Meet Elizabeth Rossi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Rossi.

Elizabeth, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Motivated by dreams of sunshine and following my creative pursuits, I left everyone and everything I knew in a small mid-western town, to move 3000 miles away to the big city, Los Angeles. For anyone making that kind of move, it’s a huge risk and undertaking, and many speculated I’d be back within six months. Those who really know me knew I wouldn’t give up and I haven’t!

Since moving to LA, I’ve written, sold, and produced a number of screenplays, composed film scores, published a book, and recently wrote the theme song for a new show coming out on the BBC! There are a few key lessons I’ve learned along the way, lessons people have heard before a dozen times, but I’m living proof that they work.

Follow Your Passion! What is life without passion? To me, it was a mind-numbing existence in mediocracy, where every day repeated itself, and I couldn’t live like that. I want the excitement and drama, the hills and valleys; I want to live and experience as much as I possibly can while I’m on this earth. For me, it’s easy to know what my passion is. I’ve always been passionate about music and writing and even wrote my first stage play when I was about 12 years old. Find what you love to do, and think how your passion and talents can help make a positive impact, then do that.

Work hard. Okay so this lesson maybe isn’t as exciting as the first one, but things that are truly worth it rarely come easily. Be persistent and tenacious. Hone your skills. For me to develop more creatively, I spend close to an hour each morning in quiet meditation, prayer, and reading. Tapping into how I’m feeling and what’s going on with me that day; working through emotions and feelings. I project how I want my day to go and infuse that power into what I’m working on, whether it’s music or writing. I play the piano and write every day. Some days it’s genius and everything flows, other days… it’s just sh*t. Work at your passion; do it every day.

The third lesson and something I try to practice is to be authentically kind. You can never fully know what’s going on in someone’s world and what internal struggles they’re facing at that moment, so I smile at strangers, volunteer with underprivileged youth, and anonymously buy dinners for single seniors when I see them. It’s not always easy being kind, but I get so much more back by doing these things, and I promise that you will too. Being kind also transfers into work-life as well and is critically important because even A-listers get fired for being an a**hole on set.

If you’re passionately talented, people want to work with you. If you’re a hard worker, people want to work with you. If you’re kind and helpful, people want to work with you. To practice and have all three of these things is golden.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think sometimes when people see me; they don’t’ see the struggles I’ve been through and think ‘Oh she seems happy – she must have an easy life.’ But that hasn’t always been the case.

Growing up, my father was a recovering alcoholic with bipolar disorder. There was always a sense of being on-edge because you never knew if he’d fallen off the wagon, what to expect, or what kind of mood he was in. It affected everything every day. Our family life was very volatile. They say you marry someone like your dad, which unfortunately rang true for me.

A week after I graduated, my college sweetheart proposed. On the outside, it looked like a perfect marriage. Behind closed doors though, he was an angry alcoholic that grew more and more abusive. I struggled with feelings of shame, guilt, and low self-esteem, wondering how I could’ve not seen this coming? How could I be in this situation? It took me two years, until one afternoon when he wasn’t home, I left and rented a small guest house where I thought he wouldn’t find me. Friends marveled at how strong I was to leave, but I felt I had to if I wanted to live.

Creatively I struggle with not holding back and to reach those innermost feelings and be fully authentic to lay it all out on the page whether in word or in a song. It’s easy for me to put up emotional walls and blocks, but to be truly open is a constant challenge. Even with this article, I asked myself how “open” should I really get. But in revealing those hard to reach places, I think it touches other people more deeply, helping them to reach their feelings and maybe realizing that no matter race, gender, rich, poor that we all struggle with loss, grief, sadness, and that we all want to be loved for who we truly are as individuals.

Lastly, I struggle with grief over the unexpected death in 2017 of my brother Pete, to whom I’ve dedicated my first book, “The Text Book.” I think about him and miss him every day.

Through the struggles though, I believe it’s art and music that heals us, inspires us, and unites us. It’s certainly NOT politics! 😉

We’d love to hear more about your business.
As a writer and composer, I try to make sure the mood and tone of what I’m providing meet the expectations of the overall creative project. Both aspects help create the core of the story, so it’s extremely important to me to get it right, and I have a high standard for excellence. It’s a great feeling helping other creative people pursue their dreams and being a part of making that happen.

Personally, my first book, “The Text Book,” was recently published, and it’s meant simply to help people text better. Being as most people communicate via texting, learning how to text better will help improve your interactions with everyone – whether friend, lover, co-worker, family member, etc. It reviews common texting pitfalls, text-etiquette, how to improve the sub-text of your text messages and tap into the intentions behind what you’re really trying to say.

The book has been received amazingly well, with multiple radio interviews, book signings, and I’ve been asked to be a guest speaker at corporations, who want to help their employees learn the best practices of texting in a professional business setting. It’s all been really incredible so far!

Additional projects I’m known for are the films I’ve had the privilege to work on, whether in writing or in music. Each project has been unique and has helped me grow and learn.

All of these are available on my website at ERRossi.com.

What were you like growing up?
I was raised with four older brothers, in a middle-class mid-western suburb; however, nothing about it was normal. My oldest brother Rich often jokes that my family was the original Kardashians. We were the reality show for the neighborhood. We were the weird family of artists and musicians that cops and local news media followed. I was often embarrassed by my family’s antics, their quirks, and Bohemian lifestyle, but now looking back, I’m so happy to have been raised in a family that embraced music, dance, and art.

Aside from the creative lessons, it also taught me to not be concerned with what others think or say about you – no matter what you do or say there will be some people who will like you and others who will mock you, but just to keep being yourself.

Many of my childhood interests still intrigue me today, as I love the theater, salsa dance regularly, and enjoy live music. I also am a huge animal lover, and still pursue tennis and practice yoga, both of which I found outlets in during my school years.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ERRossi.com
• Phone: 805-727-3669
• Email: errwriterca@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rossi.liz/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/The-Text-Book-Tips-Quips-and-Scripts-to-help-you-text-better-714726865613715/

Image Credit:
Noah Booshu and Maryam Noori

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