One of the Worst Things that Could Happen on the Freeway
Shortly after Beautiful closed and before I started rehearsals for the Britney musical, I took my first On-Camera class at the Growing Studio. I was so stoked. It was a little expensive but felt like a solid investment to my future and after the first day, I was all in and totally on board. My teacher was bomb and I learned so much in just a few hours.
On Day 2, it was my turn to present. I went to the front of the class, sat down in front of the camera and I did my thing. When it was time for notes, I told my teacher to DEMOLISH me. I LOVE notes. I gave her free reign to rip me to shreds because I had no idea what I was doing and don’t want to look stupid the first time I go to a real on camera audition. Plus, in my mind, I am not paying to hear how great I am. I am spending money on class so that I can grow.
She gave me so many notes. She gave me SO many notes.
While she was giving me so many notes, I felt it. I thought: Hmmm…. Uh huh.. yup. I think I just.. mmm… I’m pretty sure I just started my period. Yup. Yet, I didn’t budge because I wanted EVERY last note that she had for me. I did not rush her. And when she was done, I slipped out of class and made a beeline for the ladies’ room.
Oh man.
My high waisted, light wash jeans were COVERED in blood. I’m thinking, dear God, WHAT am I supposed to do! A girl from class knocked on the door and I exclaimed, “Don’t come in here! I started my period!” Her response was iconic. She said:
I know. We ALL know.
I got a free pair of sweats from The Growing Studio and when I walked back into class, I noticed the chair that I destroyed was officially out of commission in the corner. I pretended to be mortified. I MEAN…the fact that it was caught on tape WAS mortifying, but when I sat back down in class, I thought to myself: Totally worth it. The feedback I got from my presentation was so bomb. I can use those notes for life. We gone keep it pushin baby.
FAST FORWARD to last weekend. I’ve been hearing whispers and murmers about Broadway’s possible return. I pray that I will be a part of that. Who on Earth actually knows, but I know thing: You will not catch me NOT ready. I reached out to my west coast and east coast voice teachers. Since I’m in California, I made an immediate appointment to see Eric Futterer in Southern California. If it wasn’t for him, I never would have had a healthy enough voice to get on Broadway and stay on Broadway. He’s the bomb. Going to him is definitely an investment (it costs an arm, a leg, a couple toes, an eyeball, sometimes a tooth) but he got me exactly where I wanted to go and taught me how to be consistent eight times a week. So, I’d say that’s worth it!
It’s a beautiful Friday in California. I’ve got a lesson with Eric at 4:30PM in Orange County. I’m planning on teaching a lesson to a new student of mine at 10AM and then hitting the road from the Central Valley to Orange County only to find out that my new student is in PST and not EST. So I leave much earlier than planned so that I can administer her lesson from my best friend’s closet in Long Beach. On my way, I start my period. (ugh. Kill me.) I get to my friend’s place on time. I teach the lesson. We hang for a little. Then I hit the road again to see Eric.
There I am, racing down the 91 East. I’m on a 6 Lane Highway. It’s packed. I’m nice and early which will give me plenty of time to get cash out, powder my nose, text a boy, center myself, et cetera. And while I’m changing lanes, BOOM!
Oh shoot! Did I run over a rock? Did I hit a pothole? Not sure. But I hope that doesn’t leave a mark.
Oh it did. It left a BIG ole mark.
Then I start to hear DA DOOMP DA DOOMP DA DOOMP. And I realize…oh my gosh. I think I have a flight tire. What do I do? What do I DOOOOOO!!!! I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I don’t have my AAA card on me and I just PASSED a tow truck like an Idiot. (Salisha, why didn’t you pull over where you saw him pulled over?!) I REALLY don’t want to be late for my lesson. Since that hour cost more than double my flight, EVERY minute matters. I REFUSE to be late.
So I kept driving.
But then I thought about what happens in the movies when someone gets a flat? Does the car blow up? Honey I don’t know. So I thought it best to maybe try and make my way over to the shoulder. There were a couple places I could have stopped but it just…I don’t know! I DIDN’T WANT TO. But then I was like, Fine. It’s time.
So I pull off at the exit. And the first possible place I could have pulled over to park was…A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. *jaw drop* And across the street was a tire repair shop. I took a moment to look up at the sky and say, “God, you da real MVP.” I wobble my lil Toyota into the dealership. I get out to discover that my tire is in SHREDS. I have to buy a new tire. Fortunately, my parents were willing to help, but also, Unemployment just happened to give me 10 weeks of backpay THAT day. I leave my car at the dealership. I run across the street to get cash out for my lesson. I call a Lyft. The Lyft driver drops me off at Eric’s exactly at the start of my lesson time. I have the BOMBEST voice lesson ever. SO GRATEFUL. Then, Eric insists on driving me back to the dealership. While I’m in his car, the dealership calls to tell me that my car is now ready. AND THEN, once I get there, I get my keys and….the dealership closed 5 minutes later.
Can we just take a moment to talk about this timing?
My tire COULD have blown out in the mountains where I had no service. It could have happened at night. It could have occurred after hours when everything was already closed. It was the perfect place. Perfect time. I didn’t hit anybody. The dealership was right there. GOD IS SO GOOD. Fa real, He be flooring me ALL the time.
Spent the night in Chapman with a dear friend. Got my eyebrows did in Beverly Hills and hit the road back to the Central Valley. All is well.
The moral of the story isn’t a conventional one to encourage:
Sometimes you have to bleed through your pants to get to the next level? Haha.
Ummm.. Even if you have a flat tire, sometimes you just need to keep driving until the Holy Ghost tells you it’s time to pull over? Haha! I don’t think this is the advice I’d ever give!
I’ve been meditating a LOT throughout this past year. I don’t really like to drive with music on or have noise in the background when I’m getting ready for the day. It seems like when it’s quiet, I get lots of cool ideas and feel inspiration. The more I turn off the noise and tune in, the more I’m tuned in. And the more I’m tuned in, the more I can observe the synchronicity in my life play out like a movie.
Make of it what you want. I think maybe the moral is: Just go with the flow.
