I originally moved to LA in June 2017. It was great! Full of ups and downs that helped me to grow. I stayed for 1.5 years before visiting my parents for NYE, or at least that was the plan…
..I looked up and Super Bowl 52 was around the corner. It was in Atlanta, which was one of my top choices out of college in terms of places to live and work. I work in Sports and Entertainment, and I had already given LA a chance, so why not? I missed the southern hospitality, the food, among other things-so there was nothing to lose. I got an offer for a job I applied for on the spot, found housing in no time after visiting again, and within a week of moving I got asked to be featured for Women’s Month on a business website-it seemed like things were going in my favor!
Y’all…I only lasted a few months in Atlanta TOTAL. Long story short, I found out really quick why a number of locals were warning me about people in ATL and how they operate and scam people (not everyone obviously, but you get the point). I’d given it a couple of attempts, thinking maybe it was just the wrong timing of me moving there. But all of this made me miss being in LA…Now it’s June 2019, and I’m in a position where I’m forced to be back with my parents in St. Louis..
In the mean time, I found out about this new show on NBC called “Bluff City Law” being filmed in Memphis. Soon after that, I also found a bootcamp for Production Assistants was happening within the next month, so I applied. What was there to lose? I had at least two years of experience and brushing up on terminology and skills wouldn’t hurt. After all, I didn’t have a PERMANENT residence at the time. Fast forward to getting into the bootcamp and finishing it, I decided to stay with family for a couple of weeks and assist with whatever possible until the show started filming, to see how I’d be able to get involved. Literally that same weekend, I got a call about being a Stand-In for one of the actors. After letting one of the AD’s know about my experience as a P.A. and attending the bootcamp, I did stand-in work for less than 2 weeks before I was asked to be a P.A., and that lasted for the duration of the season.
The next month, I found out about work with ESPN thru one of my co-workers on set. That was a dream considering I interned with them at the headquarters the summer before my senior year in college. So I ended up doing freelance work with ESPN for some months, in addition to day-playing for a reality show with another co-worker in Brownsville. Maybe staying in Memphis wasn’t so bad after all? WRONG! All of this made me miss LA as well. The work is consistent, my tribe is out there, I feel challenged and pushed in multiple ways that I just couldn’t get in Memphis…
…so now it’s February 2020. I made the decision to buy a one-way flight to LA, the same way I did before moving the first time. Not going back and forth about the pros and cons of staying in either city, just going back and sticking to it. No longer worrying myself about all that could go wrong, if I’m making a mistake, will I regret this-just going for it!
Well…it seems I’m here in the midst of a pandemic, people are going back home due to productions being shut down and lack of work. We were forced on lockdown, multiple businesses have been and still are getting shut down, among a whole bunch of other things that can trigger depression and hopelessness.
DID I MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION AFTERALL?!?!?
Yes…I absolutely did. Here we are 6 months later after moving back and two OFFICIAL years of living in LA, still not knowing what will happen or what’s on the other side of this pandemic, but knowing that I’m where I need to be. I refused to get stuck, and you don’t have to either. These cities will be there for you to return if need be, so don’t beat yourself up over what didn’t go “right” the first time. .
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