Since the beginning of time, Film and advertising have been juxtaposed through a lens. Film, as I’ve known it, has always been a creative outlet for young visionaries. A career where aspiring individualists work ungodly hours to create inspiring cinematic masterpieces that boldly flaunt they’re artistic writing or filmmaking talent. Sounds douchee...and in a way, it is. But if you can look past the high-brow arrogance, a filmmaker’s hard work, persistence and love for the craft even knowing the pay will show little to no support, is what makes the career so admirable.

Advertising has always been that shiny temptation. That tiny devil that sits atop your left shoulder trying to combat everything your little film conscious tells you on your right.

Advertising is for those College Swear sisters and Frat boys who stumble upon mad men one drunken night and are sold by the mere sight of a wet bar in Don Drapers office. Or, for those who are willing to forsake morals for a fancy figure. And how about those film sellouts who just couldn’t resist that devilish temptation any longer?  Advertising isn’t something you fall in love with, it’s a popular career trend for the people who want to own bragging rights to working at a youthful job and ostentatious workspace without having to use their imagination any longer than a 3 minute commercial. 

Advertising makes materialism look cool. It’s about boosting the supply and demand chain. It’s for pretentious individuals who sell commodities to foolish consumers who are easily persuaded and buy into the “materials make us happy” motto.

Someone wise once said, “A person who is given nothing and asks for nothing in return will go further in life than someone who is given everything”.

 In this scenario, the person who is given nothing is every novice filmmaker trying to stumble his or her way through their career. 

The person that is given everything is the avaricious Marketer who will inevitably cause bankruptcies, inescapable debt, and raise the divorce rate - all, without freeing the whisky highball from his or her left hand.

Catching Up

Oh hey 👋 , I hope your well. it’s been a while since I saw you last. Lots happened since then. But Ill spare you the cheesy monologue. What’s that? You say you want to hear it regardless of length? Oooh, If you insist...

Let’s rewind back to January 2020, just before the words “new normal” were hatched.

Like the start to any year, 2020 was greeted with the same bright-eyed, bushy-tailed energy, inspo-filled mood boards and hand-written lists of last years’ accomplishments. Which then lead to a rise in social content, and the “Picture-perfect” superficial clout crap.

In February the social pissing contest came to a screeching halt just as quickly as the NYE wish-filled confetti dissipated into the high-traffic streets of time square. Leaving our hopes for tomorrow trampled, faded, practically erased, and our bright future a seemingly grim looking question mark.

You already know where I’m going with this... spoiler alert 😷 

At first, the panic felt hushed and distant. Like across the fucking Ocean blue distant. But the chaos grew loud when unemployment started its climb, and merchants began closing their doors with no sight of return. 

A few months of solidarity and confinement go by...and then? 

Everything went dark.

(Black screen)

Sorrow and Anger were the only emotions that held any weight.

Voices grew stronger as America’s racial injustice was finally being confronted. In the midst of it all, everyone became suspect. Lines were blurred and It became increasingly difficult to separate politics from judgement. It felt like we were all trying to point fingers at the bad guy - except everyone was guilty.

Over the summer, parking lots continued to kick around tumble weeds, streets were practically fumeless, and every open field was basecamp for a protest. As we began to recognize the wounds we’d inflicted on one another, the ozone was in the process of mending her own.

What did I do through all this? 

I ran. A lot. I’m not sure if the distance was time I needed to rationalize my thoughts, or if it was just my escape from the Plex and the 7 critters we found quarantining with us  🐁 . 

As often as I ran, I wrote even more. Mostly because my thoughts needed a place to escape to when my head became too Loud.

Alex and I swallowed every passing holiday and quarantine birthday with a chaser. Then, future us realized a year and a half later we had created a really bad habit - it wasn’t just birthdays. Our liquor runs had became more frequent, and the booze became a coping mechanism for everything that was going on in the world.

On a lighter note, I got a promotion!

But a couple months later decided to switch my career path. I’m still figuring out what I want to do when I grow up. At this point I’m wondering if I’ll ever find the answer or if I’m just doomed to live in an escape room with an unsolvable riddle.

Originally I booked us a 5 year anniversary flight to explore Asia in September 2020. Talk about terrible timing. 

