Fighting and Writing

Yesterday, Trump was sworn into office. I'm sad about that, obviously. But I'm also energized by the opportunity to fight for what I believe in. I'm excited about work that won't be seen as too political in this climate.

My favorite old sitcoms are by Norman Lear from the 1970s. They were written in an era of great social unrest and opposition to the war. We had just come out of the civil rights movements of the 1960s. They were comedies that weren't always funny. I'm starting to see that kind of work come back into vogue now with what's being done on FX by Louis CK and Donald Glover. There's a ton of stuff on TV that's in half hour form, but not always funny.

Is this the exchange - bad political climate for good art?

I don't know. But I know that I can't do anything but write about the things that surround me and concern me. I'm fighting for myself, I'm fighting for my family, I'm fighting for my future husband, I'm fighting for my niece and nephews. I am important. It's more important than ever that my voice is heard and vocal. I am a Chinese/Mexican Gay American. Those stories need to be told from the inside. Those stories need to be told authentically. And those stories need to be told only the way that I can tell them. My whole life I wanted this writing career. And now that I have it, I understand why it's important that I succeed.

Right after college, I went to Portland, OR and worked for a non-profit doing arts therapy for runaway kids. I was always compelled toward activism. But I also knew that I wanted to be a selfish, famous Hollywood writer. I didn't know how both worked. I thought that I would do the non-profit thing for awhile and then segue into the narcissistic phase of my life. I struggled because I wanted to write things that were important to me. But I also wanted to be commercial. I went back and forth a lot on how to serve both masters. The pure pursuit of fame and success felt empty. And just being a social worker or a counselor would't be satisfying to me either. No matter what sort of confusion I felt, I always went back to writing things that felt personal. That felt true. Eventually, it didn't matter if I'd make money or a living as a writer. The desire to create was unrelenting. It didn't even matter if people didn't understand what I was trying to do. Eventually, I felt they would.

I'm met with resistance a lot - who isn't? And every time I get a rejection or a "not for me", I forget about it. I move on to the next thing. As a kid, I knew I was on to something. I didn't know what. At all. But I knew that if I kept at it - actually, I hoped that if I kept at it something would happen. And now we're at this particular place in history. It feels impossible. But do you know how many impossible things I've done? I'm not supposed to be here doing this. There are too many reasons why I should have failed. And I didn't fail.

So I'm going to do what I always do. I'm going to write what I feel and respond to what's going on around me. And what's going on around me is a shitstorm. It's a tsunami avalanche earthquake car crash of a shit storm. But I'm going to put myself to work. And I'm going to speak LOUD - like I always do. And often.

Fighting and writing. That's it. Time to put the armor back on.

My intention is to speak up.
My intention to be be loud.
My intention is growth and expansion.
My intention is to focus.

I am grateful for all of the writers in our writers room.
I am grateful for working relationships.
I am grateful for late night conversations with my best friend.
I am grateful for early breakfasts with my high school best friend.
I am grateful for trips to Vancouver to see my childhood best friend.