Have you ever considered what character, fictional or real, would most fit the role of a movie about your life?
No doubt it’s not an especially easy choice to make, and it would likely require a casting call of thousands to find a persona close enough to fit the gazillion nuances of quirk and personality that make you, you. But lets say we do manage to narrow it down just enough to produce your life on movie screen. Who are you?
So yeah, I am Rocky, but of course you easily saw that coming. It’s not like I didn’t give you any clues 😀
I’m crazy about Rocky. The battered, bloody, but nevertheless triumphant Rocky, to be precise. I love his story, yes, but even more so, I am Rocky
Am I suggesting that I don’t clearly enunciate when I speak, or that I have pecs of steel? Um, well no, not exactly. My love of Rocky goes far deeper than those super-pumped, stand-up-and-cheer, fight scenes.
For me, this valiant underdog best personifies my own knock-down, drag-out travails as a writer. High drama? Exaggeration? Not so much, because for anyone who has undertaken a similar journey of the heart, you know where this is coming from. It’s rough, sometimes hostile, often frustrating, and downright mean. Yet, even then, stronger and far superior to the pummeling afforded by these exterior obstacles, are the true and far more durable strengths of hope, faith, belief, and yes absolutely, perseverance.Rocky’s story appeals on multiple levels. While nearly everyone who looks at him might see an ordinary, uninspiring, nondescript nobody, he nevertheless holds to his dream and keeps on standing tough when the blows of life – and later Apollo Creed – continue raining down. It isn’t just that Rocky is a dreamer (dreamers after all are as common as fleas on a dog), it’s that he’s a dreamer with unshakable purpose, dedication, and a persistence strong enough to allow him to gulp down a daily tonic of raw eggs, pummel frozen beef carcases, and keep on standing when the blows come the hardest.
(Of equal note is the actual story of how Rocky creator, writer, and actor, Sylvester Stallone, held on against the power and $$$ of Hollywood to get his movie made with his vision intact. Inspiring in a BIG way!)
Yes, we start with a dream, but at the dawn of each day it’s all about staying the course and going the distance.
So who are you? Give us your character 🙂
Barbara Forte Abate 