(male #1) we're traveling the united states this summer getting advice frm people we feel ar influentia. (female #1) we have a day's drive before we get to santa fe, which is where our next interview is. (male #1) do i continue down marketing, or should i completely start anew? (female #1) i'm feeling really pressured to make a decision right now. (female #2) it's really difficult to imagine putting it all out there and hoping it will find you. (matthew) you've got to have some blind faith, and you've got to go, and it will happen. (female announcer) state farm has made it possible for this documentary series to be shared on public television stations across the country. roadtrip nation would like to sincerely thank our friends at state farm for helping a nation of young people define their own roads in life. like a good neighbor, state farm is there. (female announcer) roadtrip nation would also like to thank the college board for supporting this series.

the college board: connect to college success. (male announcer) roadtrip nation is also made possible by at&t: helping to connect students to success in school, in the workforce, and in life. (female narrator) everywhere you turn, people try to tell you who to be and what to do. but what about deciding for yourself? roadtrip nation is a movement that empowers people to define their own roads in life. this past summer, teams of roadtrippers crossed the country hoping to gain insight into their lives. on the road, they met all kinds of interesting people to learn how they found their way. this is roadtrip nation. ♪ (female #2) why did i take the first shift?

(aaro) since we'e arrived n california it's ben a complete whirlwind of so many different things. (female #1) the nice long hauls are nice, you know? because you can relax and enjoy what's going on around you instead of freaking out that you're going to miss your exit. (female #2) scenic view left lane. can i get to the left? (aaron) let's open our minds and our hearts. (female #2) ...and our souls and our bodies. (female #2) cactus! cacti. (aaron) this is just really incredible. ♪ (aaron) do you want me to go up a little bit, liz? no, i've got it. it'll just be slow moving, so i'm going to need some patience.

(female #2) yay! (liz) it's thursday. we have a day's drive before we get to santa fe, which is where our next interview is. glenna goodacre. (autumn) what i really love is you're always experiencing something new and how much you feel at home in places you've never been in. (aaron) we are on our way to glenna goodacre's house. her studio, actually. (liz) glenna appealed to me because of all the sculptures she's done. and she's been wildly successful at it. you don't hear about a lot of successful female sculptors. (glenna) is this the traveling group? it is. hi, i'm liz. hello liz. hi, i'm aaron. where are you all from? (whole team) montana. ♪

(glenna) so what type of people do you interview? (liz) people who are just passionate about what they do. (glenna) i'm passionate. (liz) [laughing] good...good. (glenna) i've been sculpting for forty years. (liz) wow. so my name's autumn. i've just completed six years of college, but i haven't-- did you flunk a lot? [laughter] so, i never really found that major, though, that really stuck with me. i really want to be a writer. i'm at that stage where i'm not sure-- do i need my degree first or should i try what i really love? i don't know how to figure that out. [jokingly] i'm just going to be in tears, you all are just suffering so badly. i know, right? [laughter] (glenna) when i went to school i had always planned to get my degree.

at the same time i wanted to be an artist, but i had to get my degree and get married and have children and do what women are supposed to do. says somebody. i was a painter for twenty years before i sculpted. i'm a very old person. and my problem was that i had a sculpture professor that didn't like me, i couldn't stand him, and he told me that i was stupid, dumb and ignorant and couldn't see three-dimensional. so i never thought about sculpture until after i had babies and matured a little, i was encouraged to try sculpture. when that person started encouraging you to do sculptures, what was your reaction to that, since your mindset had been so... against it? he gave me a big lump of wax

and told me i should try sculpting, and i said, "oh no, couldn't possibly..." that i was stupid, dumb and ignorant, and couldn't see three-dimensional. [disappointedly] ...stupid. it was a give and take kind of thing, trying to take to the wax. and that's when i sculpted this little girl. this is my daughter, who is now forty something. it built my confidence. if i could cast it in bronze and sell a couple of pieces and people enjoyed them, then that's just another... goosing me along. (liz) how does it feel when you get a call from washington d.c. and they're like, "glenna, we want you to make this sculpture for us?" my voice goes up two octaves: [high-pitched] "oh, really?! you want me?" it's the gratification.

(glenna) out there in my exhibition hall is a rendition of the vietnam women's memorial. it means so much to those people. at the dedication there were, like, 35,000 people in washington. and all the tear and all the-- it was very emotional. people are my passion, and i enjoy doing likenesses of people. (liz) so what is it about people that you like? i like people. i just like people. i like children. i love being with people and learning about their road in life. (glenna) after all these years i'm still mashing the clay, and still enjoying it. and it is my passion. the end. [laughter] (aaron) i've never heard success and revenge in the same quote,

but i think with her situation it was great. some guy told her that she shouldn't sculpt and she created the vietnam women's memorial. (aaron) i don't know how much more successful you can get with 3-d art. ♪ so we are on our way to roswell to visit the international ufo museum. (aaron) i really wanted us to wear alien suits, but i don't thin, from the pictures i've see, that those are going to stand out. ♪ (aaron) we got to sit down with malcolm mcdowell. he, of course, starred in "a clockwork orange", "o lucky man!"... hi, i'm liz, nice to meet you. what was your name again?

