To My 30s: A Letter of Gratitude and Goodbye

Dear My 30s,

Since July 22nd, 2011 we've had quite the ride together.

At that time, I was working on the cruise ship - The Pride of America. We were in Kauai and the whole Second City cast and many other friends from the ship went to the one movie theatre to see Captain America: The First Avenger which had just come out. Fun night.

And now, my 30s,  we have less than two weeks left together, so I wanna say...

Thank you.

Thank you for all the growth. Thank you for the fun. Thank you for the hard times, the massive swings in fortune, the victories, the losses, and even the pain. It all got me here.

Together we've weathered some of the worst depressive episodes and panic attacks I've ever had. We've seen me with the most savings I ever had and the most debt I've ever had.

We've seen so many potential opportunities fall through the cracks all for different reasons. And many other wonderful opportunities blossom into something cool.

It's been a wild roller coaster ride the past ten years with relationships, career and so much more.

I've learned so much, grown up so much, and dealt with so much. And I appreciate every second. 


Big Moments (more or less in order):

-Skydiving over Oahu

-The two most fun contracts I've worked on cruise ships both in Hawaii

-My grandma's funeral. And a special shout out to David Forrester for helping me through that day.

-Two back-to-back four-month-long cruise ship contracts that exacerbated my depression and anxiety more than ever.

-A relationship that never worked despite investing over three years of our lives.

-Moving to L.A. from Chicago without a plan of what exactly to do after I arrived.

-My first performance with the Mission Improvable house team at the Westside Comedy Theatre.

-Meeting Rolland Lopez, forming Rollin' In Riches, and growing it into something that played & taught all over the country even headlining a few festivals. We even kept doing stuff over quarantine!

-Coaching so many improv teams including Regatta, Soft Clothes, Ghost Face Kittens & Room 604.

-Making my first web series with Akello Stone that no one saw. It taught me so much about filmmaking, self-discipline, collaboration, and how to deal with failure. I'll never thank Akello enough for inspiring all that.

-Voicing a viral video that saw over 45 million views.

-Going to Las Vegas several times with my father

-Traveling to a lot of fun beautiful places with my mom.

-Getting my dog Maggie who is still chasing after the ball as much as she ever did.

-Another relationship doomed to fail despite investing more than two years.

-Writing for Epic Rap Battles of History. As a fan from the beginning, I am so proud that I got to contribute to it.

-Meeting my producing and writing partner John Gearries. We still work together. So grateful to know this guy. 

-Self-publishing my first book 

-Directing a web series that can be seen on Amazon Prime

-A car accident that someone else got into with my car totaling it and costing me thousands of dollars and countless amounts of stress.

-Starting my own teaching and coaching business that got me through the pandemic and continues to thrive.

-A roommate who I couldn't trust (because he stole from me and lied about it)

-Living on my own for the first time in my life.

-Falling in love with someone who I just knew would be my life partner only to have that end just a few months ago.

-I got to work with thousands of incredible artists as a director, teacher, actor, and producer.

-And I have met so many wonderful friends. Everything from theatre friends to lifelong pals. So grateful for every person I have in my life


It's so easy for me to look at my life and only see what's missing, what I want to be different. 

And while that's important, it's equally (possibly more so?) important to look at what's good and be intentionally grateful. 

So, as I transition to a new decade of my life, I never want to forget all the moments that have led up to now and be consciously grateful for all of them.

Goodbye 30s. Thank you.

Hello, 40s. It's nice to meet you. I can't wait to see what's next. =)


Stay curious.



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