When Mommy passed, she came to me in my dreams almost every night and said many things. She told me, “Don’t worry, I’m on the other side and it is beautiful. Although I love it here, there are certain things I miss doing physically. I miss cooking. I miss you and your father. I miss watching sports. But I want you to know this…live life to the fullest and embrace it all, even the bad stuff. Take it all in. Because you may not get a second chance at that moment.”
And so here I am, taking Mommy’s words to heart. I’ve been grinding hard these last four years and pushing myself to create something greater than myself. At times I’ve stumbled, but I’ve never stayed down.
The lessons I learned this year were definitely centered around personal growth: How to humble yourself when you don’t have all the answers. How to love when you really want to stay angry. How to be of service when you really want to be selfish. How to stay motivated even when your emotional tank is empty. How to stay physically healthy when so many around you are struggling.
This year was definitely about obtaining wisdom and using my voice in immeasurable ways, speaking truth even when it was uncomfortable. But like PT Barnum once said, “Comfort is the enemy to progress.”
And so I progress.
I came to this city with $200, a laptop, two suitcases of clothes and a desire to break the ceiling I was under. Now I have screenplays on the desks of major studios and production companies, along with a debut short film that was selected for 80+ film festivals and 60+ awards. Yeah, it’s been a great year. Oh yeah, there’s a book deal, too. And I’m not done.
But NONE of this would be possible without the support of my loving husband, father, family, friends and amazing mentors who themselves are kicking ass and taking names.
It takes a village and I’m happy to be in this one.