What a difference a year makes!

Welcome to Hollywood!!

Oh my gosh Becky!! I can't believe it's been a year since I moved to Los Angeles California! Last year I was running around Atlanta, GA like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get ready to leave the only state I've ever known as home! Everything was happening so fast and it never hit me until I was on the plane and we were leaving Atlanta. I saw the buildings downtown and all I heard was Michelle Branch's Goodbye to you playing in my head...ugh,  I'm getting verclempt  again just thinking about it! I still remember dragging my luggage to the security as I went through the maze waving at my sister, mom, nephews and my dad. I'd never been away from them this long and this far away.  I still remember my mom saying how you gonna leave me with your crazy daddy?! Lol! She was joking, she loves her baby daddy for real!  My nephews were acting hard, they were quiet and just hugged me like they weren't gonna miss me but they totally were broken up on the inside! Ha! Probably not right? My sister was kinda sad too. I've never seen her seem so emotional about me leaving but I felt her love and sadness. I had said goodbye to my brother a few days before so it wasn't as deep but still sad.  It truly felt surreal to leave home to live thousands of miles across the country to a state I've never been to in my life!  God provided an opportunity I could not refuse and I'm glad I stepped out on faith and took a chance at a new life in Los Angeles, CA!!

I had an awesome opportunity to get a new job, and God blessed me to have my uncle offer to have me stay with him until I found my own place. The pieces fell right into place! Moving to a new state all together was stressful, exciting, nerve wracking, and fun! I had to pack up my life, perform in a show with a 3 weekend run, get my braces off, go to doctors appointments, ship my car, and say goodbye to friends and family!! Whew!! Unfortunately I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone... In one year I have met some amazing people, and reconnected with friends from Georgia. People always ask me how long I'm gonna be here or if I'll ever go back to Georgia, but I always said I'd give it at least a year, and well... here I am a year later!! Who knows what the future holds, but here's a look at some of the things that happened in this last year here in LA!!  

My first pic of my first morning in LA. Awesome view!

SWEETS Candy!!

OOOHHH Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be!!

Sight seeing in San Pedro Korean Friendship Bell!

Me and Robert...He wasn't ready ya'll!! 

I commute on the train everyday for work!! Sometimes It gets like this!

Even went to Las Vegas!!

My first accident in LA...UH OH...IT AINT MY FAULT!

Me , my mom, and my aunt in Venice Beach!

Got my landscape photography on!!

New (work)  Friends. Kindest people you'll ever meet!

My first visit to Dallas, Texas

Apartment hunting with Raphael and Renee! 

I hiked Echo Mountain!! So much fun and BREATHTAKING!

I was on  plane 12 times in 2013!! OMG I was soooo jet-lagged by Christmas!

Me hanging out in San Francisco!

First Christmas in LA!! My landlords are great gift givers!!

Almost got zapped by the Scientology folks!

The LA Shorts Film Fest was awesome!

Finally got back to GA to see my family!

Google+ Hangout!!

Family

Love Tamar's Winter LoversLand!

Hung out with my brother

Meeting celebs at the Pan African Film Festival! Go See and support Blackbird and The Magic City!

Bringing in the new year with NEW GOALS!!

Mountains in My Rearview

I was driving to a friend's house Saturday, and it was a gorgeous day. There were mountains to my left, and to my right, but when I looked in my rearview mirror, I noticed there were mountains in the mirror. My first thought was wow, they are beautiful, and then it hit me... those mountains were literally behind me. I wanted to take a picture of them but I was using the GPS on my phone so I couldn't stop and take it, plus I was driving. What I realized in that moment was a sense of relief and joy. Even though I loved looking at all the mountains, the ones in the mirror really made me realize that some of the greatest mountains in my life were behind me. WOW. I could breathe a sigh of relief as well as let out a huge THANK YOU JESUS, because I have overcome so much. I never looked at my life in that way. We are always looking at the mountains ahead of us instead of looking at the mountains that we climbed, hiked, cried all the way up, and all the way down, walked, ran, crawled around, and finally pushed out of our way! And yet those same mountains of obstacles were beautiful.

