2024
I don't normally write blog posts, since it seems a bit self-indulgent and I don't think anyone would want to read them, but this year has been extremely unusual for a couple reasons and I wanted to talk about it. I also wanted to spend some time reflecting on my personal growth, because it's honestly been pretty considerable. My friends have heard bits and pieces, but nobody except my family has heard the whole story. Since there's character limits on most modern social media and I want people to be able to skim my ramblings and you can't do that in a video, I'm hosting it on my own site. SO. Let's get introspective!
UNUSUAL THING #1:
My Locale
Okay story time. For the past almost-10 years, I've lived in New York City. But this year, I arrived in Los Angeles on March 30th and just...didn't leave. Contractors do be contracting and love living up to their terrible reputation, so the apartment I thought I was moving into (owned by friends) got delayed, and delayed, and...delayed. April became June became August became October became shrug emoji + crying emoji. My poor friends are still dealing with that nightmare (love you guys — if you're reading, you got this), and for me this meant living in limbo for a lot of the year. I had moved in with my mom (thanks mom!), expecting it to be a short stay. As it became apparent my NY roomie and I were going to have to find a new place, I doubled down on LA for the year and planned to go back in January 2025 (which I am — NY friends, I can't wait to see you!).
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There were some pretty sparkly silver linings with all this stress:
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I've gotten to spend more time with my family than I have in a decade
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the food in LA is aces — NYC people can fight me, the produce and food is definitely better here
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the weather here's amazing
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I've been able to expand my LA friend group
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I've been able to actually spend time with some of my existing LA friends
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There's a high concentration of VO people here, so I've been able to learn SO much about the industry just through meeting people and chit-chat osmosis
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My mom got me Disneyland tickets so I could go with my family
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I hella got my money's worth out of my Universal Studios season pass
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I've been able to attend conventions, since I'm local (which cuts wayyy down on costs). Which leads me to...
UNUSUAL THING #2:
My Year of Conventions
One of the weirder things about this year was the absurd number of conventions I attended. Let's start with a list.​​
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Anime LA (January)
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WonderCon (March)
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DragCon (July)
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Anime Expo (July)
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Comic Con (July)
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LA Comic Con (October)
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GameSoundCon (October)
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SOVAS That's VO! Expo (December)
Now to those of you who regularly attend cons, this may not seem that impressive. Or to those of you who've never attended and don't know the energy each one takes. But consider: my first ever convention was LA Comic Con in December of 2023. I had literally never been to a con before that. I got hooked (thanks to my sis), and now I am OUT HERE. And as an industry person, I've been able to get discounts and sometimes even free attendance! So this is an anniversary of sorts and I wanted to acknowledge that.
The Usual Things: Work
I completed my second full year as a freelance voice actor, and whoooo boy. Lemme tell you, this career is not for the lazy or faint of heart. I am poorer than I've been in a long time, and also happier with my career. Though no actor is SATISFIED with their career — it's in our nature to always be pushing for something — when I take a step back and look at my life and career from somewhere other than the inside of my own (critical) head, I'm somewhat impressed.
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I submitted 2000 auditions and did 86 gigs. Not the best booking rate, but not abysmal either. I had 2 exciting indie games come out where I voiced the main characters. I started as a recurring radio host on Radio Health Journal, I started doing audiobooks.
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I learned. Ohhh I learned. I took classes with: Sara Sherman, Kari Wahlgren, Alyssa Gentile,
The Usual things: The Personal
Okay this is the hardest section for me. But one of the things I'm working on is vulnerability. It feels awful, but I've found that people want to see into your heart. Even if it's rough. So. In true artist fashion, my mental health is always somewhat rocky. I don't have any major issues, but I deal with the usual impostor syndrome, mild depressive episodes, fluctuations in productivity, existential crises...you know, normal artist stuff. Again, this shit isn't for the faint of heart. This year was especially hard because of the uncertainty of my career coupled with the uncertainty of my living situation. But despite all that, I'm relatively happy. Just don't ask me about my dating life. I'm trying, okay? That's all I got for ya.