Moving In (Literally) Into a New Season

These past few months have been the hardest months of my life in a long time.  I’m not going to go into detail about it just yet, as it is another blog post all on its own.  However, one week from tomorrow, I move into a new apartment. As anyone in Los Angeles, there is no way in hell that I can afford an apartment all on my own, but I feel like this move is a huge step for me.  I will, for the first time in the two and a half years that I have lived here in Los Angeles, have a place that I can call mine.

There are many emotions that go with this however.   Excited.  Nervous. Overwhelmed.  Scared shitless.  Just to name a few emotions.  It is all a roller coaster.

It has made me think about the two and a half years that I have lived here and how much things have changed, how much I have changed, as well as how thankful that I have a city that I call home even if it is crazy 99.9% of the time.  I have a tribe that I have chosen that I can go to.  I have never felt so comfortably uncomfortable and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Do I have all the answers on how things are going to go?  Nope.  Am I taking a leap of faith and trust when it comes to all the responsibilities that come with moving?  Absolutely.  Would I want it any other way?  Hell no.  I do know one thing though, God will help me through it.  I mean this apartment is a huge blessing and he totally opened the doors for my roommate and I to get this place, so I know that because he made sure we got it, He’s not going to leave me hanging.

I obviously have a lot to fill people in on, but there just hasn’t been a lot of time to do that.  Hopefully in the next few weeks I can get it all out on the screen and type it out.  I forgot how therapeutic blogging and writing can be.  I missed it.  Until then, enjoy my obsession of posting Instagram photos!

 

 

A Year Can Pass By In A Blink Of An Eye

A year ago today, I posted my first blog post with this post right here, and little did I know my life would never be the same.  I started this blog with a mission in mind to stop stereotypes that are put on the disabled unnecessarily.  I can honestly say that while the problem is still out there, I have made an impact in people’s lives to be more mindful of the stereotyping that happens.

I have also shared a lot of stories and things I have gone through throughout the year as I live in the craziness that is known as Hollywood as I pursue my dream of working in the music industry.

Crazy how much can change in just one year, and how fast one year can go by.  I have learned a lot in many different ways over this past year, including by all my 245+ followers and I look forward to connecting and learning more from all of you in the next year(s) ahead. So this is my huge thank you to all of you that have put up with me these 365 days and here is to many more days and years together.

Changing from a Hobbyist to a Career

Lately I had been feeling lost with what I wanted to do with my life.  I have been living in Los Angeles for a little over a year and a half pursing jobs in the music industry.  But as time has gone on I have found a new found love for writing (hence the blog). I was starting to think that I wanted to switch from music to writing.  After talking to a good friend though, I realized I could do both.  The problem though: I have a hobbyist view on music and writing, meaning I am more passive and more of an observer with others instead of making my own content, as well as with my blog, and need to change my thinking to thinking about it as a career.  I honestly do not know how to change my thinking with that, and I know I need to in order to fulfill what I want to do.

My question to all you wonderful readers out there: Do you have any advice on how I can do this?  Have any of you had a similar issue?  If so, how did you change your thinking?  How do you become a successful content creator?  Lastly, how do you get yourself in the right mindset to become a content creator?

An Ode to the Annual Food Coma

To say that I am beyond stuffed from all the eating I did today would probably be the ultimate understatement of the year.

Even though the food is always a big hit when it comes to Thanksgiving, it is never the most important thing.  For me, it is a day to reflect on the things that I am thankful for, and a day to reflect on what has happened over the past 11 months.

I was talking to my friend tonight as we were working on dinner and we were telling each other what we were thankful for and I realized I have a lot to be thankful for.

First of all, I have a roof over my head and I am able to live in LA and pursue my dreams. I am also thankful for my family and friends that are there for me and support me in anything that I set my mind to.

I am also thankful for the job that I had with Wag for a few months.  I may not be working there anymore, but my time there left an impact in my life and I met some pretty awesome people that have impacted my life in many ways.

I am thankful that I have good health. It may not be perfect, but it could be worse and I am thankful that it is not.

I am thankful for a certain someone who has been a positive influence in my life and helped me grow and step out of my comfort zone in ways that I did not expect.

I am thankful that I found my voice through writing and for starting my blog earlier this year.

