MODELING & TALENT breakingintoshowbiz By Adam Hill To Each His Own It’s fine to emulate the celebrities that you admire, but the most important thing you can do is embrace your own unique qualities he famous American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham once said: “There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one you in all time, this ex- pression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valu- able it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” Graham died three years before her 100th birthday in 1991, but she shared with us this additional piece of wisdom: “Permit life to use you in an intense way.” She was choreographing a ballet, “The Eyes of the Goddess,” at the time of her death. Intense at 97. What impressed me the most about her quote is the idea that each one of us is capable of creating something special that no one else can. And if we fail to create, then our special uniqueness may never be known. T TO BE OR NOT TO BE! “To be or not to be, that is the question” is without doubt the most famous opening line to any soliloquy in the English lan- guage. There are many theories as to its meaning. Most believe it is Hamlet contemplating suicide; while others believe that he is considering murdering his uncle. There are those scholars who suspect Hamlet is pondering something quite different. This is how they might translate this famous quote: “To be who I really am or to live a life as something I’m not.” Hamlet’s speech continues, “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them.” Perhaps this translates as, “Am I a better person if I listen to others and suffer in silence denying what’s in my heart? Or do I speak my mind and be my true self?” No matter how you interpret this soliloquy, the end result is the 26 PAGEANTRY “TO BE, OR NOT TO BE”: In Hamlet’s soliloquy, he ponders whether life is worth living or not. He personally feels that it isn't, but says that the reason that many of us don't end our lives sooner is because our fear of the unknown—death—is stronger than our misery while alive. same. Hamlet is a young man who must take action if he is to live a happy life and the final decision must be his. DO YOUR OWN THING Every generation has its own music, clothes, hairstyles, etc. I suggest that along with whatever the current trends, you take into consideration that there is no one in the world like you. No one sounds like you, no one looks exactly like you. No one has your cre- ativity, no one has your imagination, and no one has your back- ground and history. Even identical twins have unique features, something that sets them apart from the person who shares their DNA. There are oth- ers similar to you, but there is not one person identical to you. This means your dreams as well. Although others might crave the same goals as you, your dreams are uniquely yours. I was around in the 1960s when it was popular to “do you own thing”. As a generation, these people separated themselves from past and future generations. As a generation, they were coura- geously unique. Although much good came out of their move- ment, it is my belief that too many people sacrificed their individual dreams for a collective dream. Not all, but many. There were those who, when the time was right, removed the cloak of sameness and moved on to achieve their personal dreams. Along with any collective dream there must be the individual’s dream. I liken the artist to instruments in an orchestra. Each instru- ment has its own sound. The trumpet and the violin are two very different instruments. But what the trumpet and the violin can do is play the same piece of music. The result will be each instrument