What's to love about America?

In the months leading up to the move, a lot of people asked me why on earth I would want to move to the US. My answer varied from person to person. Most of the time I simply replied with ' because I'm an actor, and that's where the work is', but there is so much more to it than that.

A lot of people talk about the energy of LA. People either love it or hate it. I myself hated it the first time I came here. I was 17, first time overseas, basically on my own, and staying in a hostel in west Hollywood. There were a lot of things about that trip that contributed to my overall negative impression of LA, but mostly I remember it being dirty, and feeling unsafe. I had two cars follow be in board daylight; each pulling over a few metres ahead of me and trying to talk to me. When I walked past they would pull over again, and so on. That really scared me, and left a very bad taste in my mouth about the city. Even when I came here to study in 2018, I was not excited about LA itself. I was excited to study acting, and meet new people, and thought it was a shame it had to be in LA - I certainly never saw myself living here!

On that trip, I fell in love with this city. Being here as a creative is a totally different experience to as a tourist. The energy here really is palpable - it makes you feel like anything is possible. I didn't feel ashamed of telling people I was an actor, or skirt around it out of fear of people questioning me. When you tell people what you do here, they support it. They say "that's awesome, what are you working on?", as opposed to the "what's your backup plan?" or "have you been on Home and Away?". They get the industry. They get that most actors are unemployed more than they are employed, and they encourage you from a place of understanding. No dream is too big or too crazy here.

For the first time in my life, I could call myself an actor without having to justify it. THAT is why I love LA.

(p.s. postmates also makes the list).

Throwback to the trip where I fell in love with this city <3