Traveling alone definitely lead to some strange experiences as I explored and worked in a big city. I met a gang leader, I had a near-death experience, and also had a ton of fun hanging out with some of my closest friends and playing on the beach!
On one of the last nights of my trip, I was making a quick dinner stop at In-N-Out burger before my long drive back to the house I was staying at. I got my cheese burger (which was delicious) and was getting into my car when this HUGE man started walking towards me. I immediately grabbed my pink pepper spray and locked myself into my car. I kicked it into reverse and noticed a group of big scary men standing behind my car, so I was trapped. Somebody then began to bang on my passenger window. I cracked it open about an inch in fear that the man was going to shoot me if I just sat there. "Sista, your gonna be a model! I'm gonna hook you up with my sister TYRA, and put you in my movie.." The man went on and on and I just smiled and nodded. He then slipped an old receipt with writing on it, told me to call him, and walked away with the men who were standing behind my car. I drove home as fast as humanly possible, locked myself inside, and pulled out the receipt. There was a name on the receipt along with "your gonna be in my movie" and a phone number. I googled the name and one of the most famous gang leaders in history popped up, along with a bunch of mug shots of the actual man I was talking to earlier that night. As one could imagine, I freaked out, hid in the closet with my mace and knife, and called the LAPD. They said to not worry, but that didn't stop me from not sleeping a minute the next few nights. I eventually got over my fear, and got proud of my gang experiences...I think I am ready for my star debut on Gang Land.
I was staying with my agent and his girlfriend in a town about an hour out side of Los Angeles. Being a not-so-great driver, it was pretty awful driving on the LA highways all alone for a few hours every day.
It was a pretty nice house, but I was terrified of being all alone and driving so much. On one of my first nights in LA, I had a little bit of a home sick freak-out and wanted to go stay with my friend instead of being all by myself in a very unfamiliar territory. At 10:00 pm, I drove all the way into the city. I called my friend when I was outside of her condo building and she told me I needed to park on the street and call her when I was standing out side of the door and she would buzz me in. I drove around for a few minutes and found a parking spot about 4 blocks away from her building. At this point, It was about 11:30, and I was in a very sketchy part of LA. I was reluctantly about to get out of my car when I heard a gun shot and a man sprinted past my car with another man following close behind, chasing the other. I went back to my agents VERY quickly that night, and never stayed out past dark again unless I knew it was completely safe.
I learned very fast that big cities have a lot of dangers, and quickly went into survival mode as I continued in my first ever lone-adventure.
I walked in LA Spring Fashion week and LA Style fashion week. It was such an amazing experience and I met so many incredible, talented people. Runway is my favorite part of modeling. Every show has its own unique energy, along with many strong personalities. There were several runway venues where there would were a few shows a day. There were runway and stationary shows. In the stationary shows, models pretty much just stand on a box for an hour with out moving. (Stationary shows are VERY miserable, but its still fun to be a part of LAFW) There was a staff of about 50 hair and make up artists to get all of the models ready backstage at every show. The girls were generally pretty nice (though every now and then I'd come across mean ones) and the rest of the staff was always very excited and fun. Back stage is normally a big party with a LOT of hair spray. Runway shows take about 6-8 hours of a models time, but about 30 seconds of walking (literally). It is always worth it in the long run, however. I had so much fun this Fashion Week and look forward to hopefully walk in New York Fashion Week in the fall! :) I am so grateful that I was able to walk in LA fashion week. I have such supportive family, friends, and God and I owe it all to them for blessing me with such amazing opportunities.
When I wasn't working or going to castings, I would sneak away and hang out with my friends. My two all time best friends, Jordan and Jane, both live in LA and I went on bunch of fun adventures with them. Jordan and I went on a joy ride and had this crazy lady tell us to "Go Back to Colorado" when we had a little too much fun on a round-a-bout in Malibu. Jane and I ALMOST saw the Chelsea Lately show, but some things fell threw and we now have tickets to the AMERICAN IDOL FINALE!!!!!!!!! I am so excited its unhealthy! :) We also hung out a ton, went to universal studios, and had a lot of fun best friend time :).
I've been signed with Wünder Management in Los Angeles. The Agent, Scott, is such an amazing person and has helped me a lot with my career. Wünder has given me a ton of amazing opportunities, and thats why it was so difficult when I made the decision to switch agents. I switched in hope for some new opportunities (in both my career and traveling) and am hoping everything works out. I just recently signed with Manager Caleb White, and am so excited to see what he is going to do to help my career.
My trip to LA was so much fun. I missed my family, friends, and boyfriend all so much but I learned a lot and grew up a ton. I am so much more independent, and ready to travel the rest of the world! I've become a lot more responsible and understanding about the value of money. Altogether, I am so thankful for the AMAZING adventure I got to go on and for all the love and support I've gotten from the incredible people in my life. Thank you so much to everybody who is there for me and for my career. I will continue to update my blog with my future adventures and travel stories! :)
