An Alternative Childhood

Due to an article about Amber Rivette published by the Voyage LA catching fire, Amber wanted to take the time before National Grandparent's Day to celebrate her mother, a new Grandparent herself.

What made you decide to have this interview in lieu of Grandparent's Day? We see in the Voyage LA article where you've been in the past year [also copied below for viewers]...

The photo I sent you above is my mom and myself taking care of our first daughter Ariel. She is a wonderful mother and grandmother, helping me take care of her as well as my grandparents who have undergone some health and financial transitions in a very remote area with little resources. I'm so thankful for how our family is getting over personal obstacles to be present and pull a lot of weight...after all, Grandpa is really heavy! It's a great honor, but like Spiderman once said, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Based on the article below, it seems like you've ran into quite a few obstacles in order to pursue your dreams. How has your Mother played a role in this?

In the Voyage LA article, first paragraph--I briefly mention in jest about my Mother having a cigarette/club fund and how I wouldn't have been conceived otherwise--and how this taking precedence over ballet gave me an unsurmountable edge to pursue art professionally for the rest of my adulthood.

While my Mom does love her cigarettes and clubs (We celebrate "Mother's Night" along with Andy Samberg and J-Lit!), I was merely answering that first question as briefly as possible--which really does not really credit her heart as much as I should have.

Being wild can mean a myriad of things. My Mother is also wild in love, kindness, and in service. She has always given me the best advice I've ever had to this day without any judgment attached, which is so rare. She gave to the poor in front of me without any reasons/restrictions. She is literally the best Medical Professional I know and predicts diagnoses and remedies way before a doctor can with her acute intuition.

While no parent is perfect, I've always been proud to have her as my Mother. She's always done her best to let me have the same experiences as my peers with shows, amusement parks, and dances. She's a great tutor for school subjects like Math and History, getting really into it with music and stories.

She even gave me Christian horror books when I was a teenager because I loved horror (shock) & thought the Bible was boring with all those names we couldn't pronounce. It shaped my faith where it is today (and BTW I love the genealogies now! I totes nerd out on them).

My Mom has gone over and beyond to give me whatever she did not. We had an alternative childhood and I always thought my Mom was cool for having both Marilyn Manson and Michael W Smith in the same CD changer (with some Enya, obviously). She rescued a cat for us when she was allergic to cats. She let me sleep in her bed when I was way too old. She leapt around our apartment when Christmas time came around, decorating.

Sometimes I wish I could have participated in softball or ballet when I was younger, or even knew my local hiking trails--but I was protected, safe, and cared for. I was told I could do whatever I wanted and that it was never too late. So I did! What I was also trying to convey in that article is not that my Mom was a deadbeat, but that she had it tough, so did I, and she empowered me to pursue everything regardless of my circumstances.

Wow Amber, that is truly heartfelt. Is there any token of advice your Mother gave you that you'd like to pass along to Sweet Ariel?

The first thing that comes to mind is when I'm really hard on myself, Mom would always say "Pretend like you are your best friend. What would you say to them if they were going through this?"

All of my life monuments and transitions have resulted from her incredible advice.

She sounds like a straight shooter. Is she married?

Another piece of advice she gave me was "Do as I say, not as I do."

I think we've all heard that one. Hope she finds a Lucky One!

He'll have to be a Dragon Tamer.

They have a couple movies about that! Well, that's about all the time we have, your Mother sounds like a Wonderful, Firey Breath of fresh air.

Subscribe to Amber's Blogs and/or feel free to read the Voyage LA article about Amber below.

http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-amber-rivette-sag-aftraaea-north-hollywood/