A New Form of Therapy

Scarlet

"Hey!" Scarlet says excitedly as I open the door for her. 

"Hi," I say back, matching the smile on her face. "How are you?" 

"I'm good," she says. Without a word, I lock the door back behind her and we head to the back room. I grab the fruit tray off the window counter as we walk through the living room. I always have something to snack on when Scarlet comes over. I found that it helps her to relax and she talks more. 

We make ourselves comfortable and I get right to business. "So, what brings you in today?" 

"I'm just having a rough time," she says, popping a grape into her mouth. She swallows before speaking again. "I finished up the movie a couple weeks ago and I've done some auditions but no one has called me back and I'm starting to run out of money. I'm just worried that moving out here and taking all these risks wasn't worth it for just one movie." 

"Have you ever thought of taking up a part-time job or something in between movies?" I suggest. I can tell by her reaction that she doesn't like the suggestion. I know from personal experience though that sometimes you have to do what you don't want to just to get by. I want to make sure Scarlet understands this. "Look," I say, trying to keep my voice gentle. "I know it may not be what you planned when you came out here, but sometimes you just need to do it to get through a rough patch."

"I know, but this just wasn't what I had planned," Scarlet says. I can relate to her. I didn't start my therapy career right off the bat of moving to Los Angeles. I had problems starting out. I moved from apartment to apartment and even stayed in a motel for about a month before I finally landed my first client.

I relayed all of this to Scarlet. letting her know that it was hard for me and I hated taking the jobs that I didn't want, but that it was worth it in the end because I was able to save enough money to get my next place to live. It took me six months to save enough money to get word out of my new business, Celebrity Therapist, to managers of upcoming and famous celebrities. 

"So you moved here without any real plan?" Scarlet asks. 

"Kind of," I say. "I mean, I had an idea of what I wanted to do. I went to school to be a therapist. But moving here, that was something I never saw coming really. I loved the idea of it, but actually doing it was a surprise to me and my family. I got kicked out of my first apartment because I was late on rent a couple times. I ended up having a job at the Burger King about fifteen minutes down the street for a while when I first moved into here. What I'm saying is, life is going to get hard sometimes- especially in your business- and you'll have to do some things you don't like but that is only to get you to the next great thing that you're going to do."

"That makes me feel a little better," Scarlet says. "Not knowing that you struggled or anything, but just that you've been in the same boat as me. It gives me a bit of hope that I'll make it." 

That last part is followed by a small laugh. I smile in response, glad that I could help. I always find that life experiences are the best way to go. 

"I'm glad I could help," I say. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" I ask only because I can see it in her eyes. There's something still churning around in her mind. 

"There is, actually," she says finally. "I met this guy the other day. I don't know how I feel about him just yet, but he seems to really like me. We've only been on two dates so far." 

I smile, happy to talk about this. Relationships are one of the things I'm really good at giving advice about. On top of that, I am in a good mood because my relationship with Marcus has been great. He's taking me on our third date this weekend. It's a surprise, but I know I'm going to love it.