Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. by jalen

Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. by jalen - August 2026 Scholarship Essay

The one piece of feedback that I was given throughout my entire life, by my own mother, was to “stop putting so much pressure on myself.” The expectations that I set for myself and my future is a setback I’ve overcome recently. I had four short films that I shot and was going to release on YouTube to “start my filmmaking career,” but I only released two of them and scrapped the other two. And the two ended up releasing didn’t gain any traction at all. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I was a recent dropout at the time, and I almost gave up on trying to become a feature film director. Until, my frustration pushed me to just create something for fun. I made a quick concept, casted my little brothers, shot the movie in my backyard, edited, and submitted it as part of my college application for art school. To my surprise, I’ve never had more fun than when I made that movie. There was no stress to get it perfect, it was the only movie I submitted as my portfolio, and surprisingly it got me into CalArts! What this experience taught me was just to follow the fun, and to make the movie that I feel called to make. My expectations were putting too much pressure on myself, and in turn, making me hate my passion: creating movies. Once I removed the pressure and just focused on making a good movie: it felt as if I was a kid on Christmas. Now my only goal in life is just to make a really great movie, and I finally live with the weight off of my shoulders of trying to control my future! And I’m forever grateful to my mother for planting this seed of advice that has finally resonated with me to unapologetically go after my joy, my passion, and my smile.