Welcome to my first official “Off The Record” blog, written by me, a fellow actress and friend. This blog will provide a free space for actors to share their thoughts and opinions about the theater industry. Each month there will be a question or topic posted on my personal instagram (@jessie_dez) where actors can anonymously take part while having their identities protected. As an actress myself, I want to give my theater community a place of no judgment and no matter what your opinion is, just know I will understand where you’re coming from. Just as you confide in me, I will confide in you and if you’re still skeptical then let me earn your trust. Again, this is a safe place for all of YOU, my lovely theater community.
I believe everything that happens to us, happens for a reason. Yes, even the bad. Although we may not deserve it, we can learn lessons from it, and that is a reason in and of itself – no matter how painful that can be to swallow.
Growing up it seems like anyone older than you, even slightly, reminded you to live in the moment and not wish your youth away. Every birthday card was signed with a message consisting of “life goes faster than you think”. Though on the contrary, and speaking from experience, in your youth all you want to do is be older than the age you are.
As you may or may not tell from my name, Bridget Leigh Callinan, I come from a mostly Irish heritage, with a little mix of Irish-English in there. My mom, Norma Jane O’keefe, comes from a complete Irish background and my dad, Richard William Callinan’s, ancestry comes from an Irish-English background. The picture below shows the family tree from my fathers side, further proving my love for the Irish culture. I don’t know if my love comes from the knowledge of my ancestry, the Americanized St. Patricks Day holiday, the accents, or the drinks (snakebites, and Irish-car bombs).
Somewhere along the way after rewatching my absolute favorite show, Sex & The City, for probably the tenth time now (I wish I was exaggerating), and the excitement of the newest part of the franchise And Just Like That (the revival that aired Dec. 9th)… I couldn’t help but realize I haven’t yet written about my girlfriends. And what’s a better time than the month of love? Girlfriends, although a different kind of love, are no less important than any other relationship. As Mr. Big famously said about his beloved Carrie to her best friends, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha,
“You three know her better than anyone, you’re the loves of her life. And a guy’s just lucky to come in fourth.”
After a long-awaited month, I am back with the third and final part of my move-out journey series that has been the main subject in my life since August. I started this exciting series with a positive outlook on growth and change in Part One, continued Part Two with the less fun details of preparing for a move, and now we are at Part Three which is a reflection post move-out. I write this blog as I now sit in my fully furnished apartment, looking out at my view of the sunset and silhouette buildings, all whilst cuddled up in a furry blanket on the couch.
There has never been a more important case & trial and there has never been a media more silent than today. This month’s blog could have been a number of topics filled with my very typical positive perspective, optimistic relationship and life advice, or stories of me and my family’s past… and since it’s a New Year and the end of the holiday season, the options were pretty much endless… but I decided against it and I quite literally am choosing to write the complete opposite of my usual pieces.
I have always been huge on traditions. Whether it’s holiday traditions, silly family traditions or even traditions you create with your friends, I’m huge on them. Enough to the point that I was upset when I was old enough to discover the Easter bunny did not exist and is instead a made-up myth to stimulate children’s imagination. Now trust me, I definitely don’t want to be a 23 (soon to be 24-year old) and still believe the Easter Bunny is real, but I would still have a blast at the Easter egg hunt I did every year with my cousins as we grew up and dressing up and attending Easter church services.
Every year as the New Year and holidays approach, I reflect. I quite literally evaluate every aspect of my life and the previous year so that I can approach the next year better. Although I’m not the best at confrontation, or the biggest fan of it… I do enjoy confronting myself and being open and honest with myself and my life. I meditate over what I’ve done, learned, loved, and what I want to do, learn, love next year. From goals to relationships to career path to self-care, I allow myself to not only sit with it all but feel it all so that I can give gratitude to the past year, while preparing for the next.
If you have been an avid reader of my blog (hi mom), you may have noticed that I was MIA for the month of November. I can list off plenty of excuses as to why that happened, but instead I will acknowledge my shortcomings and promise to not miss blessing this website with one of my blogs EVER AGAIN! All joking aside, I am very excited that I am finally able to create part 2 of my move out journey blog! Sit back and relax because this blog is going to take you through a rollercoaster of emotions, but let’s start off positively with the emotion of excitement.
