Don't Rain on my Parade!!

In the 1969 hit musical “Funny Girl”, is the story of girl named Fanny Brice (played by Barbara Streisand) growing up in poverty in New York’s Lower East Side. She dreams of having the opportunity to become a Ziegfeld star. In her debut performance in Vaudeville, she runs into a mysterious man by the name of Arnstien. As the years go by Fanny’s career takes off as well as her feelings for Arnstein. After one weekend where he admits he loves Fanny right before she leave for her tour. Fanny realizes she loves him and takes a leap of faith to blindly follow him on a gambling cruise. Right before she runs from the train station to catch the cruise she has to tell her tour members and her boss she is quitting. As she begins to tell them but before she can get a word in, they cut her off and tell her she is crazy for such a reckless decision.Fanny answers all of them in her song “Don’t Rain on my Parade”, where she states

Don't tell me not to live
just sit and putter,
Life's candy and the sun's
a ball of butter,
Don't bring around a cloud
to rain on my parade.
Don't tell me not to fly,
I've simply got to
If someone takes a spill
It's me and not you.
who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade?
I'll march my band out,
I'll beat my drum,
And if I'm fanned out,
Your turn at bat, sir.
At least I didn't fake it.
Hat, sir, I guess I didn't make it!
But whether I'm the rose
Of sheer perfection,
Or freckle on the nose
Of life's complexion,
The cinder or the shiny apple of its eye.
I gotta fly once,
I gotta try once,
Only can die once, right, sir?
Ooh, love is juicy,
Juicy, and you'll see
I gotta have my bite, sir!
Get ready for me, love,
'Cause I'm a "comer,"
I simply gotta march,
My heart's a drummer.
Don't bring around a cloud
To rain on my parade!
I'm gonna live and live now,
Get what I want--I know how,
One roll for the whole shebang,
One throw, that bell will go clang,
Eye on the target--and wham--
One shot, one gun shot, and bam--
Hey, Mister Arnstein, here I am!
I'll march my band out,
I'll beat my drum,
And if I'm fanned out,
Your turn at bat, sir,
At least I didn't fake it.
Hat, sir? I guess I didn't make it.
Get ready for me, love,
'Cause I'm a "comer,"
I simply gotta march,
My heart's a drummer.
Nobody, no nobody is gonna rain on my parade!

Dilemma:

Have you ever made a decision that others just can’t understand? Have you acted on that decision? Fanny after years of never fitting because of her lack of physical endowments, her usual sense of humor, and quirky personality. After some time she finds a career where she can use her strength of humor to make a name for her, instead of people laughing at her she turned the tables so they laugh with her. As her career grew you found the gift she always longed for which was love. A power that takes over you and changes the way you think, feel, and act. When she acts on her decision to peruse love, the ones around her “bring a cloud to rain on her parade” so to speak in which they tell her how foolish she is. Fanny tells them in her song for those not to bring down her new found happiness, nor instruct her how to live her life. We can all relate to Fanny’s song. So often do people bring negativity around us about our decisions that we so choose. There are times where advice can be taken, and there are times where you have to take a leap of faith and follow your own instincts.