Full on Dancing

Like the majority of Americans who pay attention to movies and the actors that appear in them, I am infatuated with Emma Stone. When I saw her on the cover of Vogue this past week, I could resit picking it up, flipping through the pages memorized by her couture outfits. Needless to say, I bought it.

On my way to work this week (I take the bus into Boston every day from my home in New Hampshire), I read and absorbed every detail of the interview. What really caught my eye was something she "borrowed" from fellow actor (and in  my opinion, one of the most promising actors in Hollywood today) Ryan Gosling...

"Picking roles is like listening to songs the radio:  there can be a lot of really great songs in a row, but then one comes on that just makes you want to dance."- Stone via Heller, 75.

Yes, this was in reference to how she picked her slew of non-comedic roles this past year. She rose to stardom in hilariously, witty roles like Jules in the wild party-planning film Superbad, Olive in classically inspired Easy A, and Hannah in the dryly humorous House Bunny. She stated that her most recent roles, including Skeeter in The Help and Gwen from this summer blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man made her "dance." She saw these characters as empowered women, something she personally respected and roles that may not have fit what she was known for in the world of movies.

Yet I think this mind set is perfect for new grads out there. We just spent two, four or more years of our lives, spending extreme amounts of money, and learning about the world under one specific umbrella. But for what? Where will it lead us and how will we know what job is best for us? Will we ever reach the level of success we believe we can reach?

According to Emma (whose real name is Emily, who knew?) and Ryan, we can only be "successful" if we choose the jobs that make us want to dance. Not sway or bob your head. Full on DANCE!

I know this is how I made the decision for my current job. I work for an affiliate of a national nonprofit. I wanted to help people, make a difference in my city, state, community, the world. Helping people made me happy, made my work worth it. It made me dance.

So dance people! Find that job that makes you want to shake that booty. Fist pump until the cows come home. Grapevine into the future. It is possible to love what you do, but only if we follow Stone and Gosling's advice and find that job that makes you want to dance.

Emma Stone