24

  I'm turning 25 this year. *gasps*  I have approximately two months and one day left as a 24 year old, so I wanted to share some valuable things that I've learned these past 24 years.

1. Follow your gut. It's almost always right.   If you get bad vibes from someone when you meet them, you're probably right about them.

2.  Getting a good night's rest is better than being social sometimes.

3. Home cooked meals are better than restaurant meals.
  Going out to eat is nice and fun, but sometimes it gets old.

4. Some people don't deserve second chances. 


5. Say "No"

6. Being alone for a while after a relationship can really help you.
       There's no need to rush into another relationship after a breakup. 

 7. Take a risk or you'll regret not acting on it.
     My senior year of college, I did something kinda silly, but I don't regret it at all. I am really shy when I like a guy. My last week of college, I had the choice of going on an audition to be on my favorite show or to see this cute guy that rode the same subway with me from school for the last time and to make a move. I had to go with the audition, but I made my friend give him a note that said... "Hey, I haven't met you. And this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe." Guess what? He called. The date sucked and there was no second date, but now I don't have to sit here and wonder what could have been.

8. Spending money on vacations or excursions to make experiences is better than having lots of material things. 

9. Family is everything.
 My family has always come first to me, but as I get older I appreciate the ones who have been there for me even more and you realize how important spending time with them is. 

10. Wear sunscreen
  I've never been much of a tanner. I never got spray tans or went to tanning beds, but that doesn't mean I am safe. It's important to wear sunscreen even if you don't spend that much time out in the sun. I had to get a spot from my back removed. Luckily we found it before it turned into anything serious.
  
11. Tell your grandparents you love them. Call them as often as you can.
  
12. Mom is almost always right!! 


13. Being honest with people and yourself will make you feel so much better.
People may not always like what they hear or what you have to say, but you have to stay true to yourself and be honest with people. It will help you and them in the long run.

14. You gotta take care of yourself.
     I had a diabetes scare a few years ago. My toes felt numb for a week and I was terrified that I would get diagnosed with diabetes. It made me change my eating habits, my exercise routine and my mentality. It's important to eat healthy and to exercise. Not to look good, but to feel good and to live a long life.

15. You will lose touch with a lot of people/lose friendships. 
   Some people won't understand your busy schedule. Sometimes you just don't mesh with people anymore. Sometimes you simply just lose touch and don't communicate anymore

16. Age is just a number.
  I certainly don't feel like a 24 year old. There are people that are older than me that are more immature than I  am and there are people younger than me that are more mature than I am. Age doesn't matter. Everyone has their own story and grows differently. Don't judge a person based on their age.

17.  Regular checkups at the doctor/dermatologist are important.

18. Everyone has their own timeline.
  Don't compare your life to other people's lives. People will experience things at different times in their lives and that doesn't mean it won't happen for you or that you have to accomplish something by a certain time in your life.  I am in no rush to get married or settle down. I still have many things I'd like to before I take a big step like that.

19. A film degree doesn't really help you get work.
  It's all about who you know and your reputation to get a job in production. Do I regret spending all that money on college? No. I met some amazing people in college and had some amazing professors. I don't regret spending the money, but it's still hurting my wallet.

20.  Being single is awesome.
In high school, I was a little bummed to not have dates to the school dance or to not have a boyfriend. Now I could care less, I don't need a relationship to be happy. Happiness comes from within. You have to love yourself before you can love someone else.  I am not saying I don't want to date. I just don't need to be in a relationship to be happy.

21. Be nice, but not too nice.

22. It's important to make time for yourself.

23. You have the power to make your dreams come true.
  14 months ago, I was a terrified, soon to be college graduate that had no job lined up. I never though I would actually get to work on a feature film. I thought I would mostly find work on indies or that I would have to find a job having nothing to do with film. 14 months later I have had the honor of working as a crew member on two feature films and on one awesome TV show. You have the power to make your dreams come true if you try really hard and put your mind to it and never give up!  

24. Your opinion of yourself is the only one that matters.
 Someone is always going to have something to say on the decisions you make, the people you date, the people you like, what you wear, what you think/say etc. The only person's opinion you should really care about is your own. Do what makes you happy. You only live once. It's not their life to live.

