Me by Ricky Martin

if we must lose our dignity, no need to lose it completely, right?
    But no matter how much pain one can feel and no matter how much hardship one may have to endure, life always goes on. There is a Persian saying, “This too shall pass,” and it could not be more true.

CITY OF ANGELS
    SHORTLY THEREAFTER I got a call from my agent telling me that NBC wanted me to move to Los Angeles to act on a TV show. Even though Mexico had brought me many extraordinary things, and to this day I have many friends there whom I adore, I think I was ready for a change. The prospect of moving to Los Angeles came at the perfect time. I had been in Mexico for almost five years. A lifetime for someone like me who had been on the road almost constantly.
    The first show I appeared on for American television was called Getting By. Sadly, the show was quickly canceled, but I did not have much time to worry because I would soon discover that I had once again chosen the right path. When that show was canceled, I was free in Los Angeles. What could be better for a young artist wanting to get ahead in show business? I didn’t have to wait very long, because one day my agent called and said that the executive producer of General Hospital wanted to meet me.
    The irony is that it was not through my role on Getting By that she discovered me, but because she had attended one of my concerts and loved it. Once again, music was opening the door to a world I was not even looking for.
    In the United States, unlike in Latin America, soap operas last for years until one day they stop getting good ratings and are canceled. While in Latin America the soaps go on for a few months—a year at the most—in the States they can go on almost forever, and often tell the story of several generations within the same family. General Hospital is one such program that has lasted for years, and it is one of the most popular soap operas in the United States, undoubtedly one of the most famous. I was shocked when they called me, not only because it was a great opportunity, but also because it seemed like they had already decided to hire me. They had me read a few pages of a script in front of various ABC executives, but it was just a formality, so that later no one could say I hadn’t auditioned. A few hours later, I officially joined the cast.
    I was given the role of Miguel Morez, a singer who ran a bar during the week and on the weekends spent his time singing. I played the part for two and a half years, and during that time I learned a lot about what it takes to be an actor. But the part on General Hospital did not come without its fair share of challenges. I joined the show because I honestly wanted to break into the acting world in Hollywood. At that time, I believed I wanted to be an actor, and although my role on General Hospital could have been a great gateway, I never felt entirely comfortable during the time I was on the show.
    When I look back, maybe it was just that I was on another soap opera, but most of the time I felt the work I was doing there just wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel that I jelled well with the rest of the cast, and there were many times when I felt misunderstood, insecure, as if I would somehow never be able to fit into that world.
    The fact that I was treated as a foreigner also did not help. I had already traveled around the world three times by the time I’d arrived in Los Angeles, and everywhere I went people would tell me they loved my accent. But when I got to L.A., I started to feel that my accent was horrible. People told me I should take a class to reduce it, or would comment on how strangely I pronounced this or that word. Whatever they would tell me I am certain their intentions were not bad, but even so I felt insulted. Excluded. Different. Maybe back then it wasn’t as common as it is today to have Hispanic actors on TV, and people were not used to seeing people who weren’t like them. I don’t know, but it was a very unpleasant