The Filmscape Reverie

By: Maria Cieslarczyk

I’ve always loved the power of story-telling…as a Filipina-American who immigrated to the US when I was only two years old, stories were always at the forefront of my identity. I spent my entire childhood listening to my Lola Elsie share tales in Tagalog around our kitchen table, imagining places and people who came to life through the magic of words. I knew story-telling was something, a mesmerizing art, that I wanted to explore, much like others feel a calling towards a sport or career.

I was blessed enough to knock two things into my head pretty early on: being gifted can only get you so far and all the rest comes through faith and hard work.

And of course, discipline.

I consider myself an incredibly ambitious person. Perhaps it’s to honor the lineage of women in my family tree, or to make the dear people who believe in me proud. Maybe actually, it’s for entirely selfish reasons like simply wanting to cross a mental finish line that I set up for my own good.

Maybe you’re like this too; reaching for the stars is in your destiny and you’ll stop at nothing to achieve your goals.

Easier said than done, right?

It takes a sincere, gritty love to keep doing what you do every single day. Heartfelt passion is the driving force that keeps you going towards your dreams. But it’s the act of discipline that forces you to meet those deadlines, accept rejections with an open mind, and push forward towards your goals. Every artist knows that in order for there to be success, discipline must be prioritized.

I believe immigrants and BIPOC know this extremely well…we have no choice but to use a mixture of both passion and discipline to cross those finish lines and encourage others like us to chase their impossible dreams too. Apart from societal hurdles that stem from racism and classism, it’s simply about opportunity as well. What opportunities are out there for minorities? Are those opportunities a real chance to portray our multi-dimensional talents in a genuine fashion? I’ll admit, it gets draining seeking out those rare golden opportunities all the time.

Truthfully, it gets exhausting showing up for yourself even on the days you just want to pull the covers up over your head and lie in bed instead.

Aristotle once said, “Through discipline comes freedom.”

To have that consistency to do what is good for yourself and your goals takes a very strong will, and that training of yourself to do it – even on days you’d like to do anything but – is power. By following a repetitive course of action to lead you to your goal, you give yourself the power to help make that invisible dream an actual reality.

Does anyone want to wake up every morning before work and go on a run? Or stay up past midnight to write a project? Or edit a film instead of relaxing on the couch after a long busy day?

While self-care is vital to our well-being (trust me my friends, I learned the hard way that you cannot pour from an empty cup!), the act of having that mental discipline is crucial on our journeys to accomplishing our plans. It’s important to take necessary breaks and care for your mental, emotional, and physical being. It’s important to find a healthy balance between work and play. But it is important to be your biggest fan…and by doing so, that means putting in the hard work and not taking the easy way out.

I am not perfect when it comes to discipline. But I am trying to improve. My best advice would be to block out times to do what you need to do to meet your goal. For example, spending a half hour a day writing after your 9-5. Some days will be more productive than others, but any step forward – whether you’re crawling or can only put one word down – still counts as progress.

Take a few minutes now and list down your goals. Then jot down the steps you’re planning to take to trudge forward. It doesn’t have to be concise or clear-cut or anything perfect like that. But it still counts as something.

In the creative industry especially, it is unfortunately easier, simpler, to give up on our dreams. The tough competition, the potential instability, the writing blocks we face. It’s no easy feat to push through the hardships…nor is it an easy feat to show up for yourself and try, try, try anyways.

There will be enough “no’s” in your life. It’s the cold hard truth. But I’m a firm believer that what is meant for you will not pass you by. It’s only natural for things not to be perfect or always work out the way we initially expect. Sometimes things take time.

So right now, give yourself that “yes.” Show up for yourself, for your dreams, for your own well-being…and allow the act discipline to help guide you forward in touching the stars.