Traveling Alone: Is it Really That Bad?

The trip started off with my application to a Los Angeles school named The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I’ve always loved film. I was fascinated by the visuals and stories that are presented and with the advancement of technology, movies are now more visually appealing. But this fascination would not have started if I had not attended AISG. When I was back in NY at my public school, the atmosphere limited my ability to think big on my dreams and to achieve different things in my life. With the atmosphere of Guangzhou and just the international private school feeling with a diverse amount of races and backgrounds, I was able to critically think about what I need and want to do in life.

At first, I wanted to be a businessman just like any other Asian parent would want from their children. I was gifted with parents that are not fully strict on my job choice, but that want me to be able to take care of myself and my family financially. I am grateful for having them. I’ve done research on the field so I know what to expect when I do enter the industry, and I have noticed that there are barely any mainstream Asian actors in Hollywood. At this point in time, my inspiration for being part of a film arose because I love the art of filmmaking, but I also love the idea of setting an appearance for Asian actors in Hollywood and hopefully sending a message to Hollywood itself and to society that there are more to Asians than the stereotypes presented on films/television. I am dedicated and I work hard on how to break through the barrier and actually make a dream a reality. I’ve attended the summer program at my college of choice that  further led me to understand the life of an actor. I’ve had hesitations on becoming an actor, in fact, many times I have thought, “It will be financially hard to live, I’m Asian, I’ll never break through the ice barrier,” but I’ve stuck through and here I am, about to go to the school that I wanted to go ever since 10th grade.

The school required an audition of two memorized monologues at a destination that the school held for auditions. It was all over the world ranging from Los Angeles, California to Berlin, Germany. Thankfully, there was an audition held in NYC where I had a place to live. The first obstacle wasn’t the plane ride, but the jet lag. Thankfully, I planned out my schedule so, during the time when I had the audition, I would not be jet lagged. When I arrived to NYC, I waited while practicing for my audition. Food and living expenses were covered for me because my brother lives in NYC and he took care of me for the whole duration of the trip, apart from the traveling expenses. My brother is a busy man and he couldn’t take me to Manhattan for my audition, so I started searching ways to get to NYC cheaply and in a timely manner. There were only two options for me, a taxi that would cost up to $200 dollars just to go to NYC, or a train that costs $27 for a roundtrip. Although the taxi is faster, I’ve luckily found a perfect train time that arrives in NYC at a perfect time (My audition was at 7:40 and the train arrives at Penn Station around 7 o’clock). I made it to the train station and arrived at Penn Station at 7 o’clock. I had used Google Maps to direct me to the way of my audition place. I made it with a spare of 20 minutes, perfect enough for me to practice before my audition. Funny thing is that my audition didn’t take place for other 2 whole hours. My roundtrip ticket was at 8:08 pm thinking that I only need 20 minutes for my audition. Was I wrong… Luckily, with the help of local New Yorkers, they directed me and helped me buy new tickets to go back home. I finally left Penn Station at around 10:08 pm and arrived home around 12 am. What I have learned from this experience is to not to be afraid and never feel reluctant to ask for help from strangers, especially when you don’t know what to do. That was my experience of traveling alone. The rest of the story? Well, it’s all history from now on.

How to Prepare Traveling Alone:

The best way to go into a foreign country by yourself is to plan everything out beforehand.

Things to plan ahead of:

1: A place to stay (friend/family’s place to stay or hotel/motel)

2: A method of transportation (taxi, metro, bus, rental)

3: Money (have the needed currency for your livings)

4: Where the interview takes place

5: How to get to the interview in time

6: A source of internet at all times

7: Apps to use that fits in the country (maps, restaurant/activity search)

All of this can be done beforehand with the help of Google searches. Don’t be daft and plan ahead.