I have always dreamt of making music, singing, acting, and being able to express myself in that way. Ever since I was young this was the dream, and that dream stayed with me throughout all my life already. Even though a lot of people kept talking me out of it and mentioned that I should just focus on sports or on school instead of trying to pursue this dream of being seen on the screen, acting in front of thousands, I still kept true to myself and pushed through. So fast forward from 2015 (when I started my first acting role as an extra) to 2022, you can all see me on television, acting, doing what I love most. Isn’t it crazy? And I am still not done yet. I am not yet ready to stop pursuing that dream and pushing myself to new heights.
To give a little bit of a timeline, I started auditioning for modelling when I was 15 and received a bunch of negative answers. Those answers and remarks made me insecure, but at the same time this fuelled me to really keep going and pushing against the tide. So then I started to take this dream more seriously. I tried to understand how you actually get to the stage of calling yourself ‘an actor’, so I dug deep and kept dreaming of getting on ‘the big screen’ when finally I got my first role as an extra on set. Once I got a real feeling of how things are going on set, it only motivated me more to actually go through with this. I was even able to play an extra in the movie “Black”, but I decided to kick it up a notch. I went to audition in French, to commercials, anything that could give me the possibility of getting my first real ‘hit’. I quickly learned that you should not let yourself get taken advantage of the industry, but after auditioning more and more, I got featured in more and more roles, and eventually I got my first big ‘yes’.
After that, I put in more than 200% of effort, and with the help of a bunch of beautiful and talented people along the way I was able to build my portfolio and I made my transition from just playing as an extra to becoming an actor, to becoming a Ketnet Wrapper. To some this might not feel like much, but this is a tough world, and I am more than proud to say that I already got to this stage. Believe in yourself. This year has also been my first real performance in front of a live audience on National TV. Crazy times when you think of it.
This is only just the start, I can feel it, the best is yet to come. After 7 years I am finally able to perform, to sing and act in front of all these people. I do understand that this is purely because I kept true to following up on my dream. Now my next dream is to keep reliving this dream repeatedly, and only stop when I am done, not just when I must quit.
Never mind the opinion of others. Stick true to yourself, and you’ll feel where you can believe in.
Your life is your own story. Only you can write it.
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