I loved this article by Jason Wright. My niece just graduated from Southern Virginia University. It was her car that my sister and law and I picked up and drove across the United States. I was able to visit the campus and so this article was really interesting to me. I hope that I can stand up for my standards like that, what a great example this actor is for me and I would assume, many others.

Good night dear friends!
Stage actress defies odds, wins high praise for high standards
As our discussion unfolded, I discovered the spotlight doesn’t just love her; it follows her everywhere she goes.
Like all of us, Cluff has
opportunities to betray her values every single day. But unlike most of
us, she’s not just invited to — she’s expected to.
Given her environment, it
shouldn't be surprising that Cluff has been accused of severely limiting
herself by refusing to tackle offensive material and is often
challenged to break out of her comfort zone. But to Cluff, that’s not an
option. She doesn’t accept roles that would violate her core beliefs
and have no redeeming value.
Cluff is a member of the local
Charlottesville YSA Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and is bold about her faith, her standards and her limits. And
she is keenly aware that she studies and works in an industry that
sometimes tries to overlap the thick curtains of right and wrong.
But Cluff won’t be worn down or boxed in, and her courage is paying off.
Not only does she refuse
roles, but once she flatly refused to audition for a show altogether,
even though her program required it. But when she wondered if she’d hurt
her standing within the department, she learned quite the opposite. The
director said he admired her for it. Others have also come around,
telling her they respect her professionalism and how she navigates the
theater community with a set of values that doesn’t always fit in. Cluff
has found that being open about her faith earns their respect.
The respect, I learned, is
mutual. Cluff admires her talented peers in the highly-regarded MFA
program and feels she's becoming a better, stronger actor because of
this unique opportunity to study her craft.
I wondered how she’s learned to thrive among people with whom she disagrees on many moral, political and religious issues.
“They know I love them, no matter our disagreements. I’ve made love my ruling principle.”
I also wondered how she ended
up in the theater. Why not a career on a safer stage? Why not explore
other ways to express yourself?
Her passionate answer brought
tears to her eyes. “Jason,” she began as put down her sandwich, “I have
something to say to the world, and I don’t know how else to say it.” She
almost sang the words, “I simply cannot say what I so deeply believe
through any other medium.”
Cluff wiped tears from her eyes, looked across the table at me and added, “God is good!”
I think it’s the first time I’d felt the Spirit over ham and turkey.
Our conversation turned to her
family and Cluff attributed her strength to her parents. “They are
wonderful,” she gushed. Cluff says she works with people everyday that
spend so much time pretending to be other people that they don’t know
who they are anymore. “But not me. My parents helped me know who I am.”
The praise doesn't end with
her parents, she also credits her professors at SVU for preparing her
for the rigors of the theater and to stand brightly for righteousness in
the middle of the stage. It's telling that four years after her
graduation, they continue to serve as indispensable mentors.
I'm thankful to have met this
inspiring actress, but not for her talent. I'm grateful to know there
are young people like Amaree Cluff taking courageous stands when it
would be easy not to and using God-given gifts righteously when the
world wouldn't care otherwise.
Her tearfully delivered words will not be forgotten: “I simply cannot say what I so deeply believe through any other medium.”
Can I find the courage to do the same?
Can you?
You can read this article and more from Jason HERE:
“Your living is determined not so much by what
life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by
what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”
“You've got to have a dream, if you want to have a dream come true.” ~Dennis Waitley
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