The Voice & The Dream

I don't watch TV hardly at all anymore. There are shows I can definitely get addicted to, but I know what it's like to quickly fill up almost every night with "must"-see TV and I really don't have the time for that. At. All. Seriously, none of it is a "must," but work, family, writing, blogging, Facebook and Twitter are musts. Okay, so maybe not those last three, but they're (usually) more productive than watching TV. Especially when you're networking with and supporting other writers. See - I can justify them. :)

But I have been trying to remember to watch The Voice because one of the contestants, Casey Weston, is local and her father is friends with many of my friends (though I don't think I've actually met him personally). I'm cheering her on and, as of tonight, America gets to vote for her and I have already hit my limit of 10 votes on a single method. There are a couple other methods at my disposal. (You can text and call 1-855-864-2302 to vote for her, if, you know, you want to. You can also vote online at http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/vote/ You can also download her version of Black Horse and the Cherry Tree through iTunes. Just sayin'.)

Anyway, Casey is the same age as my oldest son. Just a couple weeks ago, she was walking across the stage to receive her high school diploma. Hours later she was flying back to L.A. to prepare for taking the stage tonight. Had to be the most surreal time of her life. Talk about stepping out of one world and into another.

I watch her and the other contestants and think about how they are truly going after their dream. Sure, we've seen it on American Idol, but maybe it's the newness of this show that makes it hit home again. Or maybe it's just because Casey herself does hit so close to home, literally. But their courage and perseverance just amaze me.

I suppose these qualities are required for artists, because writers are the same. You are so brave and determined, willing to give everything you have to make your dream come true, even at the risk of public humiliation - even if "public" only means your closest friends and family. You put it all out there to be scrutinized and judged. And every time you write something new, you do it again. And again.

So I feel a bit of a kinship, watching Casey go after her dream as I go after mine. We're living it. So are you, writer friends. And I'm so proud to be able to call you my friends. Don't give up on the dream! You never know where it will take you...