To add to your list:
* Nothing compares to the feeling that comes from making an entire audience laugh.
* The sound of applause is worth working long & hard for.
* Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!
* Trusting & listening above all.
* Five pairs of tube socks sewn into each cup of a large bra is very, very funny.
* Look for the different, the unexpected, the unique.
* Find you uniquity, claim it, & present it to the world.
* Inside jokes are the funniest jokes of all.
* You can make your own family.

Oh, I feel like I can go on & on. Thanks for starting the wheels spinning, Jamie!

For me, it was collage. I had disowned my artist self for reasons related to my childhood and my relationship with my mother, who was an artist. But I have since reclaimed her and it started with collage, specifically SoulCollage, which has branched into other forms of mixed media art and it has made me feel more alive.

What I love about collage is that I didn’t have to be schooled as an artist to start cutting and pasting images together that tapped into my inner child and allowed me to make incredible reflections of my inner being. Stop by my blog and see my slideshow of SoulCollage cards that I made into a story…

I started doing theatre when I was nine years old. I was very shy and often hid behind my dad when adults were talking to me. I spent the next ten years attending a children’s theatre weekly and performing in plays and went on to study acting in college and got a master’s degree in theatre education.

Although I am not currently participating in theatre, I firmly believe that I use what I learned in the theatre every day. Every job I’ve ever gotten was because I looked people in the eye and communicated effectively and genuinely. I learned the power of working hard and the magic of collaboration. I learned that everyone wants to be heard and understood and that the most rewarding way to live life is with a “yes AND” mentality (one of the keys to improvisation.) As a photographer, I put the lessons I learned in the theatre every day: direction, collaboration, design, costuming, lighting, communication, improvisation, celebration. And above all else, I learned from the theatre how to live passionately.

I’m new here and adored reading this, because I studied theatre too. It opened me up to so much: empathy, drama, connection, emotions, listening, human yearning, comedy, tragedy, story. I loved stepping into other lives, and little did I know at the time it was the perfect first act for what would become my life’s work as a counselor and coach.

So thanks for this.

p.s. I especially liked this from your list: “Everything’s better if you get to go out for beer afterwards.” Oh yeah. That’s the part I miss the most.