Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.

I think this quote is so fitting, not only because it's Martin Luther King, Jr day but just because of what's ahead for me personally.  I don't have to give you a history lesson about what Dr. King did but I will say that he had an imagination.  He envisioned a world to come that few others could see or ever wanted to realize as a possibility because their reality was so different and a lot less promising.

He had faith.  Faith to take a step on an unknown path because it only takes one step to begin a journey.  And without that first step, the journey can never happen.  It's inspiring.  Mostly because this year for me is a year of taking chances and stepping out towards new, unexplored paths.  I'm afraid and sure I could let that fear overtake me and rule my judgement but then where would I be?  I would be stuck in the same place that I have been and never get anywhere.  

Or I could turn that fear of failure into excitement to experience what lies ahead.  You don't fail when you fall down, you fail by not getting back up and trying again.  Or you fail by not trying at all!  

I don't fear failure anymore because I have come to the realization that I really have nothing to lose but everything to gain!  So I'll let my imagination guide me because right now I imagine what it will be like on a fully financed film set, working with other actors and a director to creating something awesome.  My imagination is what will win this war against my reality because I know it's a reality that will come true.  I have the ability to make these things happen but it takes that first step and a crazy imagination!  

In 29 days, my team and I will launch a Kickstarter campaign for our film Beachwood Drive.  If you haven't seen it yet, check out our Facebook page and like it!  We'll be posting a lot the next few weeks and sharing images, sketches and a concept trailer.  This film is my imagination exploding into reality and I want you all to be apart of the thrilling ride!

beachwooddrivefilm.com

Love, 

Kimberly

"I don't think..." said Alice. "Then you shouldn't talk" said the Hatter.

Yep, I'm going there this week.  Because for me yesterday was fun!  I say fun with the utmost sarcasm.  My team lost a big playoff game and immediately everyone had their own opinion about the game...and most of them were negative reactions towards my team.

I totally understand, it's all fun and games.  In fact it is a game!  But how often do we get online, throw stuff up on our Facebook and Twitter without really thinking about it first?  Especially about stuff way more serious than a football game?

Take two of the top issues in the world currently trending online: racism in America and the Muslim attack in France.  The out pouring of hate and misunderstanding online over these things is astounding.  People use events like these to excuse the fact that what they have to say is rude, generalized and most of the time not based in any truth.   And just because your say "you're not a racist but..." doesn't excuse everything you're about to say.

I'm not saying everyone should be censored or that no one should have a voice.  Absolutely not!  And I'm definitely not saying that there are not bad people in the world.  But not everyone is the same either.  What I am saying is think about the people that see the things you post.  Think about the friends and family that have been with you and supported you your entire life that you are about to alienate because you didn't think that post was that bad or you didn't know how someone else would take it.

Abraham Lincoln said it best: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."  I had to unfollow a lot of people this week because of the uninformed, harmful things they were posting that affected me and people I love.  I'd say I'm sorry but I don't have tolerance or room in my life for negative hateful people.  So just think...before it's too late.

"You used to be much more... muchier. You've lost your muchness."

This just about sums it all up.  I've lost my muchness and I have to get it back!

I took a week off from this blog for the New Year because the New Year for me is always my most down time.  I just don't like New Year's.  For me it's always been a time of looking back and focusing on what went wrong or didn't happen in the past and being so sure that the next year will be different.  Idk, for me it's always felt like fake optimism.  

And I don't mean to discredit anyone that loves the New Year and genuinely feels like it brings hope and change.  For some people it does but for me it really is just another day.  But this year, I'm making the New Year something different.  This year I'm making this year the year I get my muchness back.

This year I am changing my outlook on everything.  Lately this industry has torn me down and really made me question what I'm doing to the point where I've let a lot of negative voices control my thoughts and actions.  This has caused me to be unhappy and really bitter, ultimately taking away all of the joy I have in doing what I do.  So I'm choosing, because I can do that, to no longer allow these negative voices in my head.  

The funny thing is, I didn't move to LA to get famous.  I moved here to make my career a reality and work as an actress.  But there's a misconception that if you aren't making big budget films or getting paid a ton of money then you're not really an actor/actress.  I'm an actress because I act.  I get the chance this year to do some really great things and create web series, shorts and films with my friends!  Not because I'm going to get a lot of money for doing them but because that's what I came out here to do!  And I'm doing it!

Just putting it in writing is giving me chills because I have so missed my muchness!  I can't wait to really get this year going and change everything that I've let become of me over the past couple of years.  It's really exciting to know that change is going to happen for the better.  I don't know how it will all turn out but I'm sure it's going to be fun!  Until next week...Happy New Year!

Go get your muchness back too!

"There is a place like no place on earth. A land full of wonder, mystery and danger...

...Some say to survive, you need to be as mad as a hatter.  Which luckily I am."

I'm home!  And this wonderful mystery land is most definitely my parents' house in Texas.  Or even Texas itself!  Yes, everyone from Texas loves Texas and we do all believe that it's the greatest place on earth and definitely the best state.  That is just how proud we are!

I have to say Christmas at home is my favorite time of year.  My mother is amazingly creative and decorates trees all over the house.  This year there are 12 and they are gorgeous!  The walls are covered in golds, blues, greens and silver!  There are nutcrackers, santas, snowmen and yes, nativities all over the place!  My brothers and I joke every year that when we go to sleep the nutcrackers and the santas actually wage war because there are that many.  And although it sound like it could be a cluttered mess, anyone who has seen my pictures from past years knows it's definitely not.  My Mom creates art with decorations.

