鱼翅熊掌焉能兼得——思维型艺术家-新东方前途出国

    　　Day 21: Saturday, September 21, 2013

    　　Days left: 9

    　　Location: The Big Apple, NY

    　　Remember the question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

    　　As a kid, I was asked this endless times by my parents, teachers, friends, neighbors – everyone asked this. Of course, like any child, our dreams and ideas of what we want to be when we are older started out, well…a bit far-fetched. I mapped out what I wanted to ‘be when I grew up’ along with my age by the time I graduated from university:

    　　From here, I compared these choices against two variables:

    　　a) Dream vs. reality – measuring on a scale of 1 to 10 how realistic these occupations would be (e.g., 1 = very realistic; 10 = complete dream state); and,

    　　b) Money-making potential – again, using a 10-point scale, looking at the potential financial security of these occupations, or as I like to put it, what would make my Chinese parents feel secure about my future career.

    　　Note: These ratings are, of course, highly subjective.

    　　Unsurprisingly, there were some career choices that were not going to materialize – i.e., I’m not sure how many companies are looking for ninjas nowadays nor do I know where to begin my search for finding the starting salary for a road side lemonade stand seller.

    　　Yet, as you make choices about your career – how closely correlated are your dream jobs linked with reality? Can you ‘have your cake and eat it too’?

    　　YES is what the New York University Tisch School of the Arts (Tisch) will tell you. Famed for its performing and creative arts programs ranging from television and film production to drama/theater to photography, and music and dance, I found a place where students dared to dream big, in the heart of one of the most challenging and creative cities in the world: New York City.

    　　Tisch is best known in China as the school that helped Ang Lee sharpen his eye and skills for movie filming and production. Nestled next to Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, while our cameras could not capture the internal workings of the Tisch school, truly there were creative boundaries being explored and tested.

    　　Photo: Washington Square Park - Home of New York University

    　　From the lighting work on the sound stage to the multiple sound effects rooms to the variety of acting workshops sprinkled across the city to provide students with firsthand and direct experience, complemented by the dozens of famous and critically acclaimed movie posters directed or produced by famed NYU Tisch school alum, it was hard not to be in awe of the influence, and a little bit envious of the courage for these students to dream and to pursue a passion that was highly unpredictable nor forgiving. Especially in New York – but who could ask for a better platform to launch a career?

    　　In its pursuit for excellence, what was most interesting is that Tisch searches for the thinking artist – the student who is not only interested in pursuing a creative path, but one who is in search of it in an academic way. Combined with a globally ranked liberal arts curriculum through the NYU Arts and Sciences program along with other top-ranked colleges, NYU offers these‘artists’ a place where brains and heart are intermingled.

    　　As two individuals from the drama department simply put it, NYU Tisch is all about “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances; to imagine what can and could be while remaining authentic and purposeful.”

    　　Truly a place where you can have your cake…eat it…enjoy it…again, and again, and again.

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