My strength has always been my family and my friends who are like family. The business can chew you up and spit you out and if you don't have some calm in the storm, it's a very lonely journey. My family and friends love me whether I'm working or not and that makes all the difference.
There were many low points and times I doubted myself at work. I've heard no many more times than I've heard yes and there have been long periods in between jobs where money became very tight and I wondered how I was going to pay my bills. I've had to borrow money from friends and family to get by sometimes. That's the part of the 'overnight' success that people don't see. The struggle is real.
Create a life outside of acting work that fulfills you and feeds your soul. Nurture your relationships - family and friends. Stay ready and open for those opportunities that will come as a direct result of that readiness and openness. Only stay in it as long as it feeds your soul.
When there's more lows than highs and I'm not just talking financially, it may be time to see what else is out there for you. Even at this point, I am open to the possibility that there may be another chapter on the horizon and I trust that I'll know in my heart when it's time to close the chapter on this one. I am much more than just an actor. It is what I do now and I try not to get boxed in by the belief that that is all I have to offer the world as my work.
I want to be remembered as an actor who was able to touch people with what I offered to the world. That a young person, especially a young black woman will look at me and see herself and know that she too can achieve whatever dream her heart creates.
I want to be remembered as kind and generous of spirit and someone who loved to laugh and that I never took my blessings or other people for granted. That the stories I chose to tell benefited the world in some way instead of taking away from it. When I am remembered, I want that person to have a smile on their face.