The best part about this wondrous land is the time I get to spend with my family.  Although there is the danger of our butting heads, I love seeing my brothers again.  Now that two of them are married, I get two sisters to be with as well as a nephew that is the BEST!  Plus it's the only time I get to watch football with my Dad!  The house is so full of people and Christmas that it really is enough to drive a person insane.  Lucky for me, I'm already quite bonkers!

So to all of you, thank you for taking the time to catch up with me again this week!  I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and loved ones.  I hope that God showers you with countless blessings.  And don't worry there will be plenty of pictures posted to facebook this week for you to see the madness that I call home.  Until next week...

Merry Christmas!   

That's the reason they're called lessons, because they lessen from day to day.

Well there's less than a week before I go home for Christmas and this week is shaping up to be a very difficult one.  I'll be very honest with you that this post is later than usual because my thoughts and words are very calculated right now.  That being said, I blog to get things out instead of keeping them in so here goes.

The past is a difficult thing to process.  They say hindsight is 20/20 and that's mostly true.  Learning from the past is easy except that sometimes we really don't.  We learn lessons and make mistakes in the past that we hope will not haunt us in the future but they do.  They almost always do.  And on top of that, we think that we learn from the mistakes we make and decide to never hurt the people we love like we may have done in the past but it never fails that we do it again from habit and don't realize it until it's too late.

I'm not a perfect person.  I never have claimed to be and never would.  I love God and follow Jesus but I'm still human.  I try to live my life in a justified way but I make a lot of mistakes.  And I pray to God when I make those mistakes that I can be forgiven and forgive myself and move on.  And even though I learn my lessons of the past, I'm only human when I make mistakes again because the situations look different but at the core are the same.

I really don't know what to say without saying too much other than the past is the past.  And I'm deciding today to let it go.  In the style of Elsa, I am letting it go because I have to.  I am ridding myself of my negative past and starting fresh with a new, positive outlook.  I am forgiving those who have wronged me whether they forgive me or not.  I am letting go of my pride and choosing instead to love because happiness is the ultimate importance.  I can't speak for everyone but I can make this choice for myself.

So I am deciding today to learn from the lessons of my past and not let them lessen from day to day.  Otherwise, what am I really doing instead of going around in a circle that leads to no where but unhappiness.  

See you next week!
Love, Kimberly

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.

I love that you can see something or in this instance read something over and over again then one day it jumps out at you like it's completely new.  That's what this quote did to me today...as they most always do when I go to write.

As I've said before, I'm a slightly impatient person so the idea of waiting for something to happen instead of when I'm ready for it to happen is soooooo frustrating to me.  But I'm getting better, I hope!  So I've spent this morning writing emails and planning stuff for Beachwood Drive.  By now you know that is the film that my friend and I will be campaigning for in February, then filming around May.  But we are still in the development stage and all I can think is how I wish this was all done and we were filming.  It would be so much more fun to be on set, acting and creating instead of sending out emails and trying to build my team.

But you can't just jump into the middle of anything, now can you?  Not if you ever want to be successful.  Plus everything is a lesson.  So if I'm to learn how to do this and be successful at it, I have to start at the beginning and work my way through the grunt work so I can get to the fun part later.  

Of course once I get there, I won't be stopping.  It will only push me to do it again and that's the ultimate goal for me.  If I can make films on my own for the rest of my life, I'd be so happy.  

I just love it when a lesson like that smacks you in the face.  So the next time you're feeling like something isn't progressing the way you want, or that you're overwhelmed because road ahead of you seems so long, remember that you always have to start at the beginning before you can get to the end.  

Enjoy the journeys because that is where we learn the lessons!

Love you!

Kimberly

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense..."

If I had a world of my own, every day would be Christmas time! Yes, I’m one of those people.  I’m so happy that it’s finally December.  I love this time of year when the weather gets cold, there’s pumpkin spice everything and all of the streets are decorated for the holidays!  Obviously my world would make no sense because you can’t have snowmen year round…or can you??  

I just really love the Christmas season and not just because we get to give each other presents, or everyone runs themselves further in to debt, myself included.  I love it because it’s a time for friends and family.  It’s the time of year where you can relax and enjoy those around you and not worry about all the stress of life that the year has put on you. 

I looooooove the decorations too.  It’s so amazing to see people put their heart and soul into creating beautiful art that they don’t get to make the rest of the year.  I am most definitely my mother’s daughter because I go all out for Christmas!  It’s so nostalgic for me to be surrounded by Christmas decorations during this month and I love it!  I wish I could have it year round!  In fact we have discussed having a Christmas house and a non-Christmas house all year round so we could move back and forth between the two whenever we wanted :)  “We” being my mom and I!  But of course that would be silly…or amazing.   And I’m sure eventually I would appreciate the season a lot less if it were around all year. 

But let’s not forget what we’re really celebrating.  God’s son, our Savior Jesus Christ was born on Christmas so that we could be forgiven of our sins.  I can’t even imagine the amount of love that would have to be felt to send your only son as a savior.  So remember to be thankful for the blessings you have, even if they’re not the blessings you want.  Love each other this season, and by each other I mean everyone, even people you don’t know.  I read a great quote that said “always be kind because every man is fighting a battle that you know nothing about.”  Let’s think less of ourselves this season, stop worrying about what you are entitled to and think about how you can be a blessing to others.  It feels a lot better to give to others than it does to receive.

Merry Christmas!