Hopefully, as I write these thoughts down tonight in a dimly lit atmosphere of the uppity neighborhood of Brentwood (Los Angeles) at a place called the Coral Tree Café while sipping on Moroccan Mint Tea, I may just inspire someone to re-ignite their passion with this blog. For months, there has been a disconnect between myself and my writing due to really not having time to write, specifically writing for myself. I haven’t been able to share most of my thoughts with the world because when I do write, it’s always a deadline or work-related. Sharing my thoughts was one of the reasons why I created this blog in the first place so I can have a creative outlet and I’ve let it become dormant to where I just post my dance class schedule. New job responsibilities, new place to live, family, dance classes, the struggle of learning new choreography trying to keep my classes fresh and overall just severe exhaustion.
Today, after I finished my dance class demo in Burbank, I felt a burst of inspiration and decided I need to get to a coffee shop ASAP. When I moved from my familiar surroundings last summer (Hollywood to West L.A.), I felt displaced and lost my walking distance up-the-street creative coffee shop outlet. It was a struggle finding places that were so close in West L.A. that felt like “home”. I heard of this one spot from several of the students I teach in Brentwood and how they raved about the place. So I thought, let me give it a shot.
As I finally find parking a block away from this fine establishment, I enter to the place to find it filled with people on laptops, people writing on what appears to be movie scripts, three girls with textbooks out taking notes, a guy dressed in a dirty t-shirt with sweats taking a conference call via Skype discussing what sounds like a movie deal and a set of lovers in the corner who are sitting close brushing against one another sharing a large salad and two glasses of wine. The atmosphere is so busy with lots of non-verbal and verbal activity that you couldn’t help but just be curious. After ordering my tea, I slowly pan the room to find a spot where I can go and just be one with my thoughts. I find one near the side door of the exit to the café where it occasionally opens up due to the wait staff going and coming with orders and the slight breeze of this brisk evening brushing on my shoulder and arm. In examining further my surroundings, the sounds of Erykah Badu play in the background (“Bag Lady”) and then a little bit of Mazzy Star pops on which takes me back to college and reminisce. As I am sitting here in my slightly chilled corner writing, the words begin to flow, they take some sort of shape and I realize that I am slowly falling in love with the place. It feels organic, just like my tea (which, by the way is a little cool now that I have been formulating my thoughts). I realize I’m home and able to crank out this first blog that I haven’t had the chance to write in many moons. I finally found a place where I can get my life.
For the past couple of years, dance fitness has taken over my life ever since I became a U-Jam Instructor. It has left little time for myself to do one of the things that I love to do and that was write. I don’t ever regret putting my writing on hold because otherwise I wouldn’t have met some of the most amazing and inspirational people who have molded and shaped my life. I wouldn’t be slightly healthier. I wouldn’t be under 220 pounds. I am looking at life through a whole new set of eyes. (LITERALLY – a that’s another blog that I am writing on that I will post here very soon.) It’s funny how the changing of surroundings can re-ignite a passion and a fire that I had when I first came to Los Angeles pursuing my dream as a writer. I can truly say over the years I had some success in this arena and reveled in the fact that I’ve published a book, briefly wrote for a network, wrote for a magazine and just wrote for myself.
I declare now that there are no more excuses. Making (ME) time has become now a priority. Devoting at least two times a week for writing for myself is something that I need to breathe back into my soul. There’s more to life than just (Jerod Williams, the dance instructor). I’m embracing him more and more lately. And I’m actually falling in love with him again.
To be continued……
Thank you for reading!
Jerod Williams 
That is a heart felt blog little bro. It’s ironic in its timing. I was visiting Eddie on Saturday, and we started to talk about the things we did as kids and how they are relevant in our lives today. Oh boy we had the best laugh when talked about your writing, and how there was no surface off limit; the World Book Encyclopedias. Yeah the pages were already filled with sentences and paragraphs but that didn’t stop or discourage you. (HAHAHA). When you finished those you eagerly took to the dictionary, when I said no surface wa off limits, as i visited mom and dad later that day i noticed on the back of a door some of the remnants of your first creative writing projects. LITTLE BROTHER KEEP IT UP BECAUSE IT IS TRULY YOUR PASSION.
LOVE MAN,
RAN-D