Virginia

Guest Blogger - @jesimieljenkins - Moving to LA (Part 2) by *nickels*


If you guys may recall, my friend Jesimiel wrote, a couple of weeks back, about why he chose to move to LA in pursuit of his dreams of working as a host in the entertainment industry. Below, my dear friend elaborates one what he's learned in the last six months since he's been there. It's an eye opener and I think for all artists hoping to make it in LA, or any major metropolis (read: NYC, London, Paris, Tokyo, Rio... etc), you can learn a lot from his experiences.

Three things I’ve learned so far:


A career in the entertainment business is EXPENSIVE. 
-You must be willing to make a sizable investment in yourself to be taken seriously
            -This means paying for really great headshots
            -This means enrolling in ongoing acting classes at a good studio
            -This means buying great clothes that make people notice you when you walk into the audition room

Many people in LA want to be successful but few want to work for it.
-Many people want THAT life, that Beverly Hills life, but few will invest in themselves and work for it.
-It’s important to consistently work towards your goals in a sprawling city like LA and do things that you’re passionate about
-You don’t want to end up another embittered and angry artist serving tables and waiting for Steven Spielberg to walk in and notice you- take your career and your life into your own hands

Drugs are very very real
-I had a very sheltered upbringing in the suburbs of Virginia. I knew what drugs were but they were a very distant reality
-In LA, drugs are a close reality
            -Seriously, keep your drink close at bars and don’t go to an “after-party” with someone you don’t know, there will probably be drugs there

None of the families in Wilkerson’s book aspired to grace the big screen, they just wanted higher wages for their families and to live without threat of racial violence.  However, as I near the end of Wilkerson’s book, I am humbly reminded that I stand on the shoulders of giants and that I am not the first to take this journey.  Though my experience dims in comparison to the present and blood-drenched reality my ancestors lived in the south, I take pride in their bravery as they, like I, made the courageous decision to act upon their dreams.       

follow him @jesimieljenkins on Twitter