Even though I am very much an adult, I still want to run away and join the circus. A few years ago, I went far into researching the history of the circus for a screenplay I was writing. The screenplay is still here, waiting to be made. A 200-plus page story that brought an old-style circus into modern times. Maybe I’ll dig it up?

The circus brings out the outsider in me. In the history books I read, circus performers were very much outcasts, people who couldn’t fit into society’s notion of normalcy. When they joined the circus, not only could they be themselves, but found a family that actively encouraged them to embrace what made them special.

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Any measure of success or failure could be attributed to one drop in a well that creates ripples which eventually leads to a tsunami. When I was able to narrow things down a bit, saw how the connections were not many individualized items to check off or solve or figure out, that I could collect all of these points of reference and bring them together into one giant thing to explore and investigate, I felt that then I was finally on to something.

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For as long as I can remember, I've always sought out mentors. I learn better by jumping in the deep end and getting my hands dirty. That was quite a mixed metaphor. I'm leaving it in. I've also been privileged to find people that were willing to give me a chance and pass on their knowledge. But also, if I don't toot my own horn too much, I'm a good mentee. I approach any mentorship purely from an educational perspective. I want to learn, which is much more important than just trying to impress someone so they'll open up their networks to you. My mentors have been profound learning experiences that often built into friendships. The most powerful type of mentor knows when to let you go, even when sometimes you don't feel ready.

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