And last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for all of you, my readers, who put up with me randomness and are there for me when I need to vent and voice my opinion on things.  Thank you all.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

What are some things you are thankful for?

When It Rains It Pours

I just wanted to write a quick blog post letting you guys know that I am still around.  Life has been crazy and throwing a bunch of stuff at me and those around me all at once.  When it rains it pours right?

I do have some blog posts that I want to write up when life calms down a bit (and I honestly hope that it’s soon lol) so bear with me and be on the lookout for them!

Talk to you all soon!

I’M ALIVE, I SWEAR!

So, remember me?  I’m BAAAACCCCKKK, or at least for just this second.  I haven’t updated in so long, but my crazy life in Hollywood got in the way.

I have some quick updates:

1.) The other week I had my Movement reunion.  which was the program I was in when I lived in LA for the first time.  It was so great to see everyone after 5 years.  It is crazy to me how much things can change in that amount of time.  I’ll probably write a more in-depth post about that later when I have the time.

2.) I get to see my family next week!  I am going home for the 4th of July and I get to see my family for 10 whole days!  I am so excited!  However, I am hoping and praying that Oregon’s allergy levels for the pollen is down so I am not dying the entire time.

And most importantly:

3.) I GOT A JOB!!!  Well, it’s an internship right now, but it has a very good chance of turning into a job!  What are you doing, you might be asking.  Well, let me tell you.  I work with a startup company called Wag!  and they are a dog walking app/company.  They are basically the Uber for dog walking.  If you have a dog and it needs to be walked, you download the app, schedule or request a walk for right then and there and someone comes and walks your dog.  It is pretty genius if you ask me!  I was going to help with their social media, but they really needed help with finding dog walkers so that’s what I do.  I have always loved dogs and I am so happy that I get to work with dogs on a daily basis.

If I get quiet for a long period of time again, this is why.  I am staring at my computer for almost 7 hours a day and when I come home, I don’t want to look at my computer anymore.  Hell, I am so far behind on blogs it’s not even funny!

Well, duty calls in about an hour, so I should go, but I thought I would give everyone a quick update.  Have a wonderful Monday and rest of the week everyone!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Today marks the one-year anniversary that I have been living and pursuing my dreams of working in the Music Industry here in Hollywood, or Hollyweird as I like to call it. And honestly, looking back, so much has happened, but it all seems to have flown by in super speed.

Hollywood is a crazy place. It is also a VERY hard place to live in at times. It WILL force you to grow up and mature fast. You have to get used to being on the go at least 99.9% of the time. Believe me, being a girl who grew up in Oregon for 26 years, this was a huge adjustment for me, but I honestly would not change it for the world.

In just the last year alone, I have learned so much about myself. When I look back on the last year, I think the biggest thing that was the toughest for me to learn was on the friendship side of things. I was shown who were true friends and who were friends that over stayed their welcome. At least I know that all people who come into your life are supposed to be there for a reason, it was just their time to go, I guess. Yes, it was tough, but I am better and a stronger person because of it.

I have also learned to express myself more and be honest with my emotions and not run away from them. I am a creative person, so it is important for me to let it out, and hell, something beautiful can come out of it creativity wise. I also started going to school for Music Business and have learned a ton of interesting things just in the first two classes I have taken. Another thing I have started to dabble in is some song writing. Honestly, I never in a million years thought I would do this, but I really felt like God was calling me to be more creative lately and this is the way he wanted me to go. I don’t have a lot done, but it will get there.

One other important thing that I grew in, was my acceptance with my CP.  Over the past few months, I have gained more of an open mind with the disability world and through that this blog was born, and I am so glad it was!

When I first got to LA a year ago, the first thing I did is  what every person on the planet has probably done and gone to The Happiest Place on Earth and that basically was the kickoff to something amazing. If I could live at Disneyland I would. One of the plus sides to living where I do, I am literally only half an hour away.

Then in August I was able to go to Las Vegas for a few days with some friends. While I have had been there before with family a couple of years prior, I was really able to see The Strip and experience it a lot more than the first time. Let’s just say it was A LOT of walking and very little sleep. But it was probably one of the best trips I had taken last year.

Most recently I was able to go to a series of American Idol tapings and this really helped me network with people in the business from a business standpoint as well as personal. I met some pretty amazing people through this experience. Idol crew even called me a professional audience member. (Hey, I’ll take it!).

So in conclusion, I cannot complain with where my life is at this moment. To be completely honest, I am in the best place I have been in a very long time. And this makes me super excited to see where the next year will take me. I have some pretty awesome goals set up for myself and they are starting to look like they will all work out.

I’m off to spend this day at the beach celebrating the anniversary as well as Memorial Day! I know, life is rough when you live in sunny Southern California! 😉 Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

The Beginning of My Musical Journey

Everybody has dreams and aspirations in life. Some people may want to become a doctor, or scientist, or a teacher. Some people may even want to become an actor, Broadway star, or musician. I thought today, I would talk a little about my dreams and aspirations for my life and talk about how important music has been to my life.

For as long as I can remember, music has been that special thing in my life that was always there. There is a song out there for every situation and emotion that comes with it. Because of this, I have known since middle school that I have always wanted to work in something with music, I just wasn’t sure what exactly. I took band and choir in middle school, but band was short-lived. Choir was the one that stuck for me through all my middle school days and most of my high school days. As much as I loved it though, I knew deep down I wasn’t meant to be a singer.

It wasn’t until about three years later when I was living in Los Angeles that I got the opportunity to intern with a record label that I finally knew what I wanted to do. I love social media and I love helping artists and record labels out, so why not incorporate both of those? So that’s what I decided to do.

I ended up going back to Oregon a few short months later, but with the dream of working in the music industry still very strong inside of my heart. I had school to worry about first anyways. I tried going to my local community college at first but they didn’t have anything that would help me in the direction that I wanted to go into at all, so that ended up being a major fail. However, I did look into University of Phoenix and found a perfect major for me for my Associates Degree and quickly jumped on that train to pursue that. After 2 and a half years of doing that I finally graduated with my Associates with a 3.5 I believe.

After that I jumped right into getting my Bachelor’s Degree, which was fine for about the first year of the course. About a year after starting my Bachelor’s Degree I finally decided to take the plunge and finally move to Los Angeles full-time and pursue my dream of working in the music industry.

A few months after I made the move to LA, I decided that University of Phoenix was no longer the way to go. The area I was studying wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted to go in. I decided I wanted to go into more of the Music Business side of things. So I ended things with University of Phoenix (much to their disappointment) and applied for the Music Business Extension Program at UCLA, where I am currently attending, and love it.

Being out here almost a year, I look back on it and see that yes, there have been a lot of struggles to get to where I am today, but that it has only made me stronger. It also comes with the gig that I chose, and that is okay with me. I am still learning every day about the business and myself. I am making connections on business levels and personal levels, because I know that is one of the best ways to make my way up in this business. Yes, it is tough, and yes, it is super competitive, but I would not change it for the world. Every day is a new adventure and I love the ride.

Overcoming Obstacles

This week I really struggled to think of a topic to write about for this blog. That was until I came across one of my friends’ blogs about overcoming obstacles. As I was reading her blog,(Side note: If you want to check out the blog post I mention the link is: https://ashleemelda.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/do-not-let-your-struggle-become-your-identity/), it was like a light bulb went on over my head and I knew exactly what I was going to talk about.

It is no secret that everyone goes through obstacles throughout their life, no matter if they are differently abled or able-bodied. It could be an obstacle of trying to find the right job, or something more serious as learning to walk again after having a major surgery, or something small as battling writers block and trying to figure out what to write for a blog post.

Over the past few months I have had an issue with getting my balance down in the car port and near my friend’s car. For months I would feel like I could not walk without holding onto anything, or else I would lose my balance and fall, when I have been able to do this many times all by myself in the past. This became a constant thing and also became very frustrating. It was like there was an invisible wall there and I kept running into it.

After so many times, and many countless talks with my friend on what the hang up was, I realized that it was all a mental thing. Something switched in my brain to let me know that I could not do it without an aid, when I know I am very capable with walking without anything.

So how have I overcome this obstacle you ask? Well, to be honest, I still struggle with it, but it has gotten better. When I go downstairs I just make sure that I do not focus so much on holding on to anything, because I have noticed that is what screws me up in the first place. I also tell myself that it is only about a 100 ft. walk and that I can do it and that I am strong enough to do it.

