Follow Your Dreams – Act 3
“You didn’t go to college to be a waitress.” It was coming from a loving place, one of concern and most likely fear when I decided to leave my small hometown of Pittsburgh, PA and move to New York City with no job and no place to live. I left on a “2 week vacation” to visit a friend and didn’t come back. I threw down my bags and hit the pavement with my best friend from college applying for every waitressing job along the way. I had no prior experience, had never opened a bottle of wine and barely knew how to pronounce hors d’oeuvres. I did have a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University and finally got the gig pretending to belly dance at a trendy Soho “hot spot”. The first night I was serving Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield, Michael Stipe and chatting with Rick (Ricky) Schroder. I had made it!
At the same time I was interning for free at VH1 and worked as a receptionist at a gym one day a week (for the free gym membership of course). The internship turned into a paying job and I worked my way to segment producer with a shared office and a 401K. Seemed like the perfect time to quit and become a makeup artist. So I did.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” “Being a makeup artist is the worst decision.” “You’ll never work in this town.” Just a few of the encouraging words I heard along the way. Twenty years in and all those same people are proud, asking for advice and knew I’d always make it. It’s normal and it’s ok. The thing is, no one can stand in your way when you want something bad enough. Youth plays a big part in it for sure, you take risks, you don’t think things through and have fewer responsibilities. I have built a successful career working with A list actors and musicians traveling the world, seeing my work in magazines, red carpets and on TV.
Believe in yourself and don’t wait around for others approval. Put one foot in front of the other and just DO. One job, one person leads to the next opportunity. Don’t be afraid to fail or wait for the perfect time to start. Now at the age of 45 (a mom and a wife), I find myself relying on those same principles. It’s never too late to make your dreams come true.
Act 3 to be continued…
Photo by: Nicholas Small
