Traveling Lite

So in preparation for my NYC trip this past weekend, I decided I was going to travel in fashion, but lite. Normally I have to always check in luggage and bring a carry on. I’m a little bit of a freak and have to have at least one day’s worth of clothing on me while traveling along with all of my necessities in toiletries. I’m always afraid of loosing my luggage. So this time I challenged myself to not over pack and to only bring carry on. This was going to be hard since I like options in clothing, shoes, accessories, and I tend to always lug my whole bathroom with me.  Since I really didn’t’ need to bring my computer, I was going to leave it at home. Scary thought. Which is also why my blogs are a bit late this week.

In preparing for my version of traveling lite, I started to collect travel sizes and samples of my favorite make up counters. If I couldn’t get a travel size, the merchants were always great at making me a sample in those tiny little containers, which I will be saving for future travel. Normally I freak out with such a small amount, what if it’s not enough for the whole trip and god forbid I was to run out of anything! This time I would be gone for 3 nights, so I kept reminding myself to ration things out and that a little goes a long way, besides I never use all of the products at home. So while I made sure I had everything liquid and gel in small containers less than 3 oz. and that they all fit in a zip lock bag, I started to obsessively check the weather.

Every day I would check the hourly forecast; I needed to know how I was going to get by with just 2 pairs of shoes max. If it were to rain, I’d have to switch out my leather boots, for my wellies.  Also if it were to rain I’d need my water repellent coat instead of my pea coat. I waited to the last possible minute to pack my clothes based on the weather. I was trusting the weather predictors with my wardrobe needs. Please don’t fail me now!

I decided to wear on the plane my skinny 7 jeans, a gray tank top, green long sleeve American Apparel sweatshirt, and Tom’s shoes for easy security check point. Then I packed for my first day in the city, a long sleeve dark gray cashmere dress, black tights, black over the knee knit socks, black leather knee high boots, and my only coat for the trip a charcoal gray pea coat. I wanted to look nice for the show we were seeing that evening and not slum it. Just because I’m out all day and traveling with a carry on didn’t mean I had to look it.

For Easter I brought a gray v-neck long sleeve, my favorite J. Brand dark denim skinny jeans, and wore the same black leather boots. I added a bright green scarf for some color.

Then for the travel back, which I had to rush straight from the airport to a last minute audition, I luckily had a maroon long sleeve button up that I wore with my 7s and Toms so I was able to travel easy and comfortably and still look presentable off the plane straight into an audition.

So everything worked out, I ended up having brought too much product as usual, even in those tiny containers. I had way too many pairs of underwear. I was even able to fit all of the new clothes I purchased from Brandy and Melville in my carry on to take home. So it was possible to pack lite, even for me. It just took a little planning and imagination when you don’t get to bring your whole wardrobe with you. 

Clowning and Life

This year I told myself I was going to take more action and do things that scare me or make me want to hide. One of these things is to take a clown class. Back in NYC when I first took the class, I use to dread it. I would love watching everyone else participating, but I hated it when it was my turn. I could never just let go, release and just have fun. It was a very dark time in my life. I had just failed out of the acting program in college and was told I was “not strong enough” to continue in the acting department. I did however; get into an intensive and prestigious 6-week summer program in NYC. So, completely lost, scared, and confused I moved to NYC for the summer.

I realized that these programs could be nurturing and safe again for me to explore and have fun, the problem was that I had completely lost that ability. I wasn’t able to allow myself to have fun. The clown class was the worst because at the time, I was too scared of messing up or failing again. I was told there was a right way and a wrong way in art. I forgot the whole reason why I loved acting and wanted to do it in the first place, for FUN. Somehow I completely lost sight of this aspect in creativity, art, and life.  I had never failed at anything before. I worked hard and got what I went after. Failure on this level was something new to me. Looking back, it was a good thing. It made me stronger. It made me fight and keep fighting for what I want. It’s made me who I am today.

So now, years later, I’m back taking the same class.  This time, the class is across the country in Los Angeles. This time, the difference is that I’m craving fun. I seek it out. I need it. Maybe because I’m ready for it, I’m able to learn the lessons that clowning teaches …joy. The whole purpose of clowning is to find the joy in what your doing. Sometimes you’ll fail miserably, but if you are able to share your failure with the audience and accept it, it’s really not a failure. It’s about committing fully and sharing. It’s really all about finding joy in everything you do. I’m not sure if it’s maturity or what, but while the class is structured exactly the same with the same exercises, I’m actually able to abandon my inhibitions and go for it. I hear the tiny voice of “don’t’ mess up, try this, try that, be funny, what if they don’t like you,” but this time I’m able to move past the voice and go. I choose to take the class, I choose to be here, I choose to try and have some fun.

I think if you try to have some fun in your life, including your clothes, make up, and style, you will always look your best. If you find the joy in making yourself look your best, it won’t be a chore, but it will be fun. Happiness from within always shines thru so does your beauty. I find the most beautiful people are happy inside and out. Life’s too serious, so lets find some joy in it.