And the Oscar goes to...

#8- a day you realized what you wanted to do/be

I've always wanted to be an actress. My love for acting happened between The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, and The Chorus Line. My dream has always been to be an actress. Stories have always been my safe haven. I would always find myself getting lost in stories. I'm lost in a beautiful story right now.

While spending a summer with my father, my step sister used to tell these vivid romantic stories with El Debarge and me as his love interest. I would sit for hours listening and picturing how I could bring something like that to life, if given the chance. Never did I think I was a great story teller. I loved to be on the receiving end of the ending, the drama, the shocking ending.

My mother worked a lot, so I watched a lot of tv as a kid, an only child. If I didn't have access to a tv I would go off alone and pretend, making up stories on my own. I was known for getting on my bike and hiding out in my secret places for hours. I would act out my favorite scenes. As I got older, acting still remained my dream. I never thought of pursuing it on a serious level. Rejection to me would mean I would never be able to pretend, to dream of being the girl who got the part. I thought it would dampen the love. So, I kept my love close to my heart, never really getting out there to make it a reality.

My love for writing came later. It wasn't always about writing for me. One day writing became that warm blanket on a cold winter's night, that scream from the depths of darkness. It was therapy, for a time. Then, it turned into something that took over my thoughts. Then, I started to incorporate my new love for writing with my true love for acting. Not only would I act out scenes from stories, I would act out my academy award acceptance speeches, that interview with Oprah when she would pick my book, and the book readings/signings I would pretend to be too shy to attend. I would even go as far as to act out seeing old friends and enemies come through to ask me to sign my book, MY book. Just the thought of that makes me smile.

The story is my theme for acting and writing. It's all about a REALLY good story. That can happen on the big screen, in your living room, in novels, or poetry. Even though writing is like, my thing now, acting was always there, and will always remain my close, intimate friend.