The Milly and Grace Girls

Growing up, the Ott family did a lot of moving around…which meant a lot of new schools, new friends, new teachers, new houses, new bedrooms, new grocery stores, new addresses and phone numbers to remember, new… I’ll stop there.  I was not a big fan of starting new schools.  I would cry and cry and be sick to my stomach.  My poor mother.  Anyways, I vividly remember going to my first school assembly at my new school in the second grade and them playing this song (Getting to Know You from the King and I) over and over.  To this day, this song makes me sick to my stomach.  Just thought you all would like to know!

Over the next few days, I will be posting Getting to Know Allison entries (what do I call them? posts, diary entries, information only my mom and cousins are going to read?) … Get excited.  Julie might return as Fraulein Maria with These are a Few of My Favorite Things – Allison edition.

You might be wondering what “Per Aspera Ad Astra” means… It is a latin phrase, meaning “Through Struggles to the Stars”.  I was first introduced to this phrase when I was enrolled into a private girls school in Australia, when my family and I moved there in 1999.  Queenwood School for Girls.  Their motto – Per Aspera Ad Astra.  It was chosen by the founders of the school because it represented the qualities of resilience, compassion and confidence – the hallmark of Queenwood girls.

Resilience, Compassion and Confidence.  I think those are three very important characteristics to own as one navigates through this crazy world of ours.  I might throw one more in there… Patience.

When I was four years old, my Dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Side note: He asked me in the middle of my MC Hammer “Can’t Touch This” reenactment in my parachute pant pajamas.  I said…”An Actress!”.  I am not sure if I really knew what an actress was or did at the age of four.  I think it was my heart and soul that answered that question.

So here I am today…21 years later.  I’ve lived an adventurous life so far, moving all over the US with a brief 4 year stint in Australia.  I graduated from the University of Georgia, then moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.  So here I am.  I’ve learned A LOT along the way.  It has taken Resilience, Compassion and Confidence…and Patience to make it to this point and I am ready for more.  My hope for this blog is to entertain my readers (along with myself…apologize in advance for silly jokes), shed light on some of the hard lessons I’ve learned along the way – “The Struggles” – and share my journey to “The Stars”!