Lo’s Year in Review...2022
2022 Wins, Losses and Lessons Learned
-Honors: I was contacted in April by the Academy Gold Rising Program. This 6 week long program is run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and takes college seniors, recent grads and entry level entertainment professionals and gives them an immersive look into all aspects of the film industry. I was one of 100 participants (chosen out of over 7,000 applicants) who was blessed with this opportunity.
During the 6 weeks, I participated in seminars, talks, panels, lunch & learns, masterclasses and workshops with leaders in the entertainment world. One of my favorite moments was the opportunity to get advice from the one and only Ruth E. Carter. As many of you know she was the inspiration for me taking this costume design leap in the first place. So being able to talk to her about next steps was incredibly helpful and so motivating.
I also met 99 other artists who I will no doubt be working with in the future. I am so excited to see what we all create.
Part of the program that continues after the 6 weeks are over is a mentorship. I received my mentor in November and I am so incredibly excited to be able to learn from this amazing designer for the next several months.
-Work: I am still part of the PACT (Production Assistant Costume Training) Initiative run by Local IATSE 705 (the costumers union). And after working on the Head of the Class reboot I moved on to Mayans M.C. for 6 months, did a super short stint on Ted, the TV series, then was booked on Joker 2, which I’m currently still on. I know right, that’s a big deal! I am so thankful to the team that I am a part of. They are kind and giving and push me to be great.
-Illustration: I’ve decided to work on my costume illustration. It’s something that I’ve struggled with because of my perfectionism and imposter syndrome. But I have been working on having more compassion for myself. Here are a few renderings that I did this year.
-Therapy: After one year without therapy, and a stressful work situation, I went back to therapy. It was a somewhat difficult decision, but I realized I was not okay and was having trouble tapping into the tools that I’d been given in my previous stint with therapy.
-Random: Some other things that I did this year that I was happy to do was getting to see my little sister Alanah. She was here in LA participating in a cardiothoracic surgical internship. Yea, she’s only 14! I was so excited to get to see her and her mom Yolanda a few times while they were visiting. That visit encouraged me to try to reach out more to family and friends who are far away.
Aaron and I may have done our best couples’ (now family because of Gloria) costume yet. I mean, this is brilliant!
I also got my and Gloria’s DNA tested. I found out that I’m mostly Nigerian so now I have a country to rep. (This is a big deal for us slave descendants who have no history beyond the attrocities that built this nation). And we found out that GloGlo is a Pihuahua…or a ChiPit. This explains a LOT about her personality. She’s super loyal, needs a lot of affection and attention, has a bunch of energy, and is built like a tiny brick house. Shawty is stacked.
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2022 for me was about realizing myself worth and then taking much needed action because of that realization. I was reevaluating my relationships and leaning into self-love. I worked on realizing that I deserve to be treated with the same love, compassion, and care that I give others. I must stop going so hard in the paint for people who do not appreciate or reciprocate the kind of love that I give and would like to receive. This means that I also need to be realistic about how true some of these relationships are. When I started to pull back on some of my extraness, I got three reactions. Some people seemed to notice and be annoyed that I wasn’t so available or willing to do the most for them. Some people didn’t seem to notice at all and went on business as usual. And some people noticed but took action. They noticed a shift in my behavior and demeanor and asked if there was something wrong or if they could do something to help. And when I opened up about how I had been feeling, they then shifted their behavior to try to meet me where I needed to be met.
I feel like I know who my real ones are now. And I will continue to try to have a more discerning eye when it comes to any new potential relationships. I also must keep a close watch on myself to make sure I’m not going too far. “I don’t have to ‘buy’ friends. Just me is good enough.” (**Lo says to herself every day as a reminder.)
I also ran into some work situations that were super sketch. Because I have been working as a production assistant and that is literally the lowest entertainment job to have, a lot of liberties are taken when it comes to how people in this position are treated. Most of us chalk it up to being low man on the call sheet. But that often leads to work situations that are both physically and emotionally unsafe.
As a P.A. I have been subjected to uncomfortable conversations about gender and race, have been fat shamed, have been told to change my hair and ‘dress cuter’ to appease higher ups, have been exposed to inappropriate romantic interaction between coworkers, have been forced to accommodate coworkers’ inebriation while at work, have been cursed at, yelled at, lied to, lied about and threatened.
I’ve spoken about this to a few people. The general consensus is horror. However, some folks are like, “that’s the nature of the business. If you can’t handle it, you should get out.” To that I say, “If that’s the nature of the business, then the business needs to change.” I say that now of course. Because when I was in it, I was just trying to survive. I’d gone on autopilot. I was just trying to make it through the day. But sometimes it takes being out of the situation for a bit to realize just how bad it was. I vow to never allow myself to put up with that kind of fuckery again.
2023 Manifestations
These manifestations look exactly like the ones I had last year because I didn’t complete a single one. That’s a tough pill to swallow for an over achiever like myself. But it’s something that I’m working on being okay with.
-Land a Literary Agent: This is something that will need major manifestation and all of your damn prayers. It’s been one of the most daunting things I’ve tried to do as evidenced by it being on my goals list for the past four years. But I really feel like 2020 is going to be my year.
-Finish first draft of book #3: I published book #1 of my series. I have book #2 completed and awaiting an agent. Finishing book three would be great accomplishment so I can start shopping that one as well. I’ve used NaNoWriMo the past two years to try to finish it up and I’m close…so God damn close.
-Start compiling my short stories into a book.
-Get into the union. (I now have 21 of the 30 days needed for entry.)
-Be hired as a designer on an indie project.
-Become a regular provider of activity blankets to the special needs community.
-Focus more on my social media presence and produce more videos for the Home Brewed Love and Flair Huxtable brands
-Get back to exploring Los Angeles (as safely as possible).
This year I have worked so incredibly hard on myself, on being a better person, of growing stronger, of loving myself. This process has taught me to trust myself and my instincts and to lean into my purpose.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…
I’m going to take all the support and encouragement that I’ve received, all of the gains, all of the lessons, and let that fuel me through this upcoming year.