Trivial, but somehow important

I've always felt a certain pride and protection over my middle name. Admittedly, though I love my first and last names and they suit me, they're not incredibly rare. Granted, I meet few people with my names, but I know that they're around - I'm guessing most people in English-speaking countries have met an Abby or Abigail.

But my middle name's just different - I've only ever encountered one other person with this name and even then it was spelt differently so technically it doesn't count. It's simply a more interesting version of me, and though it's not classically 'pretty' it definitely suits my personality. I'd really miss my middle name if it was somehow extorted from me (now that would be a scary dictatorship to live in!). In fact, I'm even contemplating one day trying to live under it for a short period of time - just to try it out.

Of course, I can't actually tell you my middle name! But it's unique, just know that.

RADA

I've been searching for my true identity for my entire adolescence, but I now realise that it's been here all along. My dream is my identity.

I remember watching Blue Peter when I was about 11 (which was strange because I hardly ever watched it) and seeing one of the presenters visit RADA, the most prestigious and reputable drama school in the country. It seemed simply amazing - a highly exclusive group of promising young actors given the best acting advice anyone could receive. From that moment I had the recurrent vision of myself in that university training for the BA in acting, living out my dream.

I've never given up on that dream. No matter how convential it sounds, I've always wanted to be an actress and drama has been my only solace at times. A bad day, bad week or even a bad year can be remedied by stepping out of your own shoes and into those of another person's - anyone,
anywhere. I can be anything, do anything, in front of an audience that are all watching me, and at the end I might get a fraction of the applause.

Two years from now I'll be applying for universities and I'm quite positive that RADA will be at the top of my list of choices. Maybe it's not a realistic choice, and admittedly dreams of being an actress could be just that - dreams, but it's good to aim high. Consider this: in the conception of a baby, no one considers how slim the chances of the egg being fertilised by the sperm are. Whether someone wants a baby or not, they always think about the prospect of conceptionnd new life. So why should I focus on not getting in to RADA when I may very well have the potential?