Are you being the best version of yourself?
Los Angeles is very appealing to people who want to follow their dreams or reinvent themself, hence the nickname LALA Land. To outsiders we do seem a bit doollaly, but those of you who live here know that being different, adventurous or avant-garde is just normal . Every day I am cheered by so many of you who share your achievements, accolades or adventures and just as impressed by those of you who aren’t afraid to share the low times too. This was highlighted recently when fellow Angeleno, the Duchess of Sussex (aka Meghan Markle) expressed her frustration regarding the British stiff upper lip, and the damage that can be done by bottling things up. Of course the UK press mocked her for this, but she does have a very good point.
We have touched on this before, and I’ve mentioned that some of my most successful friends are often struggling to make ends meet or are battling with depression. From a distance everything appears hunky dory but if you take a minute to inquire you will often find all is not what it seems. And that’s perfectly ok, but only if you can talk about it with someone. America, or maybe it’s just California (?) gives us license to express ourselves honestly, so if you are a new transplant try to take advantage of this sooner rather than later. It’s very easy to get caught up in keeping up with the Joneses, but it is a lot more pleasurable when you just relax and be the best version of you. This will allow you to follow your dreams more sincerely, and take you on a much more interesting path.
Take a look at this week’s Meet a Member, Jaspreet Sabrina Dosanjh. Her words of advice are ‘Be proud of who you are and build upon that’. I couldn’t have put it better myself. She moved here only a year ago as a scientist but has since discovered a passion for acting. How great is that? If she had still been living in Birmingham she may have thought twice before saying that aloud, let alone pursuing it further, or maybe not? I am only talking from personal experience, where most of the people I know from back home stuck to a ‘sensible’ career path they chose when they were teenagers. Only a few were courageous enough to say they wanted to get into show business or do something extraordinary. Funnily enough some of the daring dream chasers from my youth now also live in LA. Told you it’s a magnet ..
One person who took bravery to a completely different level is Michael Enright. Up until a few years ago he was a very active Brits in LA member, participating in all of our events including our infamous film festival The Toscars (where one year he won a ‘Best Whactor’ trophy!) A lot of you may recall the night he jumped in and saved the life of a fellow member, who suffered (and survived) a heart attack. Everyone was amazed by Michael’s quick calm response, and most of us wished that we could have been able to handle a life threatening situation so gracefully and efficiently. So I think it is fair to say we were all shocked but not surprised when we found out that Michael, at the age of 51, had packed up and gone off to Syria to fight ISIS. He was one of the lucky ones who managed to get out alive, but unfortunately he has lost the right to return back to America and is fearful of going back to the UK as so many others have been prosecuted for joining the fight. He has lived in the States since he was 19 so ideally he wants to come back home to Los Angeles. To learn more about his story visit www.bringmichaelhome.com and if you have any ideas on how to help him or just want to show your support there is a contact link on the page or drop us a line at info@britsin.la. and we will forward on any messages. I know he would love to hear from you.
Thank you to everyone who donated to our Poppy Appeal for Remembrance Sunday – we only have a few more days to go and then will announce the final amount raised. Head over to www.britsin.la for our upcoming events, and hope to see you at one soon.
Cheers!
Eileen
