First of all, y'all gotta know that being an art student isn't easy. Well, I'm from the performing arts program so this post will be based on personal experiences, but I'm sure it's the same for the visual art and design students. It's really annoying having people all day everyday around you being like "You singing one ah? Singing can study meh?" or "Chey, so easy. Just go school sing song can already." or "You go arts school ah? Your O level confirm very high one right?"
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| Ugh gosh the amount of disappointment I'm feeling just by writing this blog post :'( |
UM NO.
1. BEING A PERFORMING/VISUAL/DESIGN COLLEGE STUDENT DOESN'T MAKE US ANY LESS SMARTER THAN STUDENTS FROM THE POLYTECHNICS, JCs OR ITE. (BEFORE YOU JUDGE, YES I DO INCLUDE ITE BECAUSE I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE STUDENTS THERE. THEY ARE CLEVER AND PROMISING PEOPLE TOO.)
It really doesn't. We're just doing what everyone else is doing - pursuing their interests. We take pride in what we learn and what we do in school. We don't just go to school and sing/dance/act/draw/do hard labor work and lighting (if we're from the theatre production management course.) We're 100% dedicated to our job. I was a dance student in LASALLE College of The Arts before I switched over to the music course. Being a dance student was probably the toughest phase of being a student for me. My classmates and I had to deal with being in school by 8am everyday and finishing school at 11pm almost everyday (when we're working on productions) AND balancing our studies all together. Yes, we do study. As in we do touch our stationeries and learn the history of dance, arts, write essays and study about the understandings of the human body - basically biology. I only decided to change courses because I was getting injured a lot due to my old injuries from dancing when I was younger and I figured that I wanted to do music as a future career instead.
*Fun Fact: I started ballet, modern, tap and jazz dances at the age of 5, completed my Grade 6 examinations for all dances and did 2 years of Intermediate Foundation Ballet classes when I was in Grade 3. I'm also an international competitor in Latin American Ballroom Dance.
So please don't ever say that we're not as smart as the students of other schools because life isn't always about aiming to be doctors, lawyers or engineers. As the aspiring and growing young generation, we should all have the freedom to choose what we want to do for our future.
PS. For those out there who make fun of art students for only getting 25 points and above for our O levels and have nowhere else to go, I have school mates who are 12 pointers and BELOW or have already completed JC and decided to join the school because they want to pursue their dreams. So please re-evluate yourselves. Thank you.
2. HARMFUL WORDS CAN HURT WORSE THAN A BULLET TO A HEART. (Well... not really but you get the point.)
What if that happens to you? How would you feel?
People always think that being a public figure is all about the glitz and glamour and worst - they are expected to be perfect. It's true that almost all public figures have to set a good example to their followers but hey, nobody is perfect. We can't just TAKE IN harmful criticism just because we are EXPECTED to. Like come on, have a little respect for one another. We, as artists, are just doing our job (and most of us love our job) and are making the best of it.
Yeah most of you reading this must be like, "Why is she using the term 'We'? She's not even a true public figure." Mmhmm, that's true! But for some of you who have known me for awhile now, you will know that I was involved in 'The Final 1' season 1. Slowly making my way up to the Top 8 before I was sent home was a really fun, friendship-making and self-discovering journey, but at the same time, the shit thrown at you by the public, especially those who dislikes your singing, can be a real pain in the ass. I had tweets, questions/comments on ask.fm and comments on random forums say things like:
1. Louisa doesn't deserve to be among the Top 10. She can't sing.
2. Louisa uses her parents' money to earn votes because she's rich.
3. Louisa is a waste of space.
4. Louisa's voice is so mediocre.
5. Louisa is so boring and she's ugly/fat.
and the most childish one of all,
6. Louisa is a bitch.
As I was only at a tender age of 17 and also my first time being on a national live television show, there was a lot of stress to handle but I guess I learnt from it. To me, the not-so constructive criticisms didn't matter as 1. I couldn't do anything about it and 2. I would rather focus on the productive and constructive comments that can help me grow to be a better performer.
But it really sucks to see public figures and friends in this industry who get slammed hard in the face just because they're "too good-looking" or their opinions "insulted the viewers" or they're "wanna-be(s)". Okay first of all, I don't think there's such a thing as people who are ugly or "too good-looking". I only believe that there are lazy people - people who don't work for it. It's true! In life, you'll have to work for everything. Nothing good ever comes miraculously. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. No matter how sharp your features are, how curly your hair is or how thin your lips are, etc. Every single living soul on this planet is beautiful. If you can love your idols for who they are, then you should learn to accept the figures who you don't really look up to, too. Wouldn't the world be so peaceful if we all just spread the love? ❤️❤️❤️
I also don't believe in wanna-be(s). I believe in people who aspire to be others. I think that's great because good influence should be practised amongst us. But of course, just like your parents or grandparents tell you - "don't learn the negative habits!" It has the same effect as "Don't take candy from strangers."
And lastly, if any vloggers insulted you with their opinions in their vlogs, then just let it go...let it go...can't hold it back any- No really. Just let it go.
I sincerely apologize for this extremely wordy post but I guess I just have so much to say about the constant miscommunications of being an art student and (trying my best) to defend the awesome public icons. I'm sure some of you out there can relate! So before I sign off, I would like to say, just learn to love and respect the life/career choices of others, no matter how different it is from yours! Start everyday with a ray of sunshine and be kind to one another :) Life will turn out a lot less gloomy, trust me X
Love,
Louisa
But it really sucks to see public figures and friends in this industry who get slammed hard in the face just because they're "too good-looking" or their opinions "insulted the viewers" or they're "wanna-be(s)". Okay first of all, I don't think there's such a thing as people who are ugly or "too good-looking". I only believe that there are lazy people - people who don't work for it. It's true! In life, you'll have to work for everything. Nothing good ever comes miraculously. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. No matter how sharp your features are, how curly your hair is or how thin your lips are, etc. Every single living soul on this planet is beautiful. If you can love your idols for who they are, then you should learn to accept the figures who you don't really look up to, too. Wouldn't the world be so peaceful if we all just spread the love? ❤️❤️❤️
I also don't believe in wanna-be(s). I believe in people who aspire to be others. I think that's great because good influence should be practised amongst us. But of course, just like your parents or grandparents tell you - "don't learn the negative habits!" It has the same effect as "Don't take candy from strangers."
And lastly, if any vloggers insulted you with their opinions in their vlogs, then just let it go...let it go...can't hold it back any- No really. Just let it go.
I sincerely apologize for this extremely wordy post but I guess I just have so much to say about the constant miscommunications of being an art student and (trying my best) to defend the awesome public icons. I'm sure some of you out there can relate! So before I sign off, I would like to say, just learn to love and respect the life/career choices of others, no matter how different it is from yours! Start everyday with a ray of sunshine and be kind to one another :) Life will turn out a lot less gloomy, trust me X
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| Harry agrees! |
Love,
Louisa