Of course, the trip was cancelled

but we ended up buying our first home instead 🏡 Evidently, 5 years is wood.

So, a solid settlement. Ba dum tss...

We moved in and started painting. It’s been a year and we’re still painting. 

A month later we lost our best friend. 🐱 We were at our lowest. Life instantly lost meaning, and the only colors that held any weight were black and white.

Five days later we found him hiding under our neighbor’s deck a quarter mile down the road, Scared and alone. Kinda like how 2020 had been for most of us.

We commemorated death and joined new love, but for the most part the solitude carried into 2021 with rare human interaction outside of our families.

And then?

Clouds started to part and the world resumed at a safe distance. It sorta feels like everyone is trying to sweep our reality under the rug. As if the past year and a half was just a bad dream or something. I don’t know what’s going to happen next but I DO know that I want to stop pretending like last year didn’t affect you, too. As if Mother Nature trying to take down mankind doesn’t freak you the fuck out. Let’s talk about it, because with how earth-shattering 2020 was it’s the only year in the past 30 that’s ever felt really real to me. It was scary, and lonely, and honest, and raw.

And as much loss as there was - came a lot of growth. I hope you see that, too.

Thanks for indulging me. I hope you’re holding up on your end.

Talk again soon👋 

Apple

Sometimes writing isn’t about being in the moment or feeling motivated, or ready, or whatever it is you feel when you get that itch to profess to the world, or whoever’s listening, that your words are intriguing and profound. At least, that’s what our egotistic thoughts tell ourselves... No, sometimes writing is just that cheap thrill of having 11% battery life on an iPhone 6 with an entirely way too full iCloud, while the Apple overlords have already started pumping out iPhone 12s, and you’re getting off racing against juice to produce more words than they’re manufacturing mini-robots - before your 6 finally implodes 💥 (Breathe, Alyssa)

The Wrong Treadmill

It’s interesting when you're stuck run on a treadmill next to someone who smells like Pilsbury Funfetti cake mix. You're running and your brain starts getting mixed signals. You bide your time contemplating if your burning calories or inhaling them. By the end of your run, you feel a few pounds heavier and can't help but wonder how high your blood sugar levels are. You start wiping the sweat from your face and find an obscure granular substance matted to your skin as if sugar had been leaking out your pores. All you can think about is the potential possibility of you now wrecked with a disease that affects your health and longevity.

All these agitated thoughts derived from the profusive smells conjured by one treadmill over...

Just Do You

   It's the beginning of yet another year, and I've been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish, not just in 2020 but in life in general. Frankly, I'd be lying if I said my list wasn't long. In fact, I have so many goals for myself it's overwhelming to think about sometimes. Being overly ambitious is just as much a burden as it is a strength. Thankfully, all of my goals, both big and small, have one common denominator making them feel much more attainable. Every one of them is an encouragement to become better in one form or another. Not the best, just better. Everything I set for myself is pushing me to be the best me that I can become. Each goal, whether or not I complete, is going to make me stronger, just as long as I try. It doesn't really matter if my list is a million goals long and I only make it through a fraction of it and fail at half of those, because just by attempting I'll be further along than where I was when I started.

I think a lot of us get specific with our goals for the wrong reasons. Either we're competing with someone else, we're following in someone's footsteps, or we're doing it because it's how we want to be perceived. I'll be honest, I'm entirely guilty of setting goals for each of these reasons, myself. But the older I get, the wiser I become, and the wiser I become means the more knowledge I can slap my younger self in the face with. 

Since then, I have realized by setting goals for the wrong reasons I wasn't becoming the best me by any means. By not being true to myself I chose to become superficial. Now, if I can share one piece of advice with my 2020 self it would be, "Keep your goals true, and in line with what makes you genuinely happy." 

In other words, don't feel like your goals have to prove something to anyone, or even feel like you have to compete to keep up with someone else. We're all different, and we're all at different points in our lives. It's important to understand that someone else's goals might not be the right fit for you. Instead, you should find what you're good at, what you love to do, and persist. Try not to focus the rest. 

For 2020, my goal is to just do me. Keep doing what makes me truly happy while continuing to learn and grow. By doing just that I'm already living up to my potential.

