Full Disclosure

  Do you know what community looks like? Many young New York transplants might say no. The city is famous for moving ridiculously fast and being a place where in an apartment of many units you might never learn your neighbor’s names. Moving to New York at 23, I had resolved to defy those stereotypes and bring a sense of small town community to my little corner of the Big Apple. But after about 6 weeks I found that I had had zero success in finding any sense of community in the space around me. Then quarantine hit. For the few months that I was back at home with my family, I got a pretty positive picture of what community looks like. One night I was washing dishes and it dawned on me that I had done all the dishes almost every night while my sister had yet to even rinse her own water bottle. But on the other hand, I couldn’t recall having done laundry since I arrived. That was a chore she’d taken upon herself each week without any instruction. Each of us was contributing differently...

All my life people have asked me how I stay so positive and cheerful. When I was younger I couldn't really give a solid answer. But as I’ve grown, I’ve had to become more intentional about maintaining those traits in life. After all, the older we get, the easier it is to become bogged down with cynicism about the world around us. I know that it’s impossible to be happy all the time, but I also know there are some things I can rely on to nudge myself more in the direction of happiness than despair. So without further to do, here are 5 ways to be happy - without embracing toxic positivity of course. Try to Unplug      These days it’s especially hard to disconnect. With gatherings still being largely limited and a lot of people still working from home, it’s easy to glance at the clock and realize you’ve spent the last 12 hours in front of a screen. But research has shown that spending too much time with your devices can cause neck strain, headaches, blurred vision, and disru...

Throughout the last few months I’ve struggled with feeling a sense of purpose. While time moves forward, most of the acting industry is at a standstill and I can’t do what I’ve spent most of my life preparing to do as a fulfilling career. Coupled with the lack of agency is a feeling of uncertainty about the timing of the industry’s full return. Many nights I’ve sat on Indeed.com and stared at a slew of job posts wondering if it’s time to make a transition into business or corporate administration. There’s a fine line between the romantic notion of waiting for passion to become tangible again and needing to pay rent each month. But without theatre, without acting, I couldn’t help but wonder dreadfully, what is it I’m meant to do? Even worse than the existential dread has been the sense of guilt that I’m worried about my career while others in this country and across the globe are literally fighting for their lives. Every life lost has been a painful reminder that the time we have on ear...