My mother came to existence in a small railroad house at the end of the street in a little town called Lacoochee, Florida, Yes I said Lacoochee (The name is part of the Grandeur), where they still have dirt roads and hook the bathroom door shut. The railroads are still a main way in and out of town and everyone in the town is practically related. The second of six children, my mother had to fight really hard to have her own identity. All she ever really wanted to be was a grasshopper but apparently God had other plans for her.
About 13 hours north of Lacoochee my father was chillin in Tacoma, Washington DC. Being the first of four children, my father had a lot of free time on his hands until his younger siblings came along. He was always playing sports, running and horsing with the neighborhood children, getting into trouble. So much so that his mother sent him to Meridian, Mississippi to live with his wise old grandmother and so he could learn how to use his powers for good instead of evil. And boy did she knock some sense into him.
As fate would have it both my mother and my father landed at Florida A&M University around the same time. After they both finished their education they settled down together to make some regular children. However, what they received was anything but regular. First they had a boy child named Michael, after his father. He was handsome and very very smart. Definitely a show runner. Then came their baby girl, me. I would prove to be a handful and the reason they didn’t have any more children. I like to think it’s because they got everything they wanted wrapped into two. I always had a hair brush as a microphone while pretending to be Monica Kuffman (a very popular news anchor in Atlanta) or standing on my toy box acting out one of my favorite books.
Because I am a true 50:50 mix of my parents I got my father’s athletic abilities, tenacity and confidence and my mother’s brains, charm and beauty. My brother is more like my mother. He is super smart. Not so great with the basketball though.
All of these traits are the makings of a leader. I was naturally born to be heard. I belong on stage. I was captain of the cheerleading squad, I played softball, tennis, ran track, did gymnastics and I was on the swim team. In addition to that I was in the theater club, student council, and a peer mediator.
Feeling like I wanted to further use my powers for good, I auditioned to be in a touring play about drunk driving and violence. Hence my first acting job!!! I got paid and everything. It was incredible to do what you love, get paid for it, and deliver a wonderful message, that you believe in ,to the direct audience that needed to hear it.
Once I started working on the play I was hooked. I loved it. I had to make that my life. So I ran through high school, graduating in the top 10% ( my mother’s brains!! see I told ya) then I put on my cape and flew to New York. Everyday I am living my reality of becoming a working actor. Each day brings me closer to what will be. I am so excited.