly rewarding on many levels.  The city has been so generous to us all.  We've gotten to meet, talk, and see so many people who are making it work out here.

For many of us, the Midwest is a place of comfort, just like any place we grow up.  When there's discomfort in anything we do, we tend to shy away and not be as active in making it more comfortable.  I believe this city operates in the same way.  "Making it big" or "getting a break" comes from hard work and dedication.  There is no substitute for hard work and persistence.  Another thing that I have learned and taken away is the value of relationships.

In this competitive industry, it's not always what you know, it's who you know.  Knowing the right people, making the right connections, and maintaining those relationships are sometimes what makes a person successful.  It's easier to burn bridges than to repair/build them.  I know that for many of us, we are anxious to leave the area of the country we have spent the vast majority of our lives so far.  It's easy to see it in people, but it's important, to me at least, to always remember where you've come from, who helped you along the way, and that anyone can help you in the future, regardless.

Sure meeting with composers, conductors, singers, actors/actresses, and dancers is important and crucial to understanding the crafts we want to pursue and explore.  Really, the internal transformations and realizations are what will and have made the trip memorable and for some of us, life changing.

Because we have all received so much from this city and its inhabitants, we are putting on a performance.  We knew we had always wanted to share our gifts with a city that has given so many gifts as well.  Venues kept falling through but we were finally able to land a location at a senior living home.  Even with busy schedules still on our last day, I know we are all excited to leave something with New York, because New York has left so much with us.

Andy