Let It Go

Here I am, wide awake, at 2:33 in the morning. I have a lot of things on my mind. For starters, I'm turning 25 this year!! When I was younger, I always used to say that I wanted to get married by the time I was 26. I don't think that's gonna happen and I actually really don't care anymore. I decided that I would be ok if I never got married. I don't need to rely on someone or a stage in life for happiness. I always dreamed of getting married, but that's no longer my goal in life. Of course I would love to have children, but you don't have to be married to have a kid or to raise one (adoption etc). It's a little harder to do it all on your own, but its not impossible. I'm not gonna get into that, but, sometimes you just have to learn to not have a plan or expected timeline for your life. When I started college, I expected myself to graduate in four years. That totally didn't happen and it's okay. Everybody has their own path and you don't have to copy theirs or live up to people's expectations. I think a lot of people my age see that our peers are engaged, married or have kids and they feel bad that they aren't in either one of those situations. Sometimes you just need to let it go and realize that things will start happening when you least expect them to.  Everything happens for a reason and our time will come one day. Live in the present and enjoy your life.

It's Okay To Be Different

     My mom and I just had a great heart to heart and she told me that she's always admired how little I care about what others think of me. I was pretty different than most of the girls I went to school with  growing up. As a kid, I dressed as a vampire, grim reaper, and one year even as a female devil for Halloween, then as a teenager I was a zombie for a few years. No, I am not a satan worshiper, it's just that I have always been a huge horror movie/ zombie lover. If I gave a hoot about fitting in, I probably would have worn girlie Halloween costumes. I have always done what I like to do and I have always hung out with different groups of people.
      In high school, I didn't belong to any clique, I was friends with people of all different kinds of cliques. Some of my popular or preppy friends would not understand and they would ask me, "Why do you hang out with those weird people?" Because I liked to. I like to see people for who they are, their popularity or unpopularity didn't matter to me and it still doesn't. If they're nice to me and to others that is good enough for me.
     Another thing I didn't give a hoot about is what people thought of my college degree. I was told that I was going to "starve to death" if I studied film in college. I have no regrets and I am so glad that I did.
      I feel like a lot of people just settle in life. They take the safe route. If they fit in with the crowd, study the right degree, and get a "stable" job they think that they will be happy.  I know many people who have always fit in with the crowd and have stable jobs and they are unhappy with their lives. I wish people would follow their dreams and do what they like to do more without caring so much about other people's opinions. I know you have to be realistic and have to pay bills, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on your dreams completely.
      Had I not pursued film, I would not have had the chance to see or work with people I have always dreamed of working with and I would not have met some of my best friends. Were the people who told me I would ,"starve to death," right? Partially- I am not rich, but I am not starving,  but what matters most is that I am HAPPY.  It is okay to be different, it's okay to do what you want to do even if people don't support or agree with you. You have to care about your happiness and sometimes you have to be a little selfish.

Stalked Part 2

Earlier this year, I was followed by a man in a parking deck. I got away from that situation unharmed because of the way I handled things. Yesterday, my good friend Garrett and I were followed by a man with a baseball bat and luckily, I once again came out of the situation unharmed. Let me tell you what happened and what I think saved our lives....

     The shuttles that usually take us to work were full so we decided to walk from crew parking to set. We walked through Little Five Points which is a fun, but not so safe part of town compared to Virginia Highlands. We started to leave the busy part of the area and walked down a residential street. At the corner of my eye, I noticed a man with a baseball bat come out of nowhere. He was on the other side of the street, but he was walking the same direction that we were. I told my friend Garrett that we were being followed. He told me to not look back at the guy, but I did anyway. He was smacking the baseball bat against his hand and he was walking faster to catch up to us. I then pulled out my phone and pretended that I was talking to a friend that we were about to meet up with. I said "We are around the corner and will see you soon." We kept walking and I noticed that the man had sat down after he heard I was talking to someone of the phone. I believe that my fake phone call saved us.  Moral of the story is to always look over your shoulder, walk with a buddy, be aware of your surroundings and when in doubt, pull out your phone and pretend to talk someone. 
To hear about the other time I was stalked go back to my March blog posts.

