Fine I’ll do the #2016 thing. But I should say this is also my 10th year of living in LA.
10 years ago I had freshly graduated from college and decided not to pursue anything related my degree in Political Science. The passion for film and acting was still very present in my heart and mind.
In March of 2016 I moved to LA and crashed on the couch of @yesi_ramirez_la to pursue a career in acting.
I was so nervous and optimistic about the future thinking that we wouldn’t be where we are right now. I world three jobs at a time sometime, bounced between trains and buses and Ubers to get around. I met some truly incredible people and found a place in the world that I truly felt I was a part of a community that understood and embraced me and everyone regardless of differences of background or of lifestyle. And LA felt like such an electric city teeming with creative people and full of life. I also had a lot of heartbreak. Whether that’s friends that are no longer in my life, the loss of my grandpa, and the loss of some animal friends I had had the joy of loving. I had started to feel the momentum of my ambition really start to pay off right before it all went away with the pandemic. Then came the series of really awful things on a macro level like strikes and fires and the advent of AI and the backsliding of our society into something it felt like we had spent generations fighting to become that put somethings on hold and made others go away. The city started to feel emptier and the world started to feel a lot meaner. I hold out hope that I can feel the same level of optimism I felt that March of 2016. But I’ve grown a lot since then: I’ve become more confident, I’ve learned how to stand up for myself and to establish boundaries, I’ve discovered my own personal tastes and what I want from the world, I’ve become a better artist and a better collaborator and so on. I’m thankful to everyone I met for being a part of that growth. It’s been a lot of highs and lows since then but all I can say is that I am proud and happy I made that move. Be kind to yourselves and others. Let’s try to make this world a better place. I love you and I love LA ❤️
