WRITLEY, Sofia Dorothy

[sofia dorothy writley]

Sofia Dorothy Writley , *

18. Triple Threat [Actress, Singer, Dancer] . Sammi Ryan.

HOLLY WOOD WHORE, PASSED OUT ON THE FLOOR
i'm sorry, but the party's over.

“Oh God, wait, are we starting? Sorry, I’ve never done this type of interview. Um, okay, my name is Sofia Dorothy Writley. I know, I know, the Dorothy part is bad. My mom must have had a few cocktails before filling out the birth certificate. No need to talk about it. Anyways, call me Sofi Fia or Sof or whatever. But not Sofia.”

“Alright, where do you want me to start? The beginning? The very beginning? Is this really necessary? Whatever, I was born in London, England, but we moved by the time I was four. I then spent another nine years in a small town in Tennessee. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that my dad’s job finally settled us in the hub of it all: New York City. My dad is a partner at this really big law firm based there. For some reason, he still has to travel a lot though. I missed him a lot as a kid. I always looked up to him a lot, you know?”

“On the other hand, there’s my mother. We don’t really get along. Jenny was the perfect child and after her, no matter what I did, I could never live up to my mom’s standards. Jenny’s my older sister. She studied at Yale and is now some type of brilliant doctor. Picture a brunette, gorgeous blue-green eyes, perfect body, intelligent, graceful, confident. That’s her. Now imagine trying to live up to that. I could just never get it right.”

“Matt? Oh, right. He’s my older brother, and the polar opposite of Jenny. He’s a firefighter here in Los Angeles. I actually live in his place. He was always a partier, a player, the bane of his teacher’s existence. I adore him. He’s always looked out for me, and when we were younger he always encouraged me to rebel a little. I wonder if he ever regrets that…”

“Where… Oh. Right. The beginning. I don’t remember much of England, just scattered shards of memories. Tennessee was suffocating. Everyone knew everything. It was like walking on a tight rope and everyone in town was ready to watch me fall. Over the years, my mom and my relationship started to heat up. At first, I tripped all over myself trying to please her. I played soccer, I ran, I did gymnastics, I did cheerleading, I learned countless instruments, I strove to win every award. It was a good thing I’m an insomniac because I have no idea how I ever got everything done. Nothing made her take notice. I was only a kid, but I could sense my mother’s chilly, unimpressed, not at all motherly manner. And it killed me. As time wore on, we bickered more and more. And I started to realize that I could go to the moon and back, and it would never impress her.”

“By the time we got to NYC, the tension between us was palpable. My dad was gone too much to play referee and I didn’t think I could take it anymore. I begged to go to this really prestigious boarding school. I finally got the okay as long as, in my mother’s words, I could even get in. So for my freshman year, I flew halfway across the world to try to escape. Honestly? I think it was just a little too late for distance to fix the damage.”

“My freshman year was uneventful. I did everything I could to be the best and finally win my mom’s approval. And when I finally went home to visit at the end of the year, I really did have hope. But I got there. And… it was all the same. From there… it all went downhill.”

“I guess I just wanted to get her attention. I… went crazy. I drank, I smoked, I did drugs, I skipped classes, I was a tease, I dyed my hair pink, I got tattoos, I pierced my belly button, I cut, I stole. Ended up with an eating disorder. One night I… I just didn’t think it was worth it anymore. So I downed a whole bottle of pills. All it got me was expelled from a school I actually really loved, a trip to rehab, and a mother who not only didn’t approve of me but now hated me for almost ruining her reputation.”

“Is that enough yet? Ugh, God, this is so stupid. Junior year, after summer school to make up for all the classes I had to retake, started off awful. New York girls are bitches. And I was still trying to recover. And then I met Nate. He… was so perfect in my eyes. It’s cheesy but I just fell completely in love. He got past my cover and helped me get better. He told me he’d marry me after we graduated. And, yea, I was a fool for putting so much faith in him, but… he took care of me. And helped me pick up the pieces. And he just became my everything. My vision was so clouded…”

“Senior year came and we were still in our fairy tale. He proposed, I accepted. Matt and my dad made a huge fuss but I refused to listen to them. I wanted something that would finally make me happy. I thought Nate was it. My mom, as per her usual self, didn’t care but merely told me 24/7 that Nate would leave me broken all over again. I was determined to prove her wrong. God forbid I be right for once.”

“Nate didn’t leave me. He cheated on me. With a girl I thought had been my best friend. And so my mother was right. By the end of senior year, I was in pieces again. And I had no idea how I’d put myself together again.”

“So when I got a letter from Matt that contained a ticket to LA and a note saying to do something for myself for once, I packed immediately. I called my dad, currently in Tokyo, and told him I’d be staying with Matt for awhile. He didn’t want to let me but I had turned eighteen. He didn’t have a choice. My mom… let’s just say the morning I left for the airport, she didn’t even bother coming downstairs to say goodbye. We’ll leave it at that.”

“Acting, singing, and dancing have been the only things I’ve ever done just for me. So I’m going to pursue them. I’m going to go to school. I’m going to try to be happy. And moving here is my start. Everything else is in the past. And that is why this is our last session. I’m at a healthy weight, and I’ve done everything I needed to. Have fun screwing around in someone else’s head.”

THE CAMERAS ARE GONE AND NOBODY SCREAMS
couldn't survive fifteen minutes of fame.

Emma . PM . 6 years on and off .