“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” - Ernest Hemingway
“When I think of Lexi, I think of a writer.” - This was one of the best compliments a teacher has ever given me. It was written by my high school Creative Writing teacher Megumi Yamamoto in my college recommendation letter. Ms. Yamamoto is no longer with us but in her honor, because of her belief in me, I am committing to writing more. There are stories that have lived in my head for over fifteen years that I need to get on paper.
I have probably written hundreds of sketches, only about 15 have been produced and can be found online. I’ve written a couple plays. I wrote a short film. I am currently writing a feature film and a television pilot. But since I don’t want to share those until they can be produced… here you’ll find some essays, advice, poems, or simply some thoughts I’ve jotted down over the past several years.
The New Year
We put a lot of emphasis on the new year. It’s a fresh start, a new beginning, a time to set goals – we say to ourselves, “THIS year will be different.” I think a lot of this messaging is toxic. It encourages us to set our expectations much too high as if January has some sort of magical power to make us more determined and consistent than any other time of the year.
Perfectionism
I am much too familiar with perfectionism. It’s sneaky.
A couple of years ago I was doing a workshop called “The Inside Game” that explored your acting career from a quantum physics perspective or something like that – I can never remember the name. But we were discussing how everything in life rises with its opposite, so you have to be careful what you are putting energy into.
The Cover Letter I Can Never Use
In the past four years of my life since my college graduation I have been pursuing a career as an actor. I was sure that full time work could not allow me the flexibility I needed. Thus I have worked a number of interesting part time jobs in order to pay the bills – and just barely at that.