Draft #2 College Essay

Evan Fenster

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount
a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you
learn from the experience?
A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence
110 trips to New York City within a year lead to 110 opportunities that I didn’t
“win”. But that’s okay because success so often does not come quickly.
Everyone knows acting is a tough business. “It’s so tough to make it as an actor,
but if you do, it can be incredible!” That’s what they all say. That’s what I was chasing. 100
trips to New York City can be draining, especially with sports and difficult classes to make up
with each day I missed, but I had a dream that I was not going to give up so easily. My first year
of acting and modeling went great; I booked a ton of jobs, including a Nike photoshoot on my
first modeling audition. But as I grew older things started to quiet down. Three years went by
with 56 auditions and only 1 booking. That’s when the questions from my parents started to
come up: “Are you sure you want to keep doing this?” And to be completely honest, it was
something I had to consider. I had to ask myself if there was really a chance of me ever booking
another job. That’s when I decided that I would keep trying. There was a chance I never booked
anything ever again, but I wouldn’t find out unless I tried.
To keep shooting for a goal but to not change your methods after failing is
idiotical. I realized I was going to have to really commit to this if I wanted to succeed. I wanted
to book one more job before I left for college. I was not going to end my acting career on a 3-
year period of inactivity and only failed attempts.
So I went to Playhouse West, an acting class that took place in a high school
auditorium on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 9:00. It was rigorous. When I
signed up I expected to be surrounded by kids my age, but I was shocked to find out the class
was made up almost entirely of adults with a few young guys and girls in their 20s. Luckily,
Tony Savant, the acting coach, took a chance on me and let my 14-year-old self in.
I can honestly say that Tony has become one of the most influential men in my life. He
would always mention that “every day you either get a little bit better or a little bit worse.” So
we studied films, read and discussed plays each month, and learned acting by starting as basic as
you could get. For the first few classes I sat down in front of the entire class as he told me to
repeat exactly what he said, but to say it the way I felt like saying it. This is stupid, I thought.
There was no way that repeating exactly what he said would teach me how to act. But I kept
with it, and after a few months I realized there was a method to his madness, and I started to
learn how to “live truthfully under imaginary circumstances”, also known as acting.
Success did not come directly after I started this class. It took months, but I was finally
able to book another job, my first one in years, and it was something truly meaningful. I
remember walking into the room and reading my lines about the Unicef Kid Power Band and
then seeing that same video on apps and online afterward felt rewarding. 101 trips to New York
City, and it was worth it.