We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

Maya Angelou

I’m a dreamer. I’ve always had enormous dreams, crafted over the top plans, but rarely did I ever follow through to the very end. It’s not often people find something that makes them feel truly alive. Not “oh that sounds like a neat thing to do, maybe I’ll try that one day,” but the “I need to do this or I will never be whole.”

Acting and travel. Those are my lifeblood. The things that keep my head above water. The “hobbies” I would get up at 2am for to do for 18 hours and never even wonder why I ever said yes to do it. The more I travel and the more I’m on stage in front of a camera, the more I feel like myself and the happier I get.

Find Your Community

They say it takes a village to follow your dreams. It took a long time, but I’ve found my village. I have a core group of people scattered across the globe that I can call up and say let’s go travel or let’s make a short film and they will say pick a date and let’s make it happen.

It won’t happen overnight for 99% of you, but it can happen. It might take traveling alone to somewhere new and stumbling upon someone doing the same or a savvy local who shows you a really cool place to hang out you never would’ve discovered otherwise. All you have to do is be open to the possibility of meeting new people and your community can grow. From there, it’s cheesy, but it’s limitless.

Perseverance is Essential

If I had a penny for every idea I’ve ever said in my head or out loud and not followed through on I would be pretty dang rich right now. I self-sabotage. I listened to people who said my ideas were worth nothing. I let myself think that I could never achieve those goals. Looking back, I wonder what the hell I was thinking.

Chase after your goals like your life depends on them, because it does. Your life does not magically fill itself with quality. Everything you value you’ve had to work at least a little bit to acquire or hold on to. Did someone say you could never be good enough for that job? Did they say you were insane for wanting to move across the world? Were you unhinged for wanting to travel solo? For trying something new?

Haters Gonna Hate

Let them. Be fabulous.

It took me so long to even be able to come up with that mantra. My 20’s were so full of life that by the time my 30’s came around I felt a little bit empty. That was my fault. I let others tell me what my life, my interests, and my dreams were worth even if it was indirectly.

I didn’t travel as much. I didn’t follow through. I stopped dreaming as big. Don’t worry, this story has a happy ending.

Whenever someone tells me why my dreams are too big, why I can’t travel somewhere, why I can’t go for that job, I give them one good reason why I do need to do these things. I say I need this to feel alive. I need those things to feel like my self.

Be More You

When you stop letting other people dictate how to live your life, even if it’s only one aspect to start, you start setting yourself free. Start doing more of what you love, of what makes you feel the most like yourself. Don’t be so hard on yourself and give yourself a little boost. You deserve it.

Go on that trip. Take the new job. Try something new. It’s not easy, but you’ll never forget or regret those moments.