Annika Flower Girl

Like every role that Annika has ever played...she made a perfect flower girl in her Sister Daly's wedding.  Annika looked like a miniature bride and she was lovely and an excellent servant. Every picture I saw of her that day, Annika had her signature head tilt pose.  I must credit her sister Dimaris Salgado for teaching her this.  Dimaris, or Didi as we call her, is also in the Fine Arts community where she is a dancer and performer.  Didi may well be the inspiration behind Annika's interests in Acting...not sure on that.  Here are some photo's of Annika's sister Didi:

Because Annika has older sisters, a younger brother and a half-brother who is older...she has a wealth of support and love.  These are very important people in her life (and mine).  Here are some pictures of Annika's sister Daly (the Bride):

Annika is especially fortunate to have a half-brother Darien.  He has even traveled with her to auditions and supports her in all her endeavors!  Here are some pictures of Darien:

Now that Daly is a married woman, Annika is happily embracing her new brother-in-law, Justin.  Here are some pictures of Justin and also Annika's baby brother Lex (I also must point out Annika's Father is with Justin in two of the photos):

I snuck myself in there too.  after all, where would a child Actress be without a hard-working Mama-manager, right?  I keep track of her appointments and manage her professional image.  I correspond with her agency and handle her banking and financial distribution.  I keep her important contacts such as her hair stylist and friends and other important associates.  I update her resume and photos and mail them out to the right people as requested.  There is a lot of work that goes into "Managing" a child actress...and we have not hardly even begun to work yet!  I know other young actors who are SO busy and constantly auditioning and traveling.  Annika is not at that stage yet.  I admire them...for now we are pacing ourselves!

Being a part of Daly and Justin's wedding and their lives in general is a privilege for Annika.  She admires her sisters both so much.  They each have different and unique talents and traits from which Annika learns to be a better person.  As a Mother, I could not be more grateful to THEM for how they enhance her life.  I also must credit their mother, Dama for her role in raising responsible and successful and confident women!

You see these women?  They are some of the most gracious and amazing people I know.  I appreciate them teaching Annika what to strive for! 

Also, (not pictured), I would like to credit Savann Yun of Warwick RI for being our fabulous stylist/seamstress/beautician.  I don't know where we would be without her!

Good Things in Annika's Life

Showing gratitude and living in a Way that demonstrates gratitude as the Right attitude...this is a value that I instill in my children.  Annika knows that if she wants to be an actress and work in theatre or tv, she must consistently demonstrate that she is connected to the value system and belief system that is at her core being.  Annika believes in the Universal Light ...that she did not come out of nowhere, but rather that she is a divine being and so is everyone around her.  Everyday, she proves to me more and more that she understands and wants to live her life this Way.  Since February, Annika has grown as a person so much.  What a year at has been for her!   Celebrity Actors Camp...then Model Club Inc....accepted into ALAP at school...Straight A student....first 2 paid Acting jobs over the summer.  To the naked eye, Annika appears to be a busy and successful indvidual.  But there is a side of Annika that some people never see...never notice or talk about.  But as her Mother, I want others to know this about her.  Annika is a beneveolent soul who looks for ways to help others.

The photo above was taken at the Robertson Elementary School Craft Fair on Saturday, October 15th.  In her hand you can see that Annika has a piece of paper and a pencil.  This is the key to everything I am about to share about Annika.  On this day...at this event, Annika humbled me.  She took the concepts and habits I have been trying to teach her and she truly expressed the Love and Concern for others that we should ALL be striving for!  She found the most unhappy, critical, angry and frustrated person at this event...she reached out to her with empathy and sympathy and then demonstrated by her ACTIONS and deeds...the Right Way.  This person saw the error of her ways by the end of the day.  She confessed to Annika how, as an adult, this person had behaved with less maturity then Annika had and that she learned by Annika's example, how she ought to have acted all along.  I believe that this was the very purpose for which Annika was there that day.  I am proud of Annika because she could have turned away from her (I TOLD Annika to turn away from her), but Annika knew that this was the opportunity to turn things around for the benefit of another person and not herself.  This is what Kabbalah teaches is our purpose in life...to help others and ourselves overcome our tikun and connect with the light.

Above, the photographs I have included represent two things that I believe are connected.  Annika's immediate community is her family, her neighborhood and her school, Robertson Elementary School in Warwick RI.  Her career as an Actress, it's success and her pleasure in it, stem from the foundation of these and therefore contributed to the other two pictures.  These are her first 2 paychecks for Acting Jobs she did this summer and they arrived in our mailbox at the very hour of Annika's good deeds...at the very hour!  I am proud of her.  I Love her.

During the Craft Show several other parents who's children are Acting or want to Act, were able to connect with us and we were able to share information.  I want to offer them encouragement!  I always recommended that they come to our Blog site and read this Blog about Annika's Acting journey because it is more than the "steps" we take to get there that guarantees our arrival.  It matters how we live and how we think. Our motivations behind our choices matter...the purity of those motivations matter.  Many people will travel this same path that Annika is travelling.  Some will arrive at fame and stardom while others will not.  Some when they arrive will seek only to serve themselves while others will consistently look to serve for the sake of others and not receive for themselves alone.  People from both sides will arrive at their success, but only the ones who pursue it with the Light will be truly blessed.

~namaste~