Close Up

My name is Calie Renee’. I’m 21 years old and am an aspiring screenwriter. I love life and consider myself extremely blessed. One thing you should know about me is that I’m a people person. I always have been. I grew up in a musical family and have been singing and performing in front of people for as long as I can remember. Music and drama have always been a big part of my life. To me, they go hand in hand. In fact, it was my love for BOTH that inspired me to pursue screen writing…..

I knew I wanted to be a screenwriter ever since I was 12 years old. When people asked me what I wanted do when I “grew up” that would always be my answer - and I meant it. Growing up, Every time I listened to or sang a song- any song- I would immediately begin imagining what type of movie could be written to fit the genre of that particular song. I fell in love with acting and began reading and acting out scenes in scripts just for fun. Although I enjoyed performing, I soon realized that I wanted to do more - I didn’t just want to act out a scene, I wanted to CREATE my own scenes- ones that I could relate to with characters and scenarios that other people could relate to as well. I started reading and researching and soon fell head over heels in love with the whole screenwriting process. I began to write and soon had journals full of screenplay ideas. Haha, I even wrote letters to various producers such as Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, ect.( Don’t worry, I never mailed them) telling them about my ideas! Of course, that was ridiculous, but I was only 12 and figured I had to start somewhere!

As the years went by, however, my dream of becoming a screenwriter seemed almost unattainable. Looking back now, I’m a little disappointed in myself because I let the opinions of other people affect the way I viewed myself. I’ve always been a positive person, so when I told people that my dream was to become a screenwriter, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to attain that dream. However, most of the people I told, thought otherwise. I tried not to let what they’d say affect me, but over time it did…

By the time I started college, I had almost completely given up on my dreams. In fact, I had even decided not to pursue any type of writing or film career at all. For awhile, I was content with the career path I’d chosen to pursue and I enjoyed college- I was making good grades and had a wealth of wonderful friends. Despite all that, though I couldn’t help feeling like a failure. I’d given up on my dreams and worse than that, I’d given up on myself.

When I was nearing the end of my second year of college, my mom asked me, point blank, if I was using the gifts God gave me and if I could live with the career path that I had chosen. I was shocked, especially when I discovered that my answer was “no”. Her questions, however, made me angry because I didn’t want to face the cold hard truth that I had given up on my dreams and had settled for something that to to me, seemed easier and more obtainable. We got into an argument and I stormed upstairs to my room- angry and hurt- mad at her for making me making me feel that way and mad at myself because I knew she was right.

That night, my mom and dad asked me to sit down and talk with them about my goals, dreams, career, ect. Still angry with my mom from our argument earlier, I was hesitant and when I finally did agree to talk to them, I was on major defense - ready to defend myself and my decisions against anything they had to say- but I was in for a surprise…I soon realized that my parents believed in me more than I believed in myself. In fact, they believed in me so much that they were willing to support me and do whatever it took to help pursue my dreams. They encouraged me not to give up on my dreams of becoming a screenwriter and even surprised me with several screen writing books and materials to get started. I was thrilled and that night, I went to bed thanking God for my parents and for giving me hope and new-found confidence.

Within that same week, I withdrew from all my classes at college and begin the long, exciting journey of becoming a screenwriter. I read books, read screen plays, watched movies(taking notes on particular scenes and character developments), and begin brainstorming and developing my own movie ideas into my own screenplays.

Everything was going great and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was doing what I was called to do. I can’t tell you how happy I was, however, little did I know, I was about to face another obstacle- one that for a while, prevented me from pursuing my dream, yet again….

I already told you about how I let the opinions of other people affect the way I viewed myself and for years, that has been my biggest downfall. When I started to pursue screen writing again, however, I thought that I had overcome that particular insecurity- I soon found out, I was wrong.

The more excited and determined I was to pursue my dream, the more I heard from other people that it was a impossibility. That was extremely hard for me and I tried not to let the things they said get to me. Then one day, someone whom I considered to be an extremely close friend at the time, got mad at me for being so positive( no joke!) and told me that my “dreams would never come true” and that “I was going nowhere”. I can’t tell you how bad those words hurt. I was shocked that someone I trusted and confided in so much could say something so hurtful. Fear and insecurities took hold of me once again, and for 6 months, I stopped pursuing screen writing.

That was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made. It took me 6 months to realize that I can’t let the opinions of other people affect how I viewed myself. And today, I’m writing this to encourage whoever reads this not to make the same mistake I made. During those 6 months, I did a lot of soul searching, praying, and forgiving. Thanks to God, my wonderful family, and my best friends, I FINALLY realized that no one can prevent me from achieving my dreams- unless that is, I allow them to. 6 months later, after realizing that, I began writing my first screenplay.

It’s been a year since I began my incredible journey into the world of screen writing. Since then, I’ve finished and copyrighted my very first screenplay entitled “The Betrayal” and currently have 5 more screenplays( two of which, I’m Co-writing with none other than, my mom!) in the works. I’m in the process of finding an agent, and am also currently working on a screen writing software tutorial, which I hope to have done by the end of this month. Throughout this whole process, I’ve learned so much about the film industry, but most importantly I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned never to give up. I still have a lot of hurdles to cross into order to break into the film industry, however, this time, I’m determined not to give up. I’m fully aware that my dreams take time and dedication and I’m willing to give both. I know that I have to give up a lot in order to reach my destination and I also know that I may face rejection- multiple times before I’m ever successful. To me, none of that matters. You see, I no longer view success as “making it”. To me, I’ve already been successful by choosing to ignore the doubt and discouragement of other people. I’ve chosen to be positive and will remain positive. I won’t allow the words of others set the direction for my life- and neither should you.

The dreams in your heart may be bigger than the environment in which you live in, but don’t ever give up. If you remain faithful, I’m convinced that your dreams will make room for you….