Photo Credit: Paolo E.T. Hugo

I’m sorry!

I’ve been a little distant the last few months! The culprit has been a few things – I started a new job that sucks a lot of my brain power (in a good way), I decided to revamp my dating life and I’ve been working on just figuring out the balance between all the things, so my blog has fallen to the wayside and I’m sorry!

I thought I’d apologize to you all with a quick spill of some “secrets” and share 10 essential things you probably didn’t know about me!

  1. Even though I consider Oklahoma my home, I was born and raised in southern California. I lived there for 15 years before I moved to Texas where I finished out high school, then I moved to Oklahoma City to attend university.
  2. In college, I joined a sorority and met some of the most amazing women. I never thought of myself a the sorority girl type, but I quickly realized that I was basing that opinion off of the stereotypes I had seen portrayed in film. Part of my positive experience was because I went to a small university, we only had 3 sororities so it enabled us to truly connect without getting lost in the crowd. No matter the reason, these women truly helped shape the woman that I am today.
  3. Most of my life I have struggled with mental health issues. I have vaguely talked about what life is like with ADHD, but I also live with anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia/disordered eating, and PTSD. I don’t say these things to garner pity, or to make you feel uncomfortable, but as my bio states – I’m 100% real about my journey & I want someone reading this, that may also battle these things, to know they’re not alone.
  4. I’m a book dragon and have been working on writing a novel for years! I have at least 3 unfinished novels (ADHD problems) but ideally, I will have one novel completed soon. Now, whether or not I send it to a publisher is a whole other deal entirely!
  5. In keeping with the book dragon theme, I (almost) never leave home without a

    Photo Credit: Christian Whitehead

    book! This is something I started years ago, and even though I can’t stand e-readers, I’m thankful for the Kindle app on my phone since I can’t always carry my physical Kindle around. When I ride the bus to work in the morning, if I’m ever early to meet someone, or just find myself with free time, carrying a book around with me is a great way to keep myself occupied. Sidebar: I also love it because it can be a social deterrent and can keep creeps at bay.

  6. You probably know that I am biracial, but you may not know how – my father is Black and my mother is white. When I’m tired of hearing that dumb question of “what are you”, I tend to call myself “ethnically ambiguous” because most people look at me and have no idea my ethnic origins. I’m lucky if they don’t pop off with some ridiculous comment that they think is a compliment like, “you’re so exotic looking”. The most common guesses are Phillipino, Brazilian, Hispanic, or Black and “something else”. From a genetic standpoint, I know I’m West African, Scottish, Irish, and Native American.
  7. My family is EVERYTHING to me, and thankfully I don’t come from a small one. I’ve got my immediate family (Mom, Dad, Stepmom, 2 sisters, 2 stepsisters, and 1 stepbrother), my grandparents, 2 uncles, 1 aunt, all of their children, not to mention every “Auntie” or cousin my family has just taken in and adopted over the years. I’ve been blessed with parents that, despite being divorced most of my life, have always put me and my siblings before all else. My parents still care for each other to this day, all of our family members (step and biological) get along, so needless to say, I am beyond blessed to know and witness the true depth of family.
  8. I am insanely clumsy, I have a combination of 10+ minor/major concussions…I wish I could say these were all sports-related injuries, or have really cool bar fight stories, but no. Most of mine have happened from either falling down or running into things, c’est la vie!
  9. I got my degree in Theatre Performance but the idea of stepping on a stage now gives me severe anxiety. Aside from a few public performances of the national anthem, I haven’t performed publicly since I graduated college.
  10. I did American Idol…twice. It all started when my father dared me to try out, I got through a bunch of pre-tv rounds (they don’t air those boring parts), passed through the celebrity judges round, and was flown out to Hollywood week both times. I nailed my round 1 solo performance, but after spending roughly 48 awake, coming off of the performance adrenaline high without being able to crash, plus then having to learn lyrics, harmonies, and choreography with complete strangers, I got sent home both years on group night. It was hell in a handbasket but I wouldn’t trade my time there for anything!

I hope you enjoyed this very special glimpse into my life!