Psychology Today | 10.11.2026 03:19
I was an actor in New York. Yes, that’s right—I didn’t emerge from the womb asking people how they felt for a living. I had dreams of being on Broadway, and after years of work, I finally got invited to the final callbacks for the lead role in a Broadway musical. For this final audition, I was going to wear my grandfather’s vintage pinstriped suit. I planned on changing into it at the audition studio to make sure it looked crisp. But while walking down 43rd Street, half a block from the audition, the suit fell out of my hands and into a pile of Central Park carriage horse manure. Terrified that I’d smell up the room and ruin my chances at the role, I rushed to the bathroom and tried to scrub out the stains before putting the suit on and walking into the audition.
