Meet Moriah Garcia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Moriah Garcia.

Moriah, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story begins with a lot of trauma that has accumulated in different ways throughout my life. My upbringing in El Paso, Texas was full of neglect and abuse–both physical and emotional. When I was the age of 11 years old, I witnessed my pregnant neighbor being shot to death by her ex-boyfriend. I was home alone in our apartment when I witnessed the shooting just outside my bedroom window. She was only feet away from me when she drew her last few breaths with nothing but a wall and a window between us. The guilt and helplessness I felt because I was unable to save her overcame me. From then on out my state of emotional solitude escalated.

That terrible event created a dramatic shift in my life. Leaving me disconnected, I had trouble opening up to my friends and family. . I felt alone with my pain. At times I found solace through music, acting, and spirituality. Without having anyone to confide in or relate to, I suppressed the trauma as I grew into adulthood. This became even more difficult as I got older and dealt with emotional and sexual abuse whiledating. I withheld vulnerability from loved ones, not even admitting to myself that what I was going through was actually disastrous. After high school, I left West Texas to attend Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. I hoped it would be a fresh start, a clean new slate. Being young and naive, I had no idea that my lament was only just beginning.

Shortly into my freshman year, I was hit with the loss of my step-dad from diabetes. A year later, into my sophomore year, I then dealt with the suicide of my older brother Rene. And just seven months after my brother’s passing, my greatest loss of all, the death of my father, struck me the hardest. It was dark; it was lonely; it was a cacophony of negative thoughts at all times. There were so many moments that I wanted to take a pause on academics and go back home to grieve, but my family encouraged me to power through and earn my degree. Emotionally and physically depleted, I physically carried myself to complete my education. As daunting and seemingly unachievable as it was, I eventually earned my Bachelor degree in Theater Arts from Arizona State. By then I was ready to move to Los Angeles. I was determined to rewrite the story of my life into something more promising and purposeful than those previous years. If I was able to take on all that, I could surely achieve anything, right?

I moved to LA and instantly started in the wrong direction by immersing myself in the party life. I got into a relationship in that crowd of socialites and noticed my mental health decaying but was unsure of what to do about it. The people I was associating myself with didn’t seem to understand mental health. Their sole focus was balancing their work and partying. It was after being cheated on in that relationship that I felt the weight of everything – of every pain and fear that had built up to that point had been laid on me in its full heaviness. I realized the only people I really knew in this big city were ones that I had fraternized with, nothing of quality friendships. In this big city of angels, I felt diminutive and alone. It was right before Valentine’s weekend that I told myself I wanted to make a change. I decided that instead of feeling lonely during this romantic holiday, I was going to throw an event- Galentine’s, a Valentine’s for female friends. One of the hard things about being in the acting industry is that it’s not a regular 9-5 job where you see the same familiar faces every day. I was on a new set every week, coming into contact with new people each time. I wasn’t able to form actual friendships from it.

So I invited EVERY woman I had added on social media from different acting sets to this event, the majority of them that I had only met and spoken to once. I was vulnerable with my invite, I told them that I wished to organize a community of strong women. Even preparing for the holiday, I felt life inflating back into me as I explored my creativity as a hostess. To my surprise, many of the girls I invited attended and it was beautiful. We were all in the same boat- all of us were from some other city or state and moved here with little to no friends just trying to make it. This empowering event was something we were all craving. Two of the girls that attended the event are now roommates. Because of that occasion, there was a ripple effect of being invited to other social settings where I was introduced to lifelong friends and companionships. This new crowd of people are just as creative, expressive, and whimsical as my true self. Not only that, but they are all so self-aware, each on their path of healing which in response has helped me on my personal journey.

The second Galentine’s event this past year was even better. My female social group has expanded and the quality of the women that attended was unreal, they were all such gems in this city. We had different uplifting stations where the women empowered each other as well as wrote edifying cards to other loved ones that weren’t in attendance. Both years we had a raffle that keeps getting better with the quality of items such as crystal necklaces, personalized intention bracelets, and books written by strong females like Becoming by Michelle Obama. Everyone walked away with more surety and love for themselves.

As uncommon as it is, the idea of pursuing acting for some reason never felt daunting to me. I’ve always had this innate confidence that things will fall into place. Although prior to moving here, I was mostly concerned and intimidated with finding a good group of people that I could consider family and feel at home with. I’ve learned that if you want something for yourself, you need to create it. If you build it, they will come.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In no way shape or form was getting to this point a smooth road. Acting in itself has been an enjoyable experience. Before pursuing it professionally, I thought acting was putting on a mask, but I soon realized it is actually the removal of the mask we put on in our everyday lives. It’s unveiling our true self. This acting journey has aligned with my healing journey. I like to be silly as well as push myself and am able to do that every day with this career.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m not just in the business of acting, I’m in the business of connecting with other people. I’d say the majority of the gigs that I book are from my personality that I bring into the audition rooms. I like to connect with the casting directors. It’s just the same with building a female empowering support group, I am getting women from all over Los Angeles to connect with one another. I make it very clear that I want these women to bring their most authentic selves. When you’re in a room with others that are vulnerable and real, you’re more inclined to be that as well. I am most proud of the ripple effect that I see happening, starting with the women that come together at these events. I love watching them get inspired by the other ladies as well as collaborate on philanthropic and uplifting projects. What sets me apart from others is the initiative to create and get down to the nitty-gritty. I hate small talk – I don’t want to know about the mundane, I want to know what drives you, what motivates you.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was witnessing the newfound drive the women had after my most recent Galentine’s event. I had girlfriends asking to get together for coffee to see how we could further expand these support groups and events with such a fire in their eyes. That’s when I felt like I actually had an impact on the community. Inspiring others is a goal that I have for myself, whether it’s on or off camera.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @moriahgarcia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moriahgarciaLA/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyLifeIsMo

Image Credit:
Brennan McMurray, Daniel Schaefer

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.