Last week I was inspired by rock climber, April Davidson’s “life story” posts on Instagram. I am a big believer that life’s twists and turns make us who we are and what we do with the ups and downs can inspire others through our own journey’s. So this week, I created my own “life story” series! If you missed it over on social media here it is!

PART 1 - HIGH SCHOOL

While I've moved around a lot (we'll get to that), I am a Michigan girl through and through! I grew up in Holt, Michigan and was the kind of person who joined EVERY club I possibly could. I liked trying it all. I was determined to be an olympic gymnast until I finally realized...I wasn't any good and I'd spent all of my time in the basement "practicing" doing fake interviews instead (coulda been a clue to what I ACTUALLY enjoyed) ⠀
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I was the class clown, cheerleading, theatre kid who after MANY awkward pre-braces years known as the "wilderness years" ended up becoming homecoming queen. Who knew funny was way better than pretty?
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After graduating I was determined to make it onto Saturday Night Live or Broadway...whichever came first. I headed to Roosevelt University in Chicago to study musical theatre. Sadly my time there was NOT a good one and I hit my first real depression before heading home at semester and accepting I never wanted to perform again…

PART 2 - THE RANCH

After returning to Holt to regroup after being ready to throw in the towel on performing...I studied social work for a brief semester before feeling that call to the stage again... My mom told me to go audition at Western Michigan University and if I didn't get into the theatre department, we could lay that dream to rest...well I got in!

But while college was amazing, it was my roommate Stephanie who ended up changing my life inviting me to work at the Double J.J. Resort during the summers. This turned out to be the best 4 years of education I could possibly imagine

I performed in stunt shows, children's theatre, improv and sketch comedy shows, musicals, trained and rode a bull in the rodeos singing the national anthem, and more. But the true lessons I got from the ranch were that I could do more than I'd ever imagined or pushed myself toward in the past.

I remember my boss Jason handing me a 60lb speaker one day and telling me I had to SOMEHOW get it into the tiny speaker box 30 feet in the air. I told him it was impossible and he said "you'll figure out a way, don't come find me until it's done". To this day I have NO idea how I did it but I did. I learned I could always find a way

I lived in a broken down house with 20 other kids my age, worked about 18 hours a day, and got paid $175 a week, and it was the greatest time in my entire life! During this time I met David, an English employee who came to work during the summers. After deciding to give the long-distance thing a shot, visiting him sparked my love for travel...

PART 3 - TRAVEL

After going back and forth to England for a few years, I decided to live there for 6 months after college. It was the longest I could go without a visa. I lived in a combination of hiding in his dorm room, a summer house with his friends, and his parents place in the Yorkshire Dales, before we took off for a 3-week backpacking trip around Europe.

We were poor college kids and packed enough for 2 granola bars a day and money for booze and were off! First we hit Austria and after running through the hills on the Sound of Music Tour and floating through camp due to a torrential downpour, we headed to Slovenia which turned out to be the most incredible country full of outdoor adventure! Next up was Italy where my biggest regret was continuing to live off of granola bars and not indulging in the food (but drank PLENTY of wine). And after a minor train crash and some mishaps throughout the week, we headed to Greece where we randomly decided to end the trip on the island of Ios.

Upon flying back to the U.K. I was held at customs. David was told they were going to "rough me up" for answers and I spent 6 hours in holding. Turns out all the trips over the years made it appear I was trying to live in England permanently and without a home or job to return to in Michigan, I got a nice big stamp in my passport saying I wasn't allowed back in England for 6 months after this trip.

Well, that turned into big future conversations and the decision to end our relationship at the end of the next summer at the Double JJ Resort. Knowing come fall when he returned to England we were over, David purchased his outgoing flight from Nashville, bought me a guitar, and said "If we don't have a future, you might as well chase your dream of singing country music...or drive 9 hours to take me to the airport." So, we drove to my new home in Nashville, ended with an ass slap and a "good game" and that was that. I had a new chapter to start...

PART 4 - NASHVILLE

I loved Nashville. This was the first place that felt like home to me & I felt like a badass making a life for myself in a city where I knew no one. I spent my days writing songs & nights working at Macaroni Grill. I quickly realized my lacking guitar skills & nerves made it REALLY hard to get out and perform my original songs.

My boss from the Double JJ Resort came to visit me and I took her to the Wildhorse Saloon to go line dancing. She told the manager I should be working there & started to go on and on about my experience. Let me preface this by saying I am NOT a dancer...I just have no shame & love to get the party going on a microphone.

My first night of work was New Years Eve & I was told they needed me to emcee the night & entertain all 2,000 people before headliner Craig Morgan. I was in heaven! My 3 years at the Wildhorse taught me SO much. I emceed for Etta James, Bret Michaels, & more. The biggest thing I learned was I THRIVED on live audiences. But I still didn't put two and two together...

