Normal Lear Charity Event- ODAAT Table Read

I'd be lying if I didn't day it's taken me a couple of days to write this. I've been having a difficult time fully encapsulating what this day was and how much it meant to me. On October 5th, the One Day at a Time cast participated in a live table read in order to raise money for Norman Lear's charity People for the American Way and I had the privilege of attending. If you know me in real life (which I'm guessing you do since only like 5 people regularly read my articles) you know how much this show means to me. I wholeheartedly believe that this show has helped shape the majority of the person I am today and I genuinely don't know where I would be if I had never seen this show. I began watching the show in the beginning of 2021, at my mom promised me we would go to a taping once COVID ended and they began filming in front of a live studio audience again. Unfortunately that day never came, that is until now!

It was basically a given that I was going to cry at least once during this, because that is what I do when I really love something! So, here is a list of all of the reasons I cried during the table read! I started off pretty strong, and only cried once during the actual table read!

1. Gloria Calderón Kellet walked onstage and THEN proceeded to introduce Justina Machado and Rita Moreno.

However, after was when it really started!

2. It was over.

3. I was so overwhelmed by how much fun I had and how much I loved One Day at a Time

4. This one's kind of a weird one, so hear me out. I was frustrated. Being in that space I saw exactly what I need to be doing with my life. It's almost as if I saw a portal to my future, and wasn't allowed to go through it. I once heard someone say that "The reason you want it so bad right now is because you have it in the future" and this is something I live by. I know without a shadow of a doubt what I am meant to do with my life, and I have to somehow attempt to be patient and wait for it to happen since most of it is out of my control. This makes me so incredibly frustrated, because I have felt that joy and I have felt that level of purpose, and I'm so close. That's why I cried, because I want my future to be my present.

Since this was for a charity event, I want to use this opportunity to highlight the organization I was supporting! People for the American Way, PFAW, is an organization made my Norman Lear. Here is a direct quote from their website in regards to their mission statement:

"People For the American Way is a national progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. For more than four decades, we have been dedicated to making the promise of America real for everyone and have worked toward a vision of a vibrant America where basic rights and freedoms are upheld for all, not just the wealthy and the powerful."

They do this by providing resources to help stop book bans and censorship, protect democracy, defend voting rights, elect progressive leaders, and many more. I highly recommend signing up for PFAW to help create positive change!

It's taken me 4 days to write this blog post, and I still wish I could say more. This has quickly moved to the top of the list of "Drew's Favorite Things She's Ever Done" and I am so incredibly grateful for my Mama for not only buying my ticket but making everything about my experience absolutely perfect. I love you.