My "Aha" Moment

I have had about 5 auditions in the past 3 weeks, but what I want to talk about right now is the other thing I have been doing for 3 weeks. Well, not what I've been doing per se, but what it led to.

For the past 3 weeks I've been working as a talent coordinator for the 2005 Black Movie Awards. The first 2 weeks were like the calm before the storm, and the 3rd week was...something else altogether. So tape day arrives and everything is buzzing. Everything went smoothly and the affair was top notch. My "Aha" moment came (yes, I watch too much Oprah) when I stood in the house during the Ossie Davis tribute, watching Morgan Freeman and Laurence Fishburne escort Ruby Dee to her spot onstage, and realized the caliber of people who were around me. The energy in the place was palpable. I'm not one to get 'star-struck', so it wasn't that, it was just that I had so much respect for the people n the room. These weren't Hollywood starlets and toy boys who frequent every party to see and be seen. These were artists who have endured, and have risen to the top of their field by doing good work. I was particularly touched by Sidney Poitier. Such a kind and gentle soul who takes time with anyone who approaches him. As a favor, I took a picture of someone with him, and she asked me if I wanted to take a picture with him. I told her "no". I knew I was there, and though I'm sure he's forgotten me by now, in that moment, he knew I was there too.

Forgive me if I miss anyone, but Cicely Tyson, Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Ruby Dee, Laurence Fishburne, Edward James Olmos, Quincy Jones, Kimberly Elise, Nia Long, Vivica A. Fox, Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, Hill Harper, Steve Harris, Idris Elba, and more...Each person who received an award or a special honor basically said that they got where they were by just doing what it is that they do. So simple. So while we are tempted, cajoled, poked, and prodded to run around Hollywood trying to be 'fabulous', maybe what we really need to do is quietly do our work--you know, the work that moves us as individuals, and trust that we will have exactly the life that we are supposed to have. There will never be a more fabulous me than me. And the same goes for you. Do you.

--Nicole