DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, DO THIS

I stared at my computer screen trying desperately to find the correct format for my screenplay. When I clicked on the second page of my Google search, I realized it was serious. I couldn’t believe it! It was a simple question, and one that I knew the answer to in grade 10 but couldn’t remember now. I double checked what I had typed into the search bar to make sure it was the right question.There was no answer to my question. Instead of answers, I found links to people’s opinions on why I should not, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, do what I wanted with my screenplay. Despite the unhelpful opinions, I decided to read the articles anyway hoping they would somehow provide the format I was looking for, but instead, I read over and over people’s opinions on why my idea was the worst thing I could ever use for my screenplay. Then I read this:

“The only time this has been successful is for the few movies like Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, etc.”

I read the list in disbelief. These people were literally saying, “Don’t do this. It never works...except for some of the most successful movies of all time. It worked for them, but it’s probably not going to work for you, so don’t even try.” Instead of feeling defeated, I closed Google, opened my screenplay and figured out the format myself. I was not going to let a couple of strangers’ fears that I would make a mistake keep me from using my idea.

 As a kid, no one can tell you that you’re not creative. You believe it with every ounce of your little body. You graffiti everything from the walls to tables to the paper you were originally supposed to draw on. Yet, somewhere along the line, we let people’s opinions shape what our creativity looks like.

The people that wrote the screenplays for Shawshank Redemption and Forrest Gump didn’t listen to the popular opinion that their idea wasn’t going to work. They didn’t let popular opinion sway them from their creative instincts. They didn’t let popular opinion frame their creative thinking and writing. Instead, they pushed forward and were met with success. I’m not saying that every time you take a risk or go against the status quo you’re going to be met with success - you may just be met with failure, but what you do with that failure will determine your success in the future, and it will also redefine what “success” is in your life.  

Do not give up on your dreams; do not give up on your ideas. Be authentic; be creative! And do not, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, let strangers’ opinions determine whether or not you take a risk. Trust God’s voice in your life, trust the community in your life, trust your own creative self, and HAVE FUN.

-Emilie Bartel