From my line dance experience, I ended up working on a lot of music videos which turned into me working with my first agent The Block Agency. I began getting back into acting & things took off. I had agents in all the nearby cities & found myself working full time as an actress. I even ended up dancing with Alan Jackson at the CMA Awards. Mark told me I needed to go to L.A...but I LOVED Nashville & NEVER thought of myself as a California girl but I went to check it out & started reaching out to agencies.

I was back in Nashville talking to a guest in the bathroom at the Wildhorse who was visiting from L.A. I explained my trip & that I was an actress. She handed me a card & I said "Um...you're the agent I've been emailing my resume to..." She fell in love with Nashville & proposed the idea of getting me an audition with the agency & subleasing my apartment to her in Nashville. While I wasn't quite ready to leave, I also am a BIG believer in signs and this one was too big to ignore...

Monica Ortega with Bret Michaels in Nashville

Monica Ortega with Alan Jackson in Nashville

PART 5 - LOS ANGELES

Moving to L.A. not knowing anyone turned out to be WAY harder than Nashville. I would show up at bars "hey y'all how's everyone doing?" and people looked at me like I was nuts! With my amazing agents I did start getting commercial work but I was struggling. One day, while I was working at The Cheesecake Factory this gorgeous man walked in and I felt myself go weak in the knees. I could barely speak around him and when he asked me out, I was DONE!

After about 2 months of dating I KNEW something wasn't right and ended our relationship but he persisted, I was constantly being told how amazing he was, and at 29 the little time clock started yelling at me. I gave him a second chance and a couple of months later we were engaged. During the engagement I was miserable. While everyone told me how "lucky" I was I just kept feeling like something wasn't right and I started seeing the same red flags as when we started dating but we continued on.

After getting married in 2013, things only got worse. He began treating me worse and worse and I became really depressed. He hated travel and the outdoors and I started thinking, "If I'm not going to get these things from a partner, I should try to find a way to get them out of my career." I began reading the book "You Are A Badass" by Jen Sincero and it basically said where are you happiest? Where are you your best self? And I started realizing it was on stage like at the Wildhorse or when I emcee'd at music festivals like Stagecoach . I am meant to be a host!

I took a hosting class and right off the bat they had us create our "dream show" as a way to get auditons. I began filming myself hiking and traveling and before I knew it I fell in love with what I'd created and Monica Goes was born!

PART 6 - THE BIG SWITCH

Life changed after I started Monica Goes. No matter what was going on on the home front, I had travel, I had the outdoors, I could get away! I realized quickly how afraid of everything I was but how alive I felt going after it. I thought, “If I feel this way, others must too" and I wanted to show that if an everyday, average, person like me could do these things anyone can! I didn't see girls that looked like me in the adventure travel space and wanted to change that.

The first big blow came in early 2016 when my then-husband said he no longer wanted kids or a dog and I told him we really needed to figure this out. By July he finally admitted he'd been cheating on me from the start. Where a lot of people would be heartbroken, all I felt was relief! I could leave! I could meet someone who liked to travel! I could get a dog! I could maybe still have kids!

Suddenly the weight was lifted off of my shoulders and I felt like I'd been given a second chance to create a life I ACTUALLY loved! I went ALL in on Monica Goes. Shortly after I left, I had a friend cancel on our trip to Costa Rica and reached out to a few girls, one of whom I'd only met a couple of times and she said YES immediately. Kristin Herman and I headed to Costa Rica and not only had an incredible time filming and adventuring but also started the best friendship a girl could ask for! Suddenly I wasn't alone in this! Add adopting Millie to the mix and things were looking up! To be continued...

Monica Goes Travel Show with Flying Millie

PART 7 - MONICA GOES

The past few years have been a whirlwind of ups and downs with the show and life but I'm fully awake for them. I always say I feel like I spent so many years sleepwalking and now I want to be present for everything. Adventure and life help keep me focused on the here and now!

Monica Goes has over 93 episodes, we've worked with over 40 DMO's, it's been featured in some high end publications like Matador Network and USA Today’s 10Best, and we've gotten to go on some EPIC adventures!!!

My love for speaking continues and I've spoken at travel conferences and emcee'd music festivals around the country. I'm still acting in commercials (shot one on Monday, YAY!), and sing in cover bands occasionally as well as taking on new running challenges!

The craziest thing out of everything so far is that I always thought I'd have to choose one thing or another but I've learned to embrace that they can all happen at different times. I moved to Nashville. to sing and started acting, I moved to L.A. and started joining bands. The missteps along my way have been the greatest lessons.

The biggest heartbreaks turned into my biggest hopes. Things have changed a lot and life has taught me that it can change overnight (both for better and for worse). The lows I've hit have given me a toolbox full of ways to deal with depression and anxiety when it comes on. I feel stronger and more balanced than ever. And even in these crazy times I've overwhelemd with gratitude and hope.

Stay safe and healthy everyone and just remember this isn't an apocolypse, it's an awakening. Second chances (or 45th chances) can lead to some amazing things. Stay hopeful!