find your tribe
Happy Wednesday! My apologies for there being no blog post on Monday, but after a crazy-packed weekend in San Francisco, an Eagles game on Sunday (talk about home field advantage in SoCal!), and work on set on Monday, I needed rest! Last week I wrote about supporting your friends and seeking growth, so today I’m going to focus on the idea of finding your tribe.
When you move to a new place, it can be hard to find a place right away where you fit in and feel most like yourself. BE PATIENT! When I first got to LA, it took me a few tries before I found friends that really accepted me as I am and encouraged me to be myself (and a better, more confident version of myself). But once I found them, it just clicked. Don't lose your hobbies along the way - some of the best friendships I've made in LA outside of work have been on the basketball court and softball fields. All those things you've enjoyed your whole life are still accessible to you in a number of different ways as adults, too! That’s the thing about hard work. Most of it just depends on you. Once you’ve done the hard work on yourself, it will be truly amazing how things just seem to click and fall into place.
I’ve mentioned before that it took me trying out a few different schools before I found myself at UCB. And now that I feel like I’ve grown a lot there, I will continue to take classes in the UCB program while also looking forward to growing at the Groundlings.
I love that episode of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ where the gang talks about “revertigo.” I attended one of my Pi Beta Phi pledge sister’s wedding in San Francisco and spent the weekend with some of the greatest girls I ever knew in college (and some great guys, too). It was nice to experience that little bit of revertigo with people I love who were very much my tribe in college and who feel like we can pick up right where we left off.
So much of your life's journey is who you choose to surround yourself with - your friends and your family. They help shape who you are and where you’ll go, so it’s important to be with people who love and accept you for who you are, your silly quirks, your gross (read: impressive) burps, and your inappropriate humor. Loyalty is incredibly important, so when you find it, cling to it tightly.
I had the opportunity to work on set of “The Happytime Murders” this past Monday, and a few really neat things happened. First off, I was recognized on the van to set by a fellow actor without me even mentioning my name (that was pretty cool; he referred to me as JohnyTheGirl because he knew my blog!); secondly, I made a few set friends where there was a running joke throughout the day about me not wearing lipstick; thirdly, I made a new friend from NJ; and last (but certainly not least), I hung out with another girl where we spent at least half an hour making jokes about supernumerary nipples (aka third nippes). It was weird and glorious and she and I laughed so hard that time literally flew by.
Find your tribe. Find those people who encourage your quirks and unique qualities, and never let them go. Be okay with being known, and please please please, find someone who will encourage you to yell at the Chargers' players because it's fun (respectful yelling is my go-to) and also find someone who will talk about third nipples with you for thirty minutes and not even hesitate or think twice about all the weird comedy/sketch ideas that come as a result. Find your tribe and be your weirdest self!
Thank you so much for reading, and, as always, if you have any pressing questions or if you want to discuss something further with me, feel free to subscribe below or reach out to me on the “contact” page. I’m so grateful you're here and that I’ve been getting a lot of really challenging questions and even better feedback from a community all over the world. I couldn’t do this without you! So THANK YOU! I’m here for you, and I love hearing from you, too! You’re the best, and you have everything you need inside of you! Please believe it! Starve your ego, feed your soul - and follow your heart!