Hollywood Adventures - Part 3
I spent my last night in Hollywood with my friend Anat and her new room mate Ariel. Ariel is a musician in his early 20's who is also beginning his artistic adventures in L.A. The three of us sat outside the apartment building eating dinner by the pool. We had a few glasses of wine, great conversation, and watched as the colorful characters from the building came and went. "Freaks" by middle America's standards - bald women, pink haired men in drag, and I think they weren't used to anyone sitting by the pool enjoying a meal. As they walked by, some of them made jokes about crashing our party and seemed surprised when we invited them to join us. None of them took us up on the invite, but they seemed to appreciate the opening.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about art, perfection, and the question - when is the right time to put our work "out there". At one point in the conversation, my teacher/mother hat went on. I was concerned that these two were holding back, that they had finally made the move to L.A. and they were going to allow themselves to be stalled by the classic obstacle - "I'm not ready." Ariel was concerned about not presenting his music till the writing was just right. Anat was concerned about needing new head shots. She felt she couldn't submit to agents yet because her hair had recently changed. How could they let themselves get so close and then not jump on the opportunities all around them?
In my worry over them, I suddenly realized I had better look at myself because "I'm not ready!" has been my mantra almost all my life. I may never feel ready. I may never be thin enough, strong enough, witty enough, pretty enough, prepared enough etc., etc., etc. But maybe and most importantly, I just don't believe in myself enough, or give myself enough credit in work and life. What if I just decided I was enough, and I am ready? Its time. Its time to "act" whether I "feel" ready or not, even if its only one baby step at a time.
And as far as my friends are concerned, my worry was severely misplaced. Anat got her new head shots and just signed with an agent. And for those of you in Los Angeles, you can catch Ariel this Monday night at The Viper Room-
Monday October 25th @ 8pm
The Viper Room
8852 W Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069-2108
(310) 358-1880
If you head down, tell them you heard about it here.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about art, perfection, and the question - when is the right time to put our work "out there". At one point in the conversation, my teacher/mother hat went on. I was concerned that these two were holding back, that they had finally made the move to L.A. and they were going to allow themselves to be stalled by the classic obstacle - "I'm not ready." Ariel was concerned about not presenting his music till the writing was just right. Anat was concerned about needing new head shots. She felt she couldn't submit to agents yet because her hair had recently changed. How could they let themselves get so close and then not jump on the opportunities all around them?
In my worry over them, I suddenly realized I had better look at myself because "I'm not ready!" has been my mantra almost all my life. I may never feel ready. I may never be thin enough, strong enough, witty enough, pretty enough, prepared enough etc., etc., etc. But maybe and most importantly, I just don't believe in myself enough, or give myself enough credit in work and life. What if I just decided I was enough, and I am ready? Its time. Its time to "act" whether I "feel" ready or not, even if its only one baby step at a time.
And as far as my friends are concerned, my worry was severely misplaced. Anat got her new head shots and just signed with an agent. And for those of you in Los Angeles, you can catch Ariel this Monday night at The Viper Room-
Monday October 25th @ 8pm
The Viper Room
8852 W Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069-2108
(310) 358-1880
If you head down, tell them you heard about it here.
