I was born on a warm Friday afternoon in August of ‘88 in Jackson. Tennessee, not Mississippi. It's a small city in between Memphis and Nashville. The first 10 years of my life were spent on a horse and hay farm out in the middle of nowhere. I grew up Pentecostal, and yes, I spoke in tongues. I was only allowed to listen to Christian music and watch Disney movies. So how did I get from that innocent little boy to the Queen I am today? Easy answer. Theatre.

I have been singing in the choir and acting in church skits since I played baby Jesus just a few months after I was born. I had no idea how to act but I loved the feeling of telling a story. When I was 10, my mom, sister, and I moved across the state to get away from my abusive father. We stayed in a women’s shelter for a month in Johnson City. One night, we were given comp tickets to see  A Midsummer Night’s Dream at ETSU. From the moment the faeries appeared onstage, I was hooked. The power of Oberon, the beauty of Titania, and the magic of live theatre uplifted my family while the rest of our world was falling apart. That night I saw that theatre can be more than just fun little skits. It can heal.

The next few years were a culture shock to me. Going to public school for the first time definitely opened my eyes to more than I probably needed to know. I’m pretty sure I learned every curse word in the English language within a week. (Though I’d never say them around my mom for fear of literally getting my mouth washed out with soap.) Before I knew it, I had learned all that my public middle school had to offer and was off on the grand adventure of high school. That meant I could finally take theatre as a class. And, wow, I was a bad actor! I prepared for school auditions by watching film versions of the plays or musicals and tried to imitate the actors. I may not have been good, but at least I had heart. I helped out backstage with every show and competed in every forensics competition. In the middle of 10th grade, we moved to Gainesville, Fl and I was cast in my first musical. My geeky, chunky, awkward 15y/o self play Uncle Wes in Footloose. My poor mom barely saw me the rest of my high school career due to shows, thespian competitions, and anything else a theatre kid could get into. As I dug myself deeper and deeper into theatre, my church life and personal life were starting to clash. I realized that I was different around the time puberty hit. Well the Pentecostals don’t like the gays, so my youth pastor tried casting the gay demon out of me at 16. But that’s a whole other story. I wasn’t much for church after that.

After graduating as an Honors Thespian, I decided to go to the best theatre school in Fl, FSU. As an undergrad in the BA program, I don’t think I learned anything about acting. I learned how to work on the technical side of things. I learned that 16-18 credit hours was too much. And I painfully learned how to say no. I tried to work on every play I could but ended up falling behind on my studies. I flunked out and went on a depressive spiral that made me think I had failed at life.

Most of my 20’s were spent working in minimum wage jobs and working in community theatre. I moved to Orlando and started working in food service at Disney. Eventually I moved to attractions and was a Safari Driver at Animal Kingdom. While it was a ride, I felt like I was acting every day since I got to be a part of the story. I also got hired into seasonal entertainment at Universal which means I scared people and marched in parades. All the while I was acting in, teching for community theatre shows, and learning how to be a drag queen all over the area. Somewhere along the way, I became a better actor. In 2015, I had enough of living paycheck to two days before paycheck and knew something had to change. My mom suggested I move in with her in Pensacola and go back to school. “For something you can make money in this time like nursing...” So I did. I went to Pensacola State College and passed all my pre-nursing classes with flying colors.