If you are struggling with an obstacle in your life and you feel like it will never go away, I would like to encourage you to keep pushing forward. You may be struggling right now, but that does not mean that it will last forever (even though it may feel like it sometimes). Talk to family or friends about your obstacle and see if they have any advice on how to overcome it. I know that if I did not have the support of my friend who wanted to see me overcome it because she knew I could, I would not be where I am today.

Mythbusters Disability Edition: Diseased and Needs Help 24/7

All of my life I have heard, “Can I help you with that?” “Here, let me get that for you.” Or one of my favorites one yet, “So, are you helping out that disabled girl?” This is the type of things I get on a semi regular basis when it comes to people and dealing with my cerebral palsy.

Ever since I moved to Los Angeles almost a year ago, I have been pushed out of my comfort zone on a daily basis and have done things that I did not think that I could do, especially when it came to things dealing with my cerebral palsy. Although, I will say that the hardest and most eye-opening thing that I have had to deal with is people’s perceptions of me. And there have been a multitude of things that have come up in the last month or so that have really gotten under my skin, that I believe people need to be aware and mindful of.

What is that you ask? Well, let me tell you: Not all disabled people need a caretaker, and just because we have a disability does not mean we are diseased and the person I am going to be standing next to is going to get it. Now, you may be asking, “Katy, where in the world is this rant coming from?” Well I am going to tell you of two different instances that literally happened on the same day about a month ago.

The first incident happened when I had gotten an email to come in for an interview for an internship. To say that I was excited for this opportunity was an understatement. Sure, it wouldn’t be a paid internship, but it would at least help me get my foot in the door in the music industry. But as I continued to email with this person, the whole situation began to feel off. They wanted me to come in on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s until six, and the place where the internship was a good half hour away from where I live in Hollywood. I would do it, but I also had school to worry about as well and I told them that I couldn’t work until six on two of the days because of school. They of course fought back saying that I had ample time to get to class, and I was put in a position where I felt like I was backed into a corner where I had to mention my cerebral palsy. Now, I will be open and honest with anyone about my disability, that’s not an issue. I mean for crying out loud if I had an issue with it, I wouldn’t be writing this blog. But I do not tell jobs that I am disabled because I do not want that to be a defining factor in whether I get hired or not. I had to tell them that it takes me longer to get to places because of my disability and I have to leave enough time for that. This is the part that bugged me: They emailed me back and said, “I’m so sorry you suffer from this disease.” Um, last time I checked I wasn’t dying. To me I always looked at a disease as something you can die from, not a disability like mine, where it just hard for me to keep my balance and walk. However, according  to online resources, cerebral palsy is considered a disease, just not one that is considered deadly. I was unaware of this until just recently. Even I am still learning things from my disability, even after 27 years.  I ended up still setting up an appointment to have an interview, but after a couple of days I cancelled it because it just didn’t feel right going after everything that happened.

While I was dealing with the email situation, my roommate and I were doing laundry. After going to go check on the clothes, my roommate came back in and had told me of a conversation that she had with one of the other people in the apartment building while she was down there. They had actually asked about me. They had seen me around with my roommate and they thought that my roommate was my caretaker. Now, this is not the first time that this has happened. We will be out and about and people will just assume that she is my caretaker. I am setting the record straight right now. She is my best friend and roommate, not my caretaker. I do not and have I never needed a caretaker to take care of me in all my 27 years of life. My parents raised me to be strong and independent and I believe that they did a pretty damn good job. It can be very upsetting for me, as well as my roommate, and other people who I am close to because we can see what I am capable of and to have people assume that I cannot do things can be hurtful.

The positive that I take out of both of these situations is that I have a chance to share my story and show people who I am not some sick person who cannot do anything for themselves. I was able to tell the person I was emailing that there was no need or reason to feel sorry for me, that I am still the same Katy that will work her ass off when it comes to a job and that I do not give up easily.

I just want to encourage anybody that does see somebody who is disabled to not automatically jump to conclusions about whether they are sick, or cannot do things for themselves. Yes, there are people out there who have diseases, which make them not feel well on a daily basis, and yes, there are people out there who do need some extra help and do need a caretaker, but that does not mean that everyone does. I encourage you to get to know the persons story before you jump to such conclusions. I can tell you that it would make the persons day if you did something just as simple as that. Who knows you may make a new friend just by getting to know them.