For the skeptics.

Preparing for a move to Los Angeles is no small feat. I have a a lot of stuff I have to sell off. I can't really go out anymore without feeling guilty for spending a few bucks that I need for the move. I still have to figure out how to get the AC in my car fixed. I still have to figure out the route to go. I still have to book the Marriot rooms, thanks to my awesome parents and the sweet system of Marriot Rewards Points. I still have to do so many things.

I also still have to ignore the constant questioning of the skeptics.

I recently met an actress who has been around the block a few times after one of the V/H/S screenings. I approached her and introduced myself. Her demeanor, composed yet stiff, seemed colder than the occasion called for. I couldn't help but feel the familiar sensation that this woman was sizing me up.
"So," she began after we had exhausted chit-chat about the film, "What's next for you?"
"I'm moving to Los Angeles."
She raised her eyebrows and asked, in a tone that indicated she was clearly talking down to me,
"Mind if I ask why?"
"Because I'm serious about doing this and that's where I need to go."
"I strongly encourage you to reconsider," she responded dryly, "I was in LA for about six years. It's rough. I had to come back." 
"Yeah?" I asked, my interest fading.
"Unless you can still play young. Then maybe. Can you play young?"
"Sure."
She looked at me skeptically.
"Are you SAG?"
"Nope," I replied.
"I mean," she paused, "I wish you nothing but luck, but -"
I can't recall the rest because I stopped listening. I have heard this spiel one hundred times and then some.

People see a young woman who realizes what she needs to do to further her career and instantly want to discourage her because they tried it and they didn't make it work. I am sick and tired of listening to actors bash and bring each other down because they still maintain a crippling amount of bitterness over their own failures. Men and women alike have told me to wait in Georgia like a sitting duck and cross my fingers that the casting trickle-down effect will give me a nipple to suck on long enough to maybe get a SAG-AFTRA eligibility form.
 
Rest assured, everyone: I'm not going out there and expecting miracles. I know it will be hard. I know it's going to suck for a while. I know that I am going to have to work very hard. I know that I'm going to have to be clever if I want to get Taft Hartley'd. I know that I may ultimately decide to come back home. The best part about that, though, is that Atlanta isn't exactly going anywhere.

Here's the thing about LA: It's not impossible; it's just really, really hard. I can do something.

The only thing stopping me from doing anything is staying here.