This year has tested all of us in so many ways.
Normal, pre-COVID times seem like a lifetime ago. The economy shut down, people lost their jobs, worked from home for months and battled each other for toilet paper.
One thing many of us relied on was entertainment – Netflix, your favourite artist releasing new music, an endless rabbit hole of YouTube videos, or whatever it is you consume. I think there has never been a better time to support or pursue creativity.
We often look at the musician on the corner busking, the actor with no credits auditioning their life away or the stand-up comedian performing at open mic events for single-digit crowds, and we don’t understand why they pursue a dream that seems so far-fetched.
That’s because it is far-fetched, until it isn’t. We all consume a wide range of entertainment on a daily basis. We look at success stories and sometimes forget that those musicians, actors and artists were once the people with no following, no money and no immediate plans for the future.
Look at someone like comedian Kevin Hart. For years, he lived below the poverty line. He constantly struggled to eat, let alone succeed. But his persistence, along with support from friends and fans alike, has turned him into one of the most successful comedians of all time. He sold out a football stadium that holds 53,000 spectators, who showed up just to see him talk.
There have been two comedy shows that match Kevin Hart’s attendance record – in 2009, Larry the Cable Guy drew 53,000 people to Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium, and in 2008, German comedian Mario Barth had an attendance of nearly 68,000 people watch him perform at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
I don’t think that everyone should quit their day job and become a comedian or an actor. But I do think this pandemic has shown us entertainment holds a lot more value than we give it credit for.
What would quarantine have been like if we didn’t have movies, music, stand-up comedy or YouTube channels? Something tells me being sequestered in our homes would have been a lot more miserable than it was.
Having the support of friends and local fans means the world to creative people. It could mean your friend who is working on an album in their basement could one day sell out arenas. When people believe in you, the possibilities are endless.
If you see someone attempting to do what many deem impossible, offer them support. After all, it only sounds crazy until it works.
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
