From Hollywood to Black Hollywood

Los Angeles has served its purpose for my life. You see, I used to take the term “promised land” literally. I never knew that the term was actually a state of mind. A state of being free, freedom from bondage, a feeling of escaping what was holding me down. You see, there’s nothing wrong with Memphis (or Collierville), but I felt held back and kept from the wonderful things that are in this world. I used to think that moving to Los Angeles was the answer to everything. Little did I know that this city was just the doorway to multiple possibilities. If I could move halfway across the country for over a year, I could move anywhere.

You may be thinking what is going on, but stay with me as I bring you to my point. One way that will help you understand all of this is my career expectation. I want to become a philanthropist and I want to show the WORLD that there is much to gain from positive thinking and doing what’s right. It’s the “light” I often speak of when I express my goals in life. It’s all of our goals if we didn’t know, but I take it seriously. You see, I want to spread the gospel of Jesus to everyone on this planet. I thought coming to Los Angeles was the answer due to the Hollywood platform. I quickly realized that God can let His light shine anywhere and was with me anywhere I went. That’s why I decided to make a more feasible move.

I used to look down on moving to Atlanta. I often thought it to be overcrowded with people on a mission. But when you understand the Bible and your purpose, you come to the conclusion that God can work through you wherever He pleases! After that bit of knowledge, I decided that “Black Hollywood” was a better fit for me due to already being a city that’s set up for blacks people to thrive. Yes, I bad mouthed the South several times, but God brought me right back to reality. To be honest, the cost of living in Los Angeles was a slap in the face!

All the planning in the world didn’t prepare me for the prices you’d have to pay for simply a studio. It made me realize what I wanted out of life and what was important. Did I want the fame with living paycheck to paycheck or did I want to have some wiggle room to actually live? I chose to live! At some point you would rather THRIVE than merely survive. Another lesson I learned was that people are going to talk about you no matter what you do. They talked about a 33 year old who was still staying with her parents. They talked about the same 33 year old when she moved to Los Angeles to experience adulthood in its truest form. And they’ll talk about that girl again who decided to explore the life of philanthropy in Atlanta. Oh well, stay tuned for my success story where only God gets the glory because eventually you realize you’re living for the approval of Him not man.