SIZZZZZZZLEEEEEE

The other day in our 5^th lecture of Columbia’s Bridge Program, we were all given a fantastic speech about the basic marketing principles and how it can ultimately unlock your path to success in college.  Shanita Akintonde gave us her tips and tricks on how to market yourself and your career in a professional and confident manner. This lecture hit home for me because as an actress, I am constantly reminded of the pressures of having a certain image. I have broken the stereotype of how a young actress looks in theater performance.  I have piercings, and I dress unusual. This catches a director’s attention right away, and the attention is not always positive. There’s an immediate judgment on me simply because of my clothes and the fact that I am not a size two. Shanita’s lecture was to let us know that we are branding our self-image every day. She provided us with 6 tips on how we can tie in marketing strategies with our careers and personalities in college.

There are three out of six of Shanita’s tips that stuck out to me the most:  1. Create and enhance your image, 2. Aspire to greatness without fear, and 3. Believe in yourself. These stuck out to me because I feel that I have so much room to grow with these three concepts specifically. Creating and enhancing your image if one of the most important things you may encounter as a college student and in your field of study. I enhance my image every day by waking up and hour earlier before I have to leave to put makeup on and fix my hair. Even if I don’t have anyone to impress, I think it is extremely important to create an image. Putting on makeup is something that I have always done and it makes me feel more professional. Having my hair and makeup done every day makes people realize that I am serious about my image and first impressions. I have found that selling yourself is the most important thing to do during auditions and in the performance industry in general.

“Aspire to greatness without fear.” This is something that I am most familiar with amongst my favorite of Shanita’s tips. One of the most fearful things for me is the few moments before a performance. Adrenaline quickly turns into extreme fear in those few moments I have backstage before I make an appearance. I am always fearful of the future, but I am confident that I will get where I need to be.  I aspire for greatness in everything I do, especially here at Bridge. I  think my assignment thoroughly so that I am making a statement about myself as a student.  I am serious about my work, whether it is performing or being a student. I put 100% of effort into my assignments. The clear message of this tip is to do your best, and be the very best you that you can possibly be no matter how fearful you truly are. We all are fearful here at Bridge. But we all want to succeed, and that is something we all can relate to.

Lastly, it is always important to believe in yourself. Having gone through many issues throughout my high school career, I know that the only reason why I am alive today is because I told myself I will be someone. I believed in myself because I know that with every downfall comes something beautiful. Believe in yourself in whatever you do. Bridge program gives the perfect amount of motivation to better ourselves. We have experienced many new ideas, and have applied it to our work. We are confident in the on coming school year because of this experience. Shanita Akintonde’s lecture opened my eyes in a sense that the most important person in our lives is no one else but ourselves.

“Success will be within your reach only when you start reaching out for it.”
― Stephen Richards, Think Your way to Success: Let Your Dreams Run Free