Jasmine Belfast 🧿🪬

As I look back on the last 12 months I cannot say I would trade a single moment of grief for any of the wonder I have found in its wake. It taught me to see my own pain reflected in others and learn to forgive them as I’d forgiven myself. To love unconditionally. Even with the broken bits. There are some who believe stoicism can only be achieved by moving through life unaffected by the world around them. And while it may feel righteous to think ourselves above the fragility of human emotion, the fact remains that the child within us is still there—begging to be loved. We cannot deny them. Stoicism is not about feeling nothing. It’s about feeling everything! Acknowledging the words that bubble in the back of our throats before we shove them down like bile, out of shame and fear. But those words are crucial! Shout those words. Write those words. And when you feel ready, share those words. I have a hungry mind and a quick tongue. I cry at the drop of a hat. My feet are calloused. My hands are gentle. I’m wild and kind and a fucking force to be reckoned with. I love to teach and be taught and I’m endlessly curious. I’m the Sun. A butterfly. A rainbow. The willow-tree that lowers its branches to shelter you on a rainy day. I’m the best and worst parts of you just like you are the best and worst of me. I’m my mothers daughter, happily caught somewhere between the child I once was and the adult I always dreamt I’d be. But most importantly, I’m someone new every day. My only constant, as sure as the stars above and stones below, is that no matter what I will (try) to be a better person than I was yesterday. I’m only 24, which is hardly a drop in the ocean of existence, but I just want to say that it does get better. And it is worth the wait.

My friends and I joined Ricky’s family and loved ones in Laredo this Tuesday and laid him to rest. The journey there and back was quite emotional for a number of reasons, as I’m sure you can imagine. No one ever imagines they’ll have to say goodbye to a friend so young and so precious. Ricky was tenacious and bold and so incredibly fearless. I was in awe of him from the moment we became friends. I had no idea someone could be so sure of themselves. He was never afraid to speak his mind. Place a boundary. He made his feelings known and demanded respect in every form. He knew exactly what rooms he belonged in and was never afraid to walk out of the ones he didn’t and start fresh. That was the biggest lesson he ever taught me. Austin, Texas was my home for such a short amount of time but as I drove through the streets that have lined my memory for years now I realize it really has always been my home, because home is where the heart is. These people and I have known so many different versions of each other and yet the love still remains. And in Ricky’s absence we’ve learned to hold each other a bit closer. Ricky ended every phone call by telling me to “be safe”. If I had a dollar for every time I echoed his words to these people in the last week I’d have been able to buy another ticket back by now. Life is short. And it is unpredictable and it is fragile and we all know this, but it is another thing entirely to really truly have to feel the consequences of that brevity. The scary truth is that none of us know whether we have tomorrow to do that thing. So call your mom. Send that risky text. Double email that job. Say yes to those after work drinks even though you’re exhausted. Take that class. Live a little more for your loved ones who no longer have the chance. In honor of Ricky I will be tenacious and brave and true to myself. I will be relentless in my pursuit of happiness. I will dance and laugh and love openly. I will reach out often, and tell you when I am thinking of you, and say I love you just because I can. And that way, a little piece of my best friend’s immortality can live on through us all. You will never be forgotten. Te amo, my love.

I don’t want to write this post. I don’t want to accept that an any of this is real. I haven’t known a life without you since I was 17 years old. You messaged me on Snapchat a few days after our ensemble group chat was created and told me I felt like a real ass b* tch and that we should be friends. And we were inseparable ever since. None of this feels real and nothing I say feels like it can do you justice. You were a force of nature. You were so generous and so loving and so bold and so fierce and so funny. I will miss our sleepovers. Splitting a bottle of sutter home white zinfandel and sh*t talking all night. I’ll miss our late night trips to Walmart. Dancing by your side. Hearing you sing. Our 3 hour FaceTime calls. Hearing you ask “b*tch is that my hoodie/shirt/onehitter/lighter/waterbottle/etc.” cause yes it is and of course it was. So much of me is made of you. Your recipes are in my kitchen. Your clothes are on my back. Your jokes are in my heart. Every song you ever put me onto. Every potential duet and monologue and scene. Every celebrity crush. Every silly innuendo. Every insane story. We should have had more dances. We should have had more duets. You were supposed to meet my kids and be in my wedding. You were supposed to be staying with me in a few weeks. You made me better. You pushed me to demand more for myself. To see my talent and to never settle for anything less than what I deserve. You were my loudest cheerleader. Yours is the first voice I hear before I do something I’m scared to do. I don’t know how to be me without you and I don’t want to be. I keep wanting to call you to process this together. To update you on all the people you’ve brought together in your absence. To tell you about the impact you made on so many people. I never once thought I’d have to do any of this without you with me. We spoke every day but I should have called more. I should have replied faster. I should have hugged you harder. I wish I loved you harder. I should have told you more. You were my constant. My sweet prince. The rat king. My best friend. I love you so much. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t ever want to say goodbye. But rest easy my love.

