Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything

by Alyson Stoner

As children, we thought we were meeting with trusted adults who cared about us on a personal level. In reality, they dangled dreams in front of us like a hypnotist with a pocket watch, raptly watching us duke it out for roles while having a completely separate corporate agenda driving decisions.

Remember: Everything that is in the oak tree is in the acorn.”

As hundreds of thousands of innocent children get recruited into show business via talent conventions, performing arts schools, agency scouts, their guardians, or, increasingly, the allure of digital stardom via YouTube and social media, they unwittingly enter what I call the toddler-to-trainwreck pipeline.