For me, it’s was the call from HBO in 2018. My short film “SIDE EFFECTS” was in the top 20 for the ABFF HBO competition. I didn’t make the top 10 but the call, in hindsight, was refreshing. I realized that I made something, that started as a thought, that was seen and acknowledged by a network I was deep FAN of and out of hundreds of submissions, they saw me. I wasn’t in LA, I wasn’t in a network of connections. I was just a black girl from Chicago, that told a story as a filmmaker. It was a amazing feeling of validation even though I cried for weeks after.