Celebrities Are Normal People

Lately I've been seeing the royal family all over the news and magazines and it just made me think about how weird it is that celebrities are worshipped by so many people. Now don't get me wrong, I respect and admire some celebrities. I also have a handful of celebrity crushes, but after working on sets and getting to see actors all of the time, I have grown out of my celebrity worship phase. To me actors, singers and models are regular people who just have cooler jobs. I actually feel really sorry for celebrities sometimes. It's gotta be weird to have all these strangers love you. I'm sure it's a little flattering, but it also must be really creepy at times. Also, it must really suck to be followed and harassed by the paparazzi. Many people say that it's a price they have to pay for being rich, but nobody deserves to be stalked and harassed no matter what their job or financial status is. I think that the consumers who buy magazines like People, Us Weekly, Ok! Magazine are partially to blame for the paparazzi. If these pictures weren't getting sold to magazines or websites, there would probably not be as many paparazzos.  I am tired of the media focusing on the not so important stuff about celebrities like their fashion, their relationships, their vacations, etc. Yes, I occasionally enjoy reading magazines like People, but it's not a necessity for me to see pictures of celebrities on vacation or on runways. I don't care or need to know where they are, what they are doing, what they are wearing.  I want to hear about the charitable stuff that celebrities are doing like visiting children with cancer or saving cats from trees. I also would like to see real heroes being acknowledged more in the media like firefighters, police officers, soldiers etc. I'd also like to hear more stories about families reuniting with soldiers or dogs being reunited with their families. I wish we would focus on more important things going on in the world more instead of obsessing over celebrities and their fashion styles. I think that E! News should focus on famous people and their lives and other news stations like CNN and FOX should focus on world events that are more important. I am not saying that celebrities as humans are not important, I just don't think we need to focus on them. Some people reading this may think I am a hypocrite because I have a huge crush on a famous actor. The thing is, it's a crush. You can have a crush on anybody. If I was to meet a cute guy in the middle of the road and end up talking to him, the same thing would happen. It's not the fact that he's famous, it's the fact that he's handsome, super nice, loves animals, cares about the environment and he has been so nice me the few times that I have met him and he has made feel so special . Okay, I'm sorry, my rant is over. I feel better now 😃.

Stalked

A few days ago at my local subway station, I was followed by a suspicious man. It all began when I got on an elevator with three men. I pressed the button for my floor and looked at the other men to see if they needed me to press a button for them. The suspicious man nodded when I pressed the button for my floor.  I instantly got bad vibes from this man because he was not carrying a briefcase or car keys and it didn't seem like he had a car to go to. We both exited the elevator and began to walk down the same parking lot aisle. I had a feeling that he was following me because as I mentioned, he was not holding car keys and was wearing a hoodie so I looked him straight in the eyes and  I pulled out my cell phone and pretended to call my boyfriend and I turned around to head toward the elevator/stairs.  The man turned from walking toward the cars to follow me back toward the stairs and elevators then he stopped walking and asked me if he could buy a cigarette from me. I am not a smoker. I don't smell like cigarettes, nor was I carrying a box of cigarettes so clearly this man made up an excuse to make it seem like he was following me for that reason. I yelled "NO" and ran up the stairs to the floor where my car was. He didn't follow me up the stairs, but as I drove down the parking deck, the man was still on the fourth floor where he was following me. If he really wanted cigarettes, he would be on the first floor where all of the people exit the train and he would be asking them. I usually see the good in people, but due to this man's suspicious actions, I am convinced that had I not looked him in the eye and had I not been aware of my surroundings, he would have done me harm. I drove down to the bottom floor and reported him to the subway police. In general, I am a super paranoid person and after being a nanny for many years, I have grown eyes in the back of my head. I am always looking over my shoulders and I always look at people in the eyes and pay attention to people's actions. I took a three hour self defense course a few years ago and the stuff that I learned has stuck with me. I hope that by reading this article, you remember how important it is to pay attention to your surroundings. Here are some tips that I have for parking deck safety.

1. Be aware of your surroundings. Look people in the eyes.

2. If you are in a parking deck, keep your car keys in one hand and your cell phone in the other. Take your earphones out and pay attention to the people around you and the cars that are moving past you.

3. Don't listen to loud music with headphones in the parking deck.

4. Don't stay in your car for too long before leaving the parking deck.  Lock your car as soon as you get in.

5. If you feel like you are being followed, pretend to be on the phone with somebody.

6. When in doubt, run! Who cares if you look stupid? Better to look stupid then to risk being in a bad situation.

Valentine's Day From Hell

I don't even know where to begin. This past summer, I was and extra in the film Endless Love so my friends and I had planned to shoot a music video, go to dinner at 7:00, then see Endless Love at 9:40. My friend Patrick and I were going to meet up at 5:30 to shoot the music video. I arrived to the parking deck of the shopping plaza where were meeting, took the key out of ignition, put it in my purse then went to put something in my trunk. I left my purse in the passenger seat of the car, so when I walked to my trunk, my car door locked. I panicked. Luckily I managed to tell Patrick where I was parked before I locked my phone and purse in the car. He got there and knew something was wrong. I called my mom who works in Midtown to see if she happened to have a spare key of my car. Nope! I made her come to meet us at the shopping plaza so she could give me some money. My mom managed to get there within fifteen minutes of the incident. My purse was not visible so Patrick and I just decided to go meet up with our friends because we all had a dinner reservation at 7:00.  We got to the restaurant ten minutes late which is no big deal, only two of our guests where and they were seated. I apologized to them for being late, because I was the host. Then we all sat down and looked at the menus. There were no prices on the menu! Then we see that the menu is smaller than the one posted online. The manager comes up to us and tells us that it's a fixed menu and it's a $45 minimum per person. My friends and I are broke, we're just normal people, most of us are college students between 20-25, $45 is a lot of money. Imagine how guilty I felt. I had no idea it was a fixed menu. The hostess who took our reservation was supposed to tell us that it was a fixed menu and she was supposed to take our credit card number to hold the reservation. She did neither of . Two of our friends decided to leave which was very smart of them and for some idiotic reason the rest of us stayed. We got our appetizer, dinner, and dessert that came with the $45 dollars and were not really pleased with the waitress. She talked so much trash about us right in front of our faces. So then we looked at movie times and the movie time that we planned to go to was sold out. Could anything else go wrong? We decided to go to the 12:15 showing of the movie. Unfortunately, our friends who left the restaurant had already bought tickets to the 9:40 so they had to go see it without us.  We got the bills and holy moly it was expensive. We regretted staying at the restaurant, but every other place was booked anyway. Also, we weren't going to a shitty restaurant on Valentine's Day. Patrick and I went ahead and returned to the parking deck, I called my roadside assistance and they came and unlocked my car in time before the movie. It only took them ten minutes after I called them to show up to my car. Patrick and I went ahead and shot his music video and our friends went shopping for a little while then Patrick left and didn't stay for the movie so I stayed with my friends Corinne, Sav, Jessie, Willi and three guys whose names I forgot. Sorry y'all. The movie sucked! It was still interesting for us, because we were in it and it saw a familiar face every two seconds in the film, but I would not recommend anyone pay to go see it unless you are a teenage girl. I love Alex Pettyfer so I enjoyed seeing his face, but  the film itself was not that good. So corny. After the movie I gave my friend a ride home then I plugged in my address to find out how to get home and my GPS on my phone did not work. It started pouring, I could barely see anything. I had to roll down my window and ask someone how to get to the highway.. I finally made it home at 3:30. Although locking my keys in the car and the expensive dinner were disastrous, the most fun part was seeing the movie and shooting my friend Patrick's video, but I was really stressed from everything that had happened that it was hard to enjoy myself at some parts.  It's been a stressful year for me to be honest. I haven't been feeling like myself so I went to the doctor and got blood work and I didn't get very good blood test results. I have to go back this week for more blood work and another checkup so that's also been adding to my stress, but things can only get better from here right?

Here are some pictures from last night...