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Rance Collins

@rancecollins

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• Los Angeles
• Staff Editor @entertainmentweekly
• Award-Winning Wordsmith
• Bitter Homosexual

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Marking my [redacted] birthday with my annual post. It’s been a challenging yet rewarding season. As I look back on my [redacted]th year, I see wonderful memories with some of my absolute favorites. I am overwhelmingly blessed to have gone through my [redacted]th rotation of the sun with these awesome people... and cats. Here’s to many, many more Polaroid moments. :) by @rancecollins

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3 months ago

And so I’m apparently 37.

To celebrate here’s a carousel of moments from the last year. Thankful for the journey— the friends, the family, the partner, the cats, the job, and so much more. by @rancecollins

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a year ago

One year.

I miss her infectious little chuckle most. She cracked herself up all the time, and I usually laughed more at her own amusement than whatever had tickled her. There was this long story she found on the internet about giving a cat a pill that she would read aloud, and it was difficult to even understand what she was saying because she would be laughing all the way through it. She was kind of the cutest ever. She would say things like, “Don’t be ugly,” to chastise @clintodarko and me when we would say something uncouth. She would scold us with, “Now, brother,” when we would bicker.

She’d be there when I was sick, even two time zones away. She’d send care packages randomly. She’d text, “Hey, it’s your mother,” if we hadn’t talked on the phone in a few days. When she couldn’t sleep, she’d text me, “What’s up,” because she knew I might be awake. She’d tell me about television shows or movies she watched and never, ever remember a single character or actor’s name but go into exhaustive detail about what they were wearing. She’d suddenly become cutthroat playing games.

I’m writing today to remember all of this. I’m writing so it lives somewhere, one year later, and I’m writing because I desperately don’t want to lose any of it – how it felt, how she sounded, who she was.

It is, ironically, Election Day. I think of it as ironic because my mom, in her quiet way, was politically savvy. She voted in every election from the time she was eligible onward, primaries and all. And this time around, I voted in her honor. I voted for decency, empathy, humanity, kindness – because those were the values that emulate her. And while I will not give away her entire voting history, I will say that I know she would’ve loved seeing a woman cross the finish line, and she would’ve really, really loved seeing an educator become vice president, too. She was, after all, the first person in her entire family to receive a doctorate – and she did it with a 4.0. She knew a little something about being a trailblazer. So this vote’s for you, Kathy Sue.

But this isn’t a political post. It’s really just a musing, I guess.

I miss you so much, Mom. Loving you always.

Me-mo. by @rancecollins

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2 years ago

On Saturday, I received my MFA in screenwriting from @emersoncollege.

Education was my mother’s calling, and when I decided to pursue a higher degree, she threw her full support behind me. It only makes sense — she was my fourth grade teacher, my high school principal and she followed me to my undergrad alma mater, teaching teachers how to teach and obtaining her doctorate at age 61. She was remarkably intelligent, even more so than she was all the other qualities people rightly extolled her for: sweet, thoughtful, kind, silly and graceful.

My mother could not be with me this weekend, ironically Mother’s Day weekend, but I see elements of her all around me. That’s my mom’s twin Karry (or Deeds, as we call her) in photo #1 — another education master — and my mom is there, especially in Karry’s laugh and steady calm.

My best friend @graciehamptonofun is in photo #4. She’s as good a listener as my mom, but (importantly) she has Mom’s cutthroat gameplay. My aunt @acrumley2009’s (she’s in #3) devotion to her boys — my awesome cousins — is so like Mom’s steadfast support of me and @clintodarko.

@mr.corkscrew has picked up where Mom left off (see photo #8) — teaching me to be a more responsible adult. And when he cracks himself up from a word-related pun, I am reminded how cute she was when she cracked herself up.

My classmates (#7) — particularly our class’ ringleader @newyorknoelle (see her expression in #6) — champion one another as Mom did her students. She’s in my niece @a_.dan’s justice-fueled eyes — ready to stand up for those in need. And with @clintodarko there’s a shared understanding — an existence we experienced uniquely together, along with my father.

The cross-section of this collective can’t bring her back, but maybe it brings her closer. When she died six months ago, I didn’t know if I could do any of this — and without this support group, I couldn’t have.

The last photo is from my college graduation in 2010. I wish we could have taken another photo in the stolls we’ve since gained, but my fresh regalia is for her. The career I carve is for her.

It’s all for you, Mama Sue. taken in Boston, Massachusetts by @rancecollins

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2 years ago

Everyone wish @mr.corkscrew a very happy birthday! This guy is shoulder and shoulders above the rest. He’s got style, class, he’s there. There’s all that smartness, wittiness, kindness, stamina-r-and grace.

From crosswords and quilting, to Nada and Swans, to Mariah-r and Carpenters, I’m a lucky guy. Thank God we connectioned.

Happy… birthday, babe.
Xs, Os and Xuxa taken in Valley of the Dolls by @rancecