I didn’t think I could love Taraji anymore, but Sunday night proved me wrong. She was such an excellent example of an actress being happy for another actress’s success. A lesson can be learned from her vocal support and genuine love for both Regina King and Viola Davis during the Emmys.

Just because another woman is winning doesn’t mean you lose. A few years ago a host of black actresses were going out for the lead role for a new show by Shonda Rhimes, the first time in nearly 30 years a black women was top billing on a primetime show. Kerry Washington eventually won the role and Scandal became a smash hit.

The success of Scandal has lead directly to the Viola and Taraji being nominated for an Emmy.  It is proof positive that when another person wins I am also put in a position to win as well.  Another person’s success begets opportunity for others. I mentally have to check myself over roles that I thought were perfect for me but I didn’t get. What’s meant for me is meant for me, no one else can take what’s meant for me away.  Therefore, I can be genuinely happy for another woman succeeding. There is beauty in sisterhood. 

Thank you Ms. Henson for embodying this lesson during the 67th Emmy Awards.  I can’t wait to hear your acceptance speech for your big award.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015 marked my five year anniversary to moving to Los Angeles from the East Coast. FIVE YEARS.  That’s the age of a kindergartner. Five years. So much life happened within those five years.

I find myself rehashing the same conversation with various people at different times about “time flying.” Every Thanksgiving, we humans come to the state of thinking of “Wow, it’s the holiday season again. Where did the year go?” It’s an inevitable conversation that happens every year. 

It’s the same type of thought that I have when I realized that I have lived on the West Coast for five years. Where did the time go?

Well it went to long nights in acting classes watching my amazing peers, rushing to auditions in 405 traffic, hurrying to print headshots when my printer malfunctions, studying sides the night before an audition, long wardrobe sessions trying on clothes that I wish I owned, sitting in makeup chairs with my face being painted and prodded, various evenings of improv practice sessions full of laughter, experiencing life as another person in front of a live audience, and so much more.  Basically, living the dream.

A lot of life happened in the span of five years, as to be expected.  I’ve had moments where I’ve felt completely broken and others that were utterly euphoric.  At times I have felt empty and unfulfilled, and then there were those beautiful times where I was oh so full. And that ladies and gentlemen is life. Life is the moments that happened during the passing of time: good, bad, beautiful, and ugly.

I can recall these various times and pinpoint when, where, and why these feelings occurred.  I take a step back and realize how each moment has contributed to where I am (professionally and personally) right now. The process of living and learning.

I don’t regret the journey.  It started with a five hour flight, now I am here five years later and can say that, I don’t know if I had foreseen my life as it is at the moment.  I can’t remember. I was just so green, Los Angeles was new to me and it all just seems like a blur now.  What I do know is that in this moment I am excited for the next five years.  I’m excited for the new experiences,  yet weary of the unknown circumstances that are bound to come my way as “time flies.”