I must admit something – hoping and advocating for a cure is not always easy. There is a difference between, say, promoting a product that is just an aspect of your job, and talking about something that you have to deal with every moment of every day, with every meal and almost every physical activity.
So much has been said about when, or if, a cure for type 1 diabetes will ever come. There are plenty of people who don’t see us ever achieving such a feat. While stopping short of the word “impossible,” sometimes there is a defeatist attitude that recognizes how long we’ve been waiting in the hopes for a cure and the frustration and pessimism from the lack of tangible progress.
As we often discuss at the JDCA, there are things that we can do to change this perspective. Since the current model of research project allocation only focuses a small fraction of cure-donated money toward type 1 cure projects, it is definitely worth it to try a more focused, goal-oriented approach. Dreaming for a diabetes cure is a big dream, but it is not impossible.
Some experiences in my life have taught me to reevaluate my definition of “impossible”.
Five years ago when I came to the U.S. for college, I had one long-term dream in mind – to become a screenwriter. The trouble is, five years ago I didn’t have the slightest clue how I could successfully pursue such a dream. Though I had studied screenwriting in different countries, English was not my native language. I had much to learn and my distant dream of getting involved in the movie industry through creating stories and characters and seeing them come alive on the big screen seemed extremely far away. I did not allow myself to say the word “impossible,” but that’s how I really felt.
If I was still struggling to perfect college essays, how in the world could I expect to write a 120 page screenplay that would get a Hollywood producer’s attention? Plenty of knowledgeable people will tell you the chances are slim to none, and that you would be better served playing the lottery. (As a side note, another example of something “impossible” to win that someone somewhere out there wins every week)
But this is what I wanted. I knew the chances were slim and that I was not the best writer in the world, but I at least had confidence in my determination. Whatever prospects I had could only increase if I created a plan, time-line for that plan, and worked hard each day to see it become something tangible.
There are many steps in writing a screenplay. First comes the planning stage, where hundreds of ideas for stor ylines, characters and themes bubbling in your head materialize on a piece of paper. Then, you start to chart out your story. Every storyline or act needs to be confined by a specific length so that it fits into the film you are trying to create. It can not be too short or too long. You need to work to find that right balance.
In addition to the story structure, personal discipline is greatly important. If you believe that you will simply “write whenever you have the time,” you will likely never finish a single screenplay. You need to establish a minimum number of minutes or pages you are going to write each day, and you need to set down a time-frame for when you will have your finished story. You need to stick to that plan, even if it means forcing yourself to work or revising the plan as you discover new things about your characters and your story. It is also helpful to be flexible and do your best to steady the boat as it passes over the stormy seas you are bound to sail through.
There is much more to be written and said about the process of writing a screenplay (or any kind of writing for that matter), but goal-setting and time-management are crucial to getting you off the ground.
Fast forward five years- have I gotten my Oscar for Best Original Screenplay? Still working on that one. However, back then I would not have at all believed back then that today I would have seven full-length screenplays completed, that I genuinely have gotten better with each one, and that I have gotten a few production companies to take a look at my work, and received positive feedback from industry professionals.
Do I still have a long way to go before my dream of seeing a movie of mine on the big screen is realized? Oh boy, do I ever. But the road seems much clearer today. The goal, while still big and unforgiving, is no longer “impossible.” For what it is worth, I feel confident and encouraged by the progress I’ve made toward my goal.
I realize that curing type 1 diabetes and writing a screenplay are different disciplines with different problems and factors to consider. What is not so different, however, is the outlook of what is possible and what is not.
The JDCA is not promising a cure. However, if we improve our outlook and set a clear cure goal and strategy to achieve that goal, we can accelerate the development of a Practical Cure.
– Stoyan
