Hey Misfits! I’ve been holding onto this amazing news for a while. Honestly, I was holding in the excitement mostly because I was still trying to process that it happened. Sometimes, amazing things happen, and I’m at a loss for words. Well, it happened, and I’m finally ready to share. I was accepted into the WEEN Academy for the Class of 2017!
For any of you that are in the entertainment industries, you’ll have heard of the WEEN Academy before. If you haven’t, the WEEN Academy is a four-week crash course in the entertainment industry. While you may think of industry hopefuls like entertainment publicists, lawyers, and even on-camera personalities, very few ever think of style and beauty people being a part of the magic! One of my goals for 2017 is to get more comfortable in front of the camera (both photographically as well as in real time) and what better way to advocate for beautiful women of color than to get one-on-one training with the best in the business?!
The curriculum covers branding, on-air talent, philanthropy, event planning, artist management, self-esteem and entrepreneurship. Through lectures, Q&As, workshops and field trips, we will all be introduced to and taught by leading executives and industry professionals in the entertainment business.
What’s funny is I almost didn’t go to the audition. At first saying ‘yes’, I decided the night before that maybe this wasn’t for me. I couldn’t figure out what I would wear, my 30-second elevator pitch was sounding more like poop, and I felt myself slowly receding into my introvert ways. Many who don’t know me don’t understand that I am actually…not much of a people person, haha. I enjoy spending time with others, but it has to be in intimate spaces of familiarity. I’m not comfortable around tons of people I just met, and thinking that I’d know nobody when I got there, I was ready to chicken out and spend my Saturday in bed.
I spoke with bae on the phone that night, who said, “Jaa…you’re going to go audition.” I realized in a strange enough mood that when I step out of my comfort zone, it’s more than me just doing this for myself. Plus, women like Vanessa De Luca and Elaine Welteroth are my sheroes, so I owed it to my future self to get up and GO. Sure enough, I woke up at 6:30 am that morning and hiked for over an hour and a half on the train to get to the audition, stood out in the windy cold, and gave it all I could.
I guess in a way, this post is actually meant to share with you guys something other than the good news of WEEN. Whenever you are unsure of something, whenever you are scared shitless to try something new…do it anyway, trusting that God will find a way. I also love to think that instead of me telling God I’m not ready to do something, I’d rather he tell me I’m not ready. So all of that means I have to try in order to ever know. I often feel like an imposter when I do these speaking engagements and auditions, feeling as if I’m here by some divine accident.
Well, let it be divine. You have everything within you to succeed and whatever you are meant to do on this earth will happen for you. Trust yourself and trust the process. It’ll always pay off. Or so I believe. Can’t wait to share with you guys my amazing adventures this summer. It’ll definitely be a summer for the books.
you just helped me this this post. Im auditioning this weekend and im super nervous . Thank you but im going to push through and give it my all .
What advice would you give to ladies who are going to audition this year?
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Just be prepared for anything and come on your A game!
What kind of questions do they ask?