My hope for the end of the year is to be able to look back on the skills I've learned, the challenges I've overcome, and the adventures I've made with admiration and gratitude, knowing that everything I've gone through has made me greater.

Three cheers for 2020!

Wonder Bread

Every Tuesday at half-past six a wondrous smell permeates the air outside a 68's Sports club.
The heavenly, yet manufactured scent runs over highway exhaust and through rundown backstreets, saturating the gym parking lot with an untainted roar of fragrance and flavor, fully satiating any ravenously overworked pallet. With soft, milky notes of butter and malt, the aroma triggers a whirlwind of nostalgia and a thrill of endorphins only to distract you from the cold, hard truth. It’s only Tuesday.

Princess Claire

Thanks to some amazing creatives I got the chance to star in a 2018 Golden Globe Award-winning film. Okay, you probably won't see me guest-star on a talk show anytime soon, but photoshop doesn't lie. ;)

Wierd is in the air

It's exciting when you find someone who isn't afraid to be odd with you. 

Let them stare. We've got each other.

 

#WeAreVML

It is unbelievable to have the privilege of working for such a creative company! Not only do they put everything they have into everything they do, but they enjoy it! I couldn't be more proud to be a part of the VML family, where inspiration is drawn up every day.

Congratulations to our South Africa team for winning a Lion at the 2017 Cannes Awards. Your One Source Campaign not only brought Absolut to a new level, but advertising as a whole.



Keep the creativity flowing!

#WeAreVML

Reality Check

Today, I decided to research my birthday in depth, and I ended up learning more about myself than I thought possible. 

While it terrifies me that I may have the same destiny as Bill Cosby, I found this specific snippet to be dead on...

After reading this, there was one question that popped in my head. Were my interests/career predestined? 

Let's see, I have a degree in creative writing and I gave birth to a poetry blog. Welp, I'd say my Zodiac has me pegged pretty damn well. So, I may be the epitome of a July 12th baby but I refuse to believe that I didn't pick these interests on my own. Because it's a tragedy to think that we may not be the writer of our own destiny. 

What do you think? Is it really possible that an individual's birthday could truly define his or her career path, or even future career path? I pose this question to whoever out there is ready for a reality check.

Best wishes, 

Alyssa King

Oh, to be young again...

What does being younger mean to you? Taught skin? Perky breasts? The world at your fingertips? Bingo! Let’s face it, age is more than just a number. It transforms you in ways unwanted. But, what if you could redefine yourself. What if you could reverse time and relive some of the greatest years of your life. Would you do it?

Last weekend, I started a new TV series called, Younger, based off of Pamela Redmond Satran’s Novel. And, I’m happily obsessed! The storyline is about a 40 year old divorcee, seeking a job in publishing after a 15 year long break. The main character, Liza, quickly realizes she’s been out of the business too long when her interviewers, younger than her, vulgarly reference social trends as if speaking a different dialect. Unable to land a job, her new roommate, Maggie, takes her out for drinks at a nearby bar in Brooklyn. After Liza gets hit on and mistaken for being 26, she realizes changing her age might be the key to success.

As a good friend, Maggie helps Liza alter her identity, which finally lands her a job as publisher’s assistant. But, passing for 26 becomes her job’s biggest challenge when she observes that generation Y has redefined, well, everything. Taking one day at a time, she begins to learn the millennial views: magazines = mentors, dating = trend, fashion = statement, and social media = bible. And, as the story progresses, more complications arise, each nearly revealing Liza’s true age.

Trust me, this dramedy (drama/comedy hybrid) is every woman’s indulgence. If your interest is peeked, check it out on TV Land!

Season 2 premieres Wednesday, January 13^th 10/9c. Tune in!

Happy Watching! 

With every best wish, 

Alyssa King

2015

Okay, so the last half of December was insanely busy for me. I've been meaning to sum up my 2015 in a blog post, but honestly I just haven't found the right time to do so. So, without further delay...

2015 came filled with new adventures and relived experiences, happiness, love, frustration, and well, just about any emotion a given year will bring (both bad and good). But, if there's one distinct reality last year brought, it's that I finally started to find myself. I came to realize who my true friends are, where I'm going with my career, who I want to be versus who I am, and the one person who accepts me for through all my insecurities. 