liz, and these are my friends. hi, i'm aaron. hi, aaron. so what was it like when you first began acting? was it really hard to get into it? well, hard work and luck, because that's what it takes. most actors earn less than $10,000 a year acting. that means you're waiting tables or you're...whatever it is. you're doing another job. but, you know...i had to do it. i was a messenger boy, supposed to be delivering messages around london on a bike. which was great because it meant i could take the bike and pedal and go to all the auditions. and whatever it takes to pay your rent so you can act. and you have to have that dedication if you're going to succeed. and really, of course i didn't know whether i was going to be successful or not.

there's always an element of luck in any success and i think anyone will tell you that. of course, you have to be ready for it. so, when i was 24 i'd been an actor for four years, working in theatre, television, and at the royal shakespeare company. i was late for this audition with this great man. i see this beautiful girl. of course, i'm supposed to be auditioning with this girl and she'd obviously read the script and learnt it and i hadn't even been sent one. so i'm trying to look through the scene and it's all going in one ear and out the other and i've sort of got half an eye on her. i'm looking at her going... [waves] anyway, we started and so i'm reading them the script and it says, "mick grabs hold of girl and kisses her passionately. so i thought, "wow, well that is a bit of luck...wow."

so i literally pulled her right across the table and you know our teeth banged together, there was blood-- [laughter] but i hadn't read the next line of the script which was that the girl slaps mick viciously. well, according to the writer, she punched me. she brought the punch from somewhere back here and just smacked me so hard that i went back and hit the stage and literally was...my whole face was sort of throbbing. i couldn't hear anything, and tears were pouring and i was like, "oh my god!" and she and i were both cast in the movie and i just thought: it was that slap that sort of slapped me into movie stardom.

and that meant "a clockwork orange" because i was cast from that performance in "if...." by stanley, who saw it. so when i was 24 i became a movie star. what would you give as advice to our generation,e kindx of decisions and passion and-- [laughs] you know, if i were you i wouldn't worry about it. you're young... how old are you? twenty four... we're all 24. okay, you're young. you're very young, you've got your whole life before you. so what the hell are you worried about? just believe in who you are. you know who you are. stick with it and just don't let anything get in the way of your ambition, you know? you don't have to hurt people, you don't have to be obnoxious about it, you don't have to even say it out loud. but always just go and be dogged and go back to it,

and never let it drop. and eventually someone will pick up on it. thank you so much. [laughter] thank you. thank you very much. [laughter] (aaron) probably one of the greatest random interviews that i could have imagined. i know! (liz) [singing] we met malcolm mcdowell. (aaron) let's be humble about it. [laughter] (aaron) it was almost luck that got him to where he's at, but he was a messenger boy and he was still going to as many auditions as he possibly could and...he worked really hard. (liz) [jokingly] oh! we could have died, aaron! (aaron) if you just keep working hard some doors will open that open other doors and it'll just kind of fall into place. ♪

(liz) i guess i really didn't fully grasp the thought of how long it takes to do things in an rv. (liz) you're thinking, "it's not going to take us ten hours to drive 500 miles." and then it does. [laughs] hey autumn? (autumn) what? could you find something, anything, to feed me? 'cause i haven't had any breakfast, i just had coffee. (autumn) to feed you? sure. yes, just stuff it in my mouth, please. (autumn) [laughing] i'll do that alright. ♪ ♪ new orleans has been the place

i've always wanted to visit because it kind of has a mystery to it and a spirit to it. this is good. (autumn) i wish my tongue was really long and i could lick my whole face off. (autumn) right now we're driving to the zoo to park so we can walk and meet with matthew nolan. he's a poet who lives here in new orleans. he's really cool because he's really nice and kind of was on the same path that i was: psychology major, was just about to graduate, didn't like it at all, decided to quit and become a writer. (aaron) they're all so beautiful. (autumn) i want to be a writer. i have one more year until i get my psych degree, but i've been in school for, like, six years. i've always had that kind of lax attitude, and it's funny because my mom is not that way at all. being a principal, she's very like, "get your degree."

(autumn's mom) i want her to finish her degree. her background, and her interests, and her abilities and a psych degree...she has a lot of options. (autumn) i love my mom to death, but we're very different. (aaron) i think autumn is going to get the push to sit down and actually write a book. (aaron) i think that's exactly what she needs to hear. do you want to ring it, autumn? (aaron) oh, it's not a ringer. (autumn) i've never used one of these, what do you do? (aaron) um, this one? (autumn) no. (aaron) why don't we hit both of them? (autumn) [whispers] he's coming! (autumn) hi! how are you? (matthew) great. how are you? (autumn) oh, i'm good. (autumn) it's really hot but other than that... it's nice to finally meet you, i'm autumn. (matthew) great, nice to meet you. i'm liz. hi, i'm aaron. welcome to new orleans!

(autumn) i always wanted to write. i tried to actually do it the college way: you know, journalism. finally i decided i just want to do it on my own terms. i'll stop college and write. but i've never really known how to succeed at something when it doesn't have a path to follow. so kind of... that's my deal. okay, sounds very similar. i can relate. i went through those same struggles. i went to school. i didn't have any money to go, and in my first semester i was cast in a shakespeare play which got me a performing arts scholarship, which allowed me to continue to go to school. and that's when i discovered my artistic self, and my writing and acting. i actually graduated at the top of my class: one out of 7,800.

i was picked for this "usa today academic team" thing. well, the only reason i say that is to say that put a huge amount of pressure on me to move forward in academia, when i wanted to write stories and act. my peers and everybody, my professors, expected me to be the vice president of something or go on to this conventional career path and it was so seductive, and it was so appealing. and as soon as i almost took these jobs something in my gut said, "this is not right, this is not what you were brought here to do." but i was still conflicted as to what to do with the writing and acting. so summer came and went. i got the post-graduation blues. the job offers went away. i was no longer the big guy on campus. they just forgot about me. started getting really depressed... hitting rock bottom, and i'd decided if i was still in alabama on the first of that year, graduated in june--

if i'm still in alabama on the first, that i was going to kill myself. that is what i had decided. i felt that bad. i was depressed but i was also angry that i'd let myself get depressed, and i was stuck here and i didn't belong here. and right after christmas, a couple days before january first, i just took a bus into new orleans, and took a transfer and pulled the cord on the streetcar. i didn't know what neighborhood i was in. i started walking down the street, saw a "for rent" sign... there was a guy painting and i told him i would be homeless that night, and, you know, "if you could let me sleep on the balcony... "just...i need to stay here. just let me stay here." so, he let me do that and the whole time i was doing this i was writing my book, "crumpled paper dolls." i was writing it in the journals. i didn't know i was writing my book at the time, but as i was journaling and writing poetry

that's what i was doing. my dream in new orleans was to write a book and sell it on the streets and to some local bookstores. it was never to get in the publishing industry. did you print the book yourself, or did you have someone help you? i didn't know what i was doing. now there are a lot of self-publishing resources out there. before then there wasn't. i just wrote it up in word and winged it, and took it to a local printer. i printed up a hundred copies. i took one copy and mailed it to a major bookstore chain. and two months before hurricane katrina i got a phone call, and she said, "we got your book and "the national book buyer wants to distribute it across the country." in bookstores, right? and i was like, "wow!" you know? but i was so naive; i had to call her back and go, "what should i price my book at?" and then a friend that i used to do this whole... " ride my bicycle aroud new orleans, bohemian

poetry reading thing ," called from seattle after the storm and she's like, "i'm in barnes and noble reading your book." and i'm just like, "oh my god! no you're not, right?" and then i called the village and some bookstores in new york city and i said, "do you have my book?" and they said my name and the title, "crumpled paper dolls," and they were like, "do you want me to hold it for you?" and i'm like, "no...wow!" [laughter] and all that stuff kind of affirmed that it's all good. but even without all that i would still-- i would totally be working two days a week and selling my books on the street right now, had none of that happened, and be happy as can be. so, for autumn's position, with you obviously being an author and writing, what would you have done differently? what advice could you give to her about mistakes you've made?

listen to yourself... your words that you're saying. "i like this, i don't like this." pay attention to that and do something about it. you've got to have some blind faith, and you've got to go, and it will happen. you're not going to die, the world's not going to end. that need for approval is real, but you don't have to have it. you're probably going to have to go without it. do something unconventional. okay, if you guys are bored, those two boxes out there have nothing but mardi gras beads in them...go grab some. (aaron) i've got to find some that don't look like pearls... (aaron) 'cause i'm a man. (autumn) [imitating aaron] 'cause i'm a boy! (autumn) i have a hard time taking advice from other people, so it surprised me... realizing there are things i need to work on, or that there are things that are important to me that i didn't even realize were important. ♪ (autumn) i think it's important to realize that

whatever happens next is completely up to me. ♪ (male announcer) roadtrip nation extends beyond the program you just watched. it's a movement that empowers others to create their own roadtrip experiences. here's a quick snapshot into that movement: i'm a sophomore at the university of oregon. i'm a junior at u of o. i'm a potentially professional college student. and i'm a social worker. (heather) i've never driven across the country before. (jessica) i want to experience life outside of portland and the west coast. (candice) we have secured an interview with jason russell, one of the filmmakers of "invisible children." we were in northern uganda, not knowing that this lra war

and these children were there. that's when we said, "this is a story worth telling." the people who saw the stories of the children said, "we can't look at this horror and not be involved." (jason) don't ask yourself what the world needs. ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that. because what the world needs is for people to come alive. (heather) wow, all of these people are working together and making so much change happen. (candice) i was challenged to look at what i'm doing right now, whether or not it's what makes me come alive. (jessica) i think we can all say that general statement is true now. (autumn) we only have two weeks left in the trip. i'm sad about it. i want us to keep going. (kyle) the common progression is to prepare you to be an employee.

you don't have to. go out and do what you want. (bill) in all honesty, if you gave me a pile of bones i could sit here all day and really enjoy it. a loofeowait in all honesty, too te tave me a steno theiars y lie 'csit here all day and you don't knowt. en your ow's gog to be

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