Series Finale of TVD + Iconic Story Telling

Elena, at the cemetary, writing in her diary about the death of her parents :(

Tears gushing down my face as there’s only 3 minutes left in the series finale of the Vampire Diaries....

But it’s not for the reasons you may think (insert sexy vampire, iconic tv show, Thursday night ritual)

The series debuted in September 2009 - the year and month I left my home country of Canada and ventured off into France.

I remember sulking away in my window-less bedroom, consumed in darkness, watching the show, falling in love with the characters and above all- just feeling a connection to something greater than myself.

(The magic of Hollywood anyone ?!)

me in my first apartment in Nice, France...seriously, I had no window in my bedroom!!!

Similar to how Elena would have just lost her parents. I also was grieving a loss…

I was entering a new chapter in my life. I had said some painful goodbyes of my own because deep down, I knew I wasn’t going back to Canada anytime soon…

You see… experience is personal, but emotional is universal.

We all experience different things, but we can connect with each other on an emotional level.

As the Vampire Diaries wraps up its 8th season, it coincided with my visa expiring. I entered my own personal period of reflection: did I really want to stay here ? What was my next move in life ? Perhaps it was time to move on to bigger + better adventures.

So I took the plunge, I once again left my home for the past 7.5 years (the south of France) and ventured off to Paris: new city + new life!

And yet I couldn’t help but reflect on how the power of cinema, tv shows can have on us. How we can follow them throughout for years and years and they can be mirrors of our life

:::Story has the power to help us feel less alone.

:::Story has the power to heal us.

:::Story has the power to change + influence our lives.

I invite you to be brave in your journey and to share your story. As redundant + overused as it may sound, there’s a reason why people at Alcoholics Anonymous continuously share their story with each other - because at the end of the day, we all experience and live the same things. It’s nice to know that we’re not alone.

Bisous from Paris,

PS.... a few memories of Brittany circa 2009 upon arriving in France!

Including mountain biking in the french Alpes, boating in Saint Tropez, On set of my first feature length independent film in France + First time walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival