It's just about to be 2015, and I'm looking at my year in review. Looking back to shed some light on what's ahead, and what can I say? 2014 served up a real, big, fat, greasy dose of life. We hit milestones at light speed - graduation, weddings, funerals,
premieres, projects big and small, successes big and small, failures big and massive... just a real, big, fat, greasy dose of
real life.
I understood this year that the universe has a nice way of tying loose ends. Coincidentally, on the holiday trip home, a dear friend's birthday party turned into a primary school and high school reunion. Friends who I hadn't seen for ages were also experiencing life in just as big, fat, and greasy a doses. Graduations, weddings, break-ups, funerals, careers taking off... And I was so darn glad to see that the people who had helped shape my thoughts, thinking, political opinions, social tendencies, pop culture interests were heading on their very own, diverse and exciting journeys.
A year ago, I would've stood in the same room and insisted that I wasn't just an actress, I was a little bit of this, and a tidbit of that. This year I stood in the room and owned up to what I do for a living, and what I want to do for a living. I realized this year, and in that moment in particular, that I am an actress. First and foremost. And that I - excuse my French - fucking love it.
Especially exhilarating in that moment was seeing my friends who come from a wide variety of fields and are pursuing diverse and eclectic lives and careers, recognize that in me. Recognize and respect me for who I am, and what I do. An actress, a comédienne, and hopefully, an artist.
Montreal gave me ownership of that word, and I give Montreal thanks.
New York City is saturated with people like me, so "actress" always comes with a light shrug, a modest denial, a brush aside (now, that might have something to do with the social and artistic climate in NYC, but that's a whole other can of worms). In 2015, it doesn't have to anymore.
I make faces for a living. And I can't wait for the next time I get to do it again. Here's to 2015, and to our big, bad, bountiful, beautiful world.
Photo credit: Gregory Isaac. Scranton, PA. A day off from Shakespeare.