As I sit here and write this, I am overwhelmed and tears flow at the sheer thought of how far I've come in my life. I have accomplished many, many more things than I have ever realized. Those MOUNTAINS are proof!! God's way of saying YOU ARE TOUGH.... I SAID I'D NEVER LEAVE YOU... YOUR TROUBLES DIDN'T OVERCOME YOU, YOU OVERCAME THEM!!!!! He reminded me that I CAN celebrate my successes and stop being so hard on myself, stop telling myself the lies that my past was too big to get over. I can look at those mountains and appreciate who I was then and who I've become because of them. It made me love myself so much more. It made me carry myself with pride, healthy pride, strength and exude the confidence and courage to conquer any mountains ahead.

I also realized that I wasn't the only one to have this experience either as there is a book written about it called Mountain In My Rearview Mirror. Wow, how cool! The book seems to illustrate my same feelings and thoughts I had when seeing those mountains in the mirror that day. (I'll be ordering a copy myself) I encourage you to look at your own mountain in your own rearview and just take a moment to appreciate the view that signifies your growth, courage, and your ability to overcome some of the biggest obstacles you may have faced in your life. You are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ!!

Looking back on that day, I realized that it finally felt great just being able to ride off into the sunset feeling empowered, accomplished, and full of God's grace and wisdom!

I hope you dance....

So right now, as I write this, I am at my nephews' school dance! Remember those? It is a 70's theme so I fit right it with my afro, no wig necessary, hee hee! All the kids seem to be enjoying their time to dance, laugh, scream, RUN, and just be themselves. As a kid at heart I completely feel them. Like these kids, I too sit at a desk for 8 hours a day and as told to me by management, I must be tied to the phone lines for 7.4 hours Monday through Friday. I can get a little stir crazy and need a release from angry taxpayers and non stop questions, but hey, I'm here to help.... Never the less, I digress. Kids have dual effect on me, they energize me and tire me, but most of all inspire me! They remind me of all the possibilities that lie ahead and all the wonderful opportunities that lie in the moment.
As with any school dance there are must haves that set it off, and this one comes complete with dim lights, rows of chairs on opposite sides of the room so you can make eyes directly @ your puppy love crush you're infatuated with at the moment, loud bumping music, a photographer, food (and at a good price I might add $1 for popcorn?? Gimme 3 bags!!), chaperons (hated those didn't you especially when you danced with your boo and he tried to cop that feel lol!!), the popular crew, the not so popular crew, the dancers and the wallflowers. This elementary school dance has it all! Also, the parents are in full effect which is awesome because they care enough to stay and participate in their kids lives.

I am feeling a bit nostalgic as they play "You Can't Touch This" and think of the early 90's when I started going to dances, (real ones where you might actually have your 1st boyfriend). That was back when people really did dance, cause as Goodie Mob said "People don't dance no more, all they do is dis...." and by 'dis' I interpret it as a double meaning. All people do is dis, distance themselves from each other. Come on get close, dance close, connect, and dont be so stiff and uptight. All people do is dis, disrespect the dance floor by standing around laughing at everybody else, when in fact YOU are the one who can't dance!! But for real, life is like a school dance, you're gonna have some fun, your heart may get broken, you might spend alot of money trying to impress others or you may be a late bloomer who gets all the girls/guys end the end. You may be like the wallflowers, too afraid to get out there and look silly because you can't dance or maybe you're the one who needs to get off the dance floor cause you been "out" there toooo long. Maybe you're the chaperon who's sooo stuck on the "rules" that you forget that you're not perfect and it's ok if you make a mistake, come on live a little! Could you be the DJ, who is so busy pleasing people and playing what THEY want to hear, that you never get to dance to your favorite tune, go dance and just let the record play! Are you the photographer with the vision for how everyone ELSE's life should look like, but not your own? Have your picture taken (i.e. Look in the mirror) and see what image develops, you might be surprised at the flaws that are exposed.

Whoever you are and where ever you are in this life, just remember life can be just like a school dance, it's what you make it as I've been told many times, so no matter what..... I hope you dance!!!