Here is a series of nearly identical photos of my face that will hopefully lead to my eventual supermegastardom and fully realized artistry ✨🌟 📸 - @drbmemory Thank you so much!!

Edge Of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks! Sung by your very own Jasmine Belfast for the “Fashism is a Drag” benefit @thestonewallinn Thank you to our stunning host @thebritafilter and our partners @refusefascismnyc for giving me the opportunity to lend my voice to such an important cause. Anyone and everyone reading this, please take a moment and find one small way to invest further into your community and learn more about your local government. Big change can happen even in small waves. I love you all, thank you!

Baby’s first 54 Below Cabaret! They Didn’t Know - Originally by Kurt Carr covered by yours truly and the beautiful voices of the choir and band. Two posts in one day is already a lot for me but more clips from this beautiful night coming soon! Shot by: @noahsimau_ Directed by: @theanyae Music Direction/🎹 by: @branmuzsick

A bit late to the game but: this new years I chose to reframe my mindset surrounding “reinventing myself.” Instead of crafting another threadbare list of resolutions, I finally identified my destination in life and broke the journey there down into bite sized pieces that I could hold myself accountable for each day. My dream, my “why?, my spark, is to be a healer and an artist all at once. This’d manifested itself in ways over the years but it was always a scattered effort that came second to survival.   I have to sing. I have to dance. I have to write. Or else I’m not living. January 1st I made a promise to myself to be an artist first and a public servant second. And once I did the support magically appeared. I had the weight of my entire community backing me. My friends, my family, my tribe— Idk where the whole “no one is coming to save you” narrative began but it’s a crock of shit. I get saved 100x a day. By the conductor who re-opened the doors for me at 42nd St last night. By sticky fingered toddlers. By the man who gave me a toblerone the day I sobbed alone on the train after having an infection sliced out of my hand unexpectedly. By a simple “I’m proud of you” from a mentor. In January the universe taught me I can pour myself into my artistry the same way I did the grind of hustle culture and still keep my head above water. The blessings and opportunities came flooding in once I stopped being afraid to be heard. The ruling class banks its survival on the hope that we will not realize how powerful our voices are. The enemy of war is not just peace, it is creation and COMMUNITY. As we approach the Lunar new year and begin the year of the horse, I encourage everyone to re-familiarize themselves with their “spark” or “purpose” and pledge allegiance to it. I want my gifts to be a part of the healing tide. My voice is my greatest weapon. My expression is my therapy. My loved ones are the wind beneath my wings.  Thank you for such a wonderful start to the year. I am so excited to document the rest of this journey. And thank you to everyone who made this month so great. It’s not living if it’s not with you 🫶

Today's addition to our lineup of fabulous femmes!! @reverieroomnyc Jasmine Belfast is elated to be joining the Dangerous Women cabaret and wants to thank Faith for allowing her to be a part of such an exciting project. She began her BFA in Acting at Texas State University and later transferred to the Los Angeles Film School to pursue her Bachelor’s in Screenwriting. Recent theater credits include A Sirens Prayer at the Southstreet Seaport Museum (Itanya), Aquila Theatre’s 2023 national tour of Julius Caesar (Calpurnia, Octavius) and Pride and Prejudice (Lydia Bennett, Charlotte Lucas) as well as In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Daisy), Stupid F*cking Bird (Mash), and Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). Tickets available in our bio! 🎟️🫶 #nycpianobar #reverieroomnyc #nycsinger #femmefatale #nycproductioncmpany

Merry Christmas from the Belfast Bunch ❤️🎄

‘Tis the season indeed 🎄✨

Too many people and moments to be grateful for this thanksgiving but here’s a very small percentage of my highlights over the last few months. I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by kind and loving people. I learn so much every day from the company I keep and it really is the greatest joy of all.

Can a heart still break once it’s stopped beating? 💙🦋