For the average person, a sneeze will fly out of the mouth at about 100 miles per hour; for Tina Fey, jokes spew out even faster. Although it may seem to come naturally to her, Tina has had to work extremely hard to get where she is today. Even from an early age, she knew she wanted to join the world of comedy. What she didn’t know was how hard it would be to get to the top — or even to the bottom or middle for that matter. What used to be a “dog-eat-dog” world has alas become a “man-eat-anything-less-than-a-man-world.” In the twenty-first century, conventional forms of toughness are deemed a requirement to be competent in any workplace. All throughout her life Tina has had to fight off the ruthless men and women in the world. In her biography, Bossypants, she explains how the effects developed from such things as when the stranger slashed her face, her father and even her own criticizing audiences forced herself in to becoming more masculine/tough in order to receive any sort of deference. No, this does not mean she had to wear a suit and tie to fit in at work, but instead simply meant she had to change the way people perceived her, just so that she could have the chance to share her extraordinary humor with the world.

At the early and vulnerable age of 5 years, Tina Fey was playing alone in the front yard of her house in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The unsuspecting, young Tina was approached by a stranger and slashed across the face with a blade. Instead of letting the traumatic experience impede her childhood, she decided to play the “tough-kid” role. She took any emotion that may have germinated from the experience and buried it 6 feet under. This may have seemed like an unusual and unnatural reaction to receive from a child, but in the adult world it is one that you need to avail in order to succeed. If you screw up and get reprimanded for doing so, you should merely become a brick wall. People are told that sentiment is bad because in this world any sort of emotion is equal to weakness.  Working in the world of comedy is not an easy job. You are constantly being berated and even scolded for simple mistakes that are not easily avoided. The key to success is not letting these hindrances stop you from doing what you love.  More than once, Tina was told by writers and directors that she just wasn’t good enough. Other times, she was told that regardless of her acting ability, she would most likely be playing the football player’s girlfriend in every skit. Tina Fey did not let a couple of grumpy, old, white men tell her what she was meant to do. She took the negative and positive feedback and used it to fuel her own fire. She knew when to put her head down and when to hold it up high. By following the path of no emotion, Tina was able to find a way on to a board of writers, the Saturday Night Live stage, and eventually her own television show, 30 Rock. 
Unlike the malicious, blade wielding stranger, Tina’s father, Don Fey, did not need a weapon to make himself look tough and robust. In Bossypants, Tina talks about Don as if he’s some sort of half-Scottish, half-German God. Every woman wanted to be with Don Fey, and every man wanted to be Don Fey. Tina tells many stories that truly depict Don and why he is amazing. The one feature of Don that seemed to stand out the most was the level of fear he was able to instill in his children. At one point Tina says, “How can I give [my daughter] what Don Fey gave me? The gift of anxiety. The fear of getting in trouble. The knowledge that while you are loved, you are not above the law” (53). Don Fey was able to teach his children the importance of staying in line while not giving into the dimwitted verdicts of others. Simply put, Don wants his children to realize that becoming a bold person does not mean that you have to shame others in order to get there. It means that although she was raised to be tough, Tina would be tough in the way of respectfulness. She would kill her enemies with kindness and only tell someone off when it was completely necessary. There is no courteous excuse for degrading a person in order to procure a personal gain. It was no surprise when Don’s advice worked for Tina. When Tina was accepted to begin filming 30 Rock, it wasn’t because of her writing. It was instead chosen because Alec Baldwin was speaking what was written by Tina. Despite the fact, she kept writing and acting, and letting Alec speak. Eventually, the show was seen for the true talent that radiated off of Tina Fey. She knew that regardless of the reason for being chosen, she could hold her head high and her work would ultimately be recognized.
Although her father could be tough on her, a relentless audience would soon become another grueling obstacle for Tina to literally face. Two thirds of Tina’s career was spent looking straight in to the eyes of the people who essentially decide whether she becomes successful or not. Everything she did and said was live. There were no retakes or film edits — what happens, happens. What might have scared a normal person was no match for the toughness of Tina Fey. She spent her entire high school life acting — doing it live was not new to her. Unfortunately, these faces in the audience were not old family relatives or high schoolers. They were people who know how to use social media and could post a horrible review of Tina’s acting or writing skills within minutes. One thing Tina Learned from her dear friend and costar, Amy Poehler, was to just not care. If you are doing something that you love to do, then who cares what anyone else thinks. Unless, you love setting fires. Don’t do that. Tina explains, “It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don’t like something, it is empirically not good. I don’t like Chinese food, but I don’t write articles trying to prove it doesn’t exist” (144). Tina has learned that people who do not like her writing or acting, are not going to influence her writing or acting. Tina was nervous to preform on the Saturday Night Live stage for the first time live, but was able to over come those fears. No matter how bad she might have screwed up, there was always next time. From this, Tina was able to find her voice and use it to achieve greater goals such as television shows, books, movies, etc.
Tina’s entire life has been a learning experience leading up to this pinnacle moment in time. She has learned from traumatic childhood experiences, the great Don Fey, and the persistent audiences, that with a little bit of toughness, there is nothing you can not achieve. Everything that you do should be based on your own personal interest in the matter. If you want to write scripts for a television show, then do just that. Whatever you do, do not let the imprudence of others get in the way of you achieving your goals. Whether you show toughness through emotion, physical endurance, kindness or resilience, show it with passion.