She appeared at the doorstep of my house, with streams of water running down her face. This girl buried her face in her hands, which made it hard to figure out who it was. The girl with the puffy eyes, red eyes, and tears was my younger cousin Amanda. I have never seen my cousin, Amanda, the once confident little girl was replaced with a distraught soul, looking for meaning in a cruel world. After the initial shock of seeing my little cousin bawling her eyes out, I was able to calm her down. She was very shocked and heartbroken. It was hard to understand what she was saying because she was blubbering and crying while she was explaining what happened.
Well to start off, I will say that my cousin is very young, but she is very talented. She is a fifteen year old who has already accomplished more in her life than some adults. She is a dancer, but not just any dancer; she is well favored in all styles of dance. From tap, jazz, street, ballet, she is experienced in all of them. Amanda has had success in all of these different styles of dances. In performances that display her skill for these different classes she is often cast as a lead. She is looked up to by many of her peers as an excellent dancer and a role model. Amanda has put her heart and sweat into dance, it is her passion.
The week prior to the audition, our family had a dinner to welcome my brother’s return from college. My family members all updated each other about everything and as usual they asked me about my future. They asked me where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to be. As usual I answered with my patented one liner, “I have no idea.” However, this was the first time they asked my cousin where she wanted to go and what she wanted to be. Since Amanda moved up to the Academy, my family wanted her to start thinking about her future. I know… my family starts this process at a very young age. Anyways, my cousin apparently was prepared for such a question, she answered, “I definitely want to go to New York.” My family members immediately knew why Amanda wanted to go to New York. We all heard about her dream to go to college in New York and set up a dance studio, where she could teach dance. My family and I believe she has the talent to do so. At this dinner, she told me about this huge audition that was coming up. I wished her luck and told her she would be great.
A couple of days later, Amanda stopped by my house. Nothing could prepare us for what we were about to experience. As I opened the door, I see a little girl who is crying hysterically. I cannot even tell that it is my little cousin. After calming down she tells me the audition was horrible. She explained she had thirty seconds to perform a little dance audition. When it was over the panel of three judges just tore her apart. Due to the recent Simon Cowell craze of blunt criticism the judges told her, everything she did was wrong and she should just quit. They did not just say this once, but they kept on repeating it over and over to her. When I heard how mean the judges were I went to my aunty and asked her what was wrong with these judges. She said, “It is the Simon Cowell phenomenon.” She meant the judges were extremely mean and tried to be like Simon Cowell because it is what society loves to watch. They love it when Simon makes fun of people. That is why so many people watch American Idol.
When I found out Amanda was one of the youngest people there, I thought it was unfair how the judges criticized her. I understand if they told her she was bad, but they did not have to keep on rubbing it into her face. They just wanted a reaction to put on television. She did not have as much experience as the other people who were trying out because they were twice her age, I do not think they took her age into consideration, which was unfair.
After hearing my cousin get her dream crushed, I felt bad for watching American Idol and laughing at the contestants. I have come to the conclusion that many are giving a whole hearted effort. At least they have the guts to go out and take a chance. This was an identity and culture moment for me because it thought about how other television shows try to be like Simon Cowell, to get more viewers. It also made me think about how it is interesting how the general population likes to watch people make fools of themselves. Maybe Americans take pleasure in seeing failure and do this in order to make themselves feels better.
This moment made me think about what people do when they do not reach their dream. Do they create new dreams? How do you know when to stop fighting for your dream? When I was playing golf, I got cut from Varsity I. This is when my grandpa came up to me and said, “Now we will be able to see who you really are. Are you going to fight and prove the Coach wrong, or are you going to give up?” I will remember what my grandpa told me for the rest of my life. I was just about to give up my dream of playing golf in college but I did not quit. I just kept fighting and things have turned out better than I could have imagined. I know it’s a bit cliché, but an individual who learns from his mistake will ultimately be better groomed for success than the other person who never experiences failure. I don’t know if I am going to actually reach my dream but I am happy where I am. On the other hand, my cousin took what the judges said really seriously. The week after the audition she quit a lot of her dance classes and said she has to change her priorities. To have your dream crushed is one of the worst things in the world. I can empathize with her statement, “I have working on this dream for about nine years of my life, and it sucks to know I have wasted my time.” This made me question where the morals and integrity of our society has gone. A mere fifteen year old is so devastated, she is fearful of putting herself on the line again and trying to the best of her abilities. . How could someone, who worked so hard and really deserved it, not achieve his or her dream? Why does society even tell us to dream? The majority of people do not reach their dreams. After the people fail, they make new dreams, which may never be reached. I partially feel dreams just set you up for failure and disappointment. But, I also believe they give you drive and a purpose, necessary for fulfillment.
I am not sure what people do after their dreams are crushed. However, from what I have witnessed, it is how one deals with disappointments that determines their character. Everyone will eventually experienced failure, but how one reacts to failure, is of greater importance. I am not sure why people hold out for a future that might never happen. It confuses me why society likes to see failure. People in the world like to see others embarrass themselves. They like to make fun of each other. I believe people make fun of each other to make themselves feel better. I believe culture and society are constantly doing this and pushing on us to believe this is okay.
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