Embracing the Unexpected: A Writer's Journey from Lost Dreams to Found Purpose
In the aftermath of school, many young adults face a daunting transition, and Sofie Laguna was no exception. Her first year out of education was marked by a sense of being lost, filled with yearning and grand aspirations that seemed just out of reach. She recalls how the structured environment of school had inadvertently contained her anxiety, leaving her unprepared for the realities of adulthood. Like countless others, she was swept up in the excitement of leaving behind teachers and rules, eagerly anticipating a future in the city where she would study and perform in plays.
The Harsh Realities of Post-School Life
However, the reality proved far from thrilling. Exhausted from giving her all to the HSC, Laguna lacked the resources and readiness for university. She found herself in the wrong course at the wrong institution, struggling to make new friends while clinging to old ones who felt like family. To compound matters, she fell in love with the wrong people, all while holding onto a childlike belief that dreams unfold exactly as imagined, controlled by sheer desire.
Her choice of university was driven by its proximity to Sydney's National Institute for Dramatic Art, where she longed to immerse herself in acting. She vividly remembers watching acting students practice in Shakespearian costumes, a stark contrast to her own arms heavy with law books. Despite her efforts, she failed to gain entry to NIDA and eventually dropped out at 18, feeling out of her depth as she pursued acting independently.
Building Blocks in Disguise: From Unemployment to Epiphany
Laguna later studied acting at the Victorian College of the Arts, where she discovered joys in text and character. Yet, upon graduation, she found herself unemployed once more. In between auditions, she took on various jobs—working in kitchens, bars, and hotels, serving drinks, scraping plates, and making sandwiches. She even sold potatoes at festivals and entertained children as a fairy at birthday parties, complete with coat-hanger wings and smeared face-paint.
At one point, she signed up for unemployment benefits. In a pre-internet era, job opportunities occasionally arrived by mail. A letter from the Department of Social Security contained a little yellow card with a hand-written job description: writer. This moment stopped her in her tracks. Could the DSS know something she didn't? Might she be a writer? Reflecting on her lifelong love of journals, reading, and storytelling—including writing plays as a child—she felt a spark of recognition. Upon closer inspection, the card actually read waiter, but the misreading planted a seed.
How Every Struggle Counted Towards a Creative Awakening
In hindsight, Laguna views every effort as a building block. The thwarted dreams, failed auditions, stage fright, and struggles—all of it counted. The fairy dust in her clothes, the late-night drives after mopping floors, each experience contributed to her growth. She suggests that such challenging days might be counting for others too, quietly guiding them toward their brightest dreams, even when skies seem cloudy.
A few years after the DSS letter, Laguna began studying writing, thinking that if she couldn't find work as an actor, she might write herself some. This decision marked a shift, with a deeper, more authentic part of her taking the lead. She became less rigid about the future's shape, ultimately realising that her initial misreading of the letter was prophetic. Today, as a writer based in Melbourne, she embodies the truth that hardships and failures are not dead ends but stepping stones to unexpected success.