In 2015:
I landed a promotion
I made new friendships
Celebrated new beginnings
I found my love for pinterest
I entertained myself with new tv series
I married my best friend!!!
I was crowned newly 'King' 
Honeymooned through 8 different countries
Experienced the chaos of Oktoberfest
Took more photos than ever before
Overcame challenges
Learned new skills
And rekindled my love for social media

For me, 2015 was a year to never be forgotten.

2016, you've got a lot to live up to!

With every best wish,
Alyssa King

Someday

Someday, I'll tell a story either to my (someday) kids, or maybe just some bum on the street, or perhaps to a classroom filled of all ages. No matter who I tell, my story will be unique. Afterall, it will be mine. Fiction or not, it will teach a lesson, share a moral, and show its' audience who I am and how this story came to be. But, before that day comes I'll continue to live my life, enjoying friends, sharing moments, building experiences, overcoming obsticles, creating memories, and chasing dreams. So that, when that audience is ready to listen, my story will be ready to be heard.

Outsider

Sometimes in life you'll find yourself in a room where you barely exist. A place where your words are never heard. A setting where you try to make yourself visible and instead you camouflage into the background as if to be unseen and unwanted. Solitude begins to set in and a numbness accumulates, spreading throughout your body. You unsubtaly slip away yet there's not a change in the room. You stumble out with water filled eyes, but it's not you it's them. It's the situation, to them your just an outsider walking in. No matter how hard you try to fit in there's always going to be that barrier that you can't break, so screw 'em! Walk away, clear your mind, and find a different room.

Creature of Games

Flames of Furry blurr my vision and torture my soul. I fight to stay good, whole, sane. I can't afford these sins. What kind of creature am I?

You knock me down like it's a game..."wanna play?" Voices the creature within.

As a being cabable of all feelings and senses, I say this:
You've gained my utter disgust and complete distrust. This game you play gives me heart ache and winning is your forte. Take me for a dummy if that's all you see but beware of the half that's not quite me.

As a devilish beast, I say this:
"Ill scare you when your looking. Ill cut deep when your down. I'll haunt you even after your buried underground. Name of the game, Vengence. This game is mine to win."

TRICKS AND SCHEMES

I have this sort of seriousness that comes through in my writing, so today I've decided to lift my blog with a little bit of lightheartedness.

I'm one of the few out there who've already decorated for Halloween. Does that make me crazy? No, just a phanatic. This is one holiday I can't get enough of. Who doesn't like scary movies and free candy? Of course, I'm too old to trick-or-treat nowadays but don't think that won't stop me from stealing a kid off the street, dressing him in a new costume, and making him double up on houses. I've seen this tactic done in TV but never thought anyone would have the guts to attempt this trick in reality, up until last year. Kids these days...

TRICKS AND SCHEMES--Scheming is the third best part of Halloween.

Firstly, always gotta make sure you've mapped out the best route. Hills slow you down, Cold-a-sacs and dead-ends force you to backtrack, and the distance between houses should be minimal. But also, you've got to be mindful of the house size. The wealthier the neighborhood, the larger the candybar (generally speaking). The fun size really doesn't cut it these days.
Secondly, the costume plays a large role in the scheme of halloween.  Creating the best costume to make your suppliers notice you in the crowd of other trick-or-treaters is how you will profit you in the end. I'll give you a tip: the cuter the costume the better quality of candy you'll recieve, and if you're lucky, an extra piece. So, draw some freckles on your face, bat those eyelashes, and with a sappy costume you might just win the jackpot.
Thirdly, you'll want to make sure you've brought something large enough to collect with. Don't waste your time with one of those silly jack-o-lantern buckets when you can bust out a pillowcase. This holds 10 times the candy and saves you 2 trips back home. Go BIG or Go HOME. Better work on those biceps.

Happy Halloween!

The Absolute Perfect Movie

The other day I went for a walk with my fiance. Normally I do this alone to get my creative juices flowing, but this time Alex decided to join me for health purposes. The walk part of this story is completely irrelevent, it's what I got to thinking about on this walk that put me in a puzzled state of mind. While on our walk, my fiance and I got into a heated debate...that's usual for us. He explained that there was no movie on IMBD that has or will ever receive a 10/10 perfect review. Although he was wrong (there are numerous movies with the magical 10/10 review) he got me thinking, is there really such a thing as a perfect movie? Would any film-maker be able to reach that point in his career? I think it is every writer’s dream, every director’s vision, and every producer with dollar signs as eyes to create this unattainable feature, however I’m not sure that it can be accomplished. This picture would have to be so rich in color, heart, dialogue, and appeal that no other movie could possibly top and/or meet this standard. What do you think?

The Blinding Truth

Depression is a difficult concept for people to grasp if they've never gone through it, but for those who have understand that it eats you from the inside out. It's almost like a virus, you don't see it coming but you know if you're infected. Everything changes for the worst, your mind becomes less and less stable as the virus spreads and the world around you starts to darken.
It's as if these little mites get inside your head and feed on all your good memories, thoughts, and overall happiness. They peck out your eyes and leave you seeing black all around. After everything has been demolished your left with nothing but darkness and bad thoughts...scary thoughts, thoughts that never really crossed your mind prior to this infection.
Am I depressed? Not today. I don't think anyone can really answer that question for a future date. I know I am not depressed today, however I do not know that I won't be depressed tomorrow or the day after. Like I said, it sneaks up on you, blinds your vision, and causes you to spiral downward. You can try to overcome it but it's a battle.
I have struggled with depression more than once in my life which is not something I talk about. It's not something I want to remember but it is something I can now confront.
The first time I caught the virus it ended up taking 10 months to clear. Yes clear. I did not fight it, I let the mites feed on me until they had taken everything, moved out of my body, and on to their next victim. Each time I caught the virus I was left feeling souless and empty. I did not have the energy to laugh, the energy to cry, I feared nothing but I also felt nothing. It didn't feel like I was a living human being, it felt as if I was a lifeless, hollow body alone in the world. Even after the infection I wasn't completely recovered. I don't think you ever really can recover, repair, or mend your mind after something so dramatic. You have the ability to heal but restoring yourself back to normal seems impossible once you find out how easily your thoughts can be tempered with.
I will always remember that period of my life as one of the darkest and that is something I cannot erase. While everyone's depression affects them differently, the symptoms are all similar, however, some are infected much deeper than others in which case the virus can be fatal.
I encourage anyone who has the virus to stay strong, ask for help, and push through the darkness.

--Honoring Robin Williams

Poker Face

If someone has four degrees, went to school for 12 years, spent a good portion of his life studying for whatever is to come next you'd assume he'd be well prepared for the world, right? Wrong. After speaking to my restaurant manager last night I found that you can never be prepared. After going through a rough time finding a job I now realize that I'm not alone, there are people out there with more education and more experience than myself who've gone through the same struggles but continue to live as if they have none. Looking at him I could tell that his struggles weren't over and that he was still very much searching, still hoping to find something that relates to what he actually wants to get at in life... but how can someone so intelligent with so much to offer not have found a position when on the opposite side of the spectrum are my friends, who've graduated in four years obtaining only their bachelors, yet still manage to sign their careers with Garmin? And then it dawned on me, it's just the way our cards are dealt. Now I don't believe every part of it is luck but I do however believe if you're in the right place at the right time you may get offered an opportunity that someone out there may have needed more, may have been more qualified for, and may have served more time searching for it. Nevertheless, whether you are dealt a good hand or not you should always keep you're chin up and your head high because bluffing is still a part of the game, and if you do it right you may just wind-up with your own success story.

Nothing Worse

There's nothing worse than feeling insignificant, unrefined, and out of place. Searching for that job that makes you whole again, something to polish your class, add sophistication, and create envy. I want that job that will boost my confidence level and give my life a place and a purpose because when your in between there's nothing worse. Nothing worse than working a part-time minimum wage job catering those with the career you crave and thirst. Nothing worse than waiting hand and foot on their every need, and forcing a smile when they treat you as if a butler without thought. There's nothing worse than feeling the envy of someone else's job.
I too have needs, a need for a job to bestow me with the refinery I deserve. Looking at the people around they can't all have jobs high and mighty. Isn't anyone else stuck in the situation I'm in? There's nothing worse than feeling alone trapped at the bottom of the totem pole. Congratulations you've reached your lowest; there is nothing worse.