Where in the World?

People always ask where I’m from or where I’ve lived, so here ya go! ​I was born and raised in Burlington, Ontario – a small city of maybe 190,000 or so now (110,000 when I was young). Ever since my first trip to Toronto and New York City, I knew I was destined to live a big city. I always loved the hustle and bustle of big cities, the multiculturalism and its food offerings as well as the vibe. So as soon as I could, I moved to Toronto for college to pursue acting.

After college I decided it was the best time of my life to go and travel. I wanted to do that first, before I got settled into a family and a job, and just explore. I researched where to go in Europe and I found Contiki Tours! I chose a 3 week tour through Europe which I believe covered around 13 countries! On top of that, being very proud of my Maltese heritage, I wanted to live in my home country for a Summer and see how life was for my ancestors and perhaps end up moving there.

So after my 3 week tour starting in London, I landed in Scotland to visit family there for a week. Next was Malta. Malta is a country with its own language. It’s an island on the Mediterranean right next door to Sicily and Africa. It’s basically a big beautiful country built on rock full of wonderfully (short) amazing people. While there I got a job as a bartender at a Nightclub and also as a receptionist at a hotel. I sometimes would work until 6 in the morning at the club and then walk to my day job as a receptionist. I worked a ton of hours and barely made enough to survive on. Malta had just joined the EU that month, so things were changing and hopefully for the better. After 4 or 5 months in Malta, during which my grandparents came to stay for 3 months with me too which was AWESOME, as well as my parents who came to visit, it was time to fly to Paris to reunite with Marco.

Marco and I had only dated 6 months before being apart for 6 months while I traveled and lived in Europe. In Paris, Marco attended University while I found odd jobs. I first got a job as a nanny to two French children. I’d pick them up from school and walk them home, make sure they did their homework until the parents returned from work. Soon after I found a job as a bartender at a Canadian pub and the next month I was a manager at an English style pub. The plan was only to stay in Paris for 3 months, so when my boss asked me to take over the bar I was shocked! I told him I was leaving in a month and a half and he said that was fine that he knew I could do a good job. Well he was right, haha, because I built up their revenue by 30% in that short time by running fun events like a Battle of the Bands competition.

It was time for me to return to Canada, and so I did. I said goodbye to Marco so I could get a start on my acting career, post college, and he could finish his studies. Not 2 weeks later did I get a call from Paris that they wanted me to return to run their biggest, most popular, multi-million dollar bar! I declined 3 offers until they gave me ‘an offer I couldn’t refuse’ haha. I really missed Marco, so it was a no brainer. 2 years later, Marco and I left Paris to live in Canada.

In Toronto we lived for 8 years together during which time we moved to 4 different properties and my acting career took off. I held many roles in tv series, films and commercials and Marco soared in his job. My dream had always been to go to LA and finally the time had come. Marco got a transfer through work to move to San Francisco! For the year that we lived there, I would drive every week to LA (6 hour drive) to audition and take classes. I booked a few small commercials and films on my own, but nothing too crazy. After a year of living in SF, we were able to transfer once more to Los Angeles.

Once in LA, I started driving for Uber and Lyft to help support my acting career. Most actors don’t make a living, and I was ok with that. I was doing what I loved and that was all that mattered. Shortly after arriving in LA however, I started a little YouTube Channel. Well, that’s a lie. I already had a YouTube Channel that was like 5 years old and I had like 18 subscribers. It held all of my acting reels on it (they’re still there! Here’s my demo reel from 2015!). So I added a few gambling videos on there for fun, but spruced them up for entertainment.

Fast forward to today, I have now lived, with Marco, in 3 countries and 4 cities. I encourage everyone to travel as much as you can. It truly opens your eyes to the world around you and makes you appreciate life and others. When I first landed in Malta, I had $1000 to my name. My family all thought I was crazy, but look at me now :p haha . My favorite saying in life is “Nothing changes, if nothing changes”. And it’s so true. When I returned to Canada after being away for many years, it astonished me how much I had grown and how much I had seen – yet many of my friends had not changed. They were still in the same jobs, at the same places, doing the same things. For me, that was not enough. I need and require change in my life. For others, they require order and repetitiveness. To each his or her own. But if your desire is there, then feed it!

If you want to go back to my very first YouTube Slot Video, enjoy it here:

I played Lightning Link for the FIRST TIME! I used to upload 3-5 videos A DAY before I decided to squish them into a single larger video instead lol. The first day, April 19, I uploaded five videos. April 20, I uploaded six videos and April 21, I uploaded only 2 videos. I then took a 3 week break because I honestly wasn’t planning to post any more videos, but since they took off – I rolled with it! I think I made a good decision haha. 

Line it up,

Related posts:

How Marco and I Met My Childhood Bringing #MarcoLuck: When Marco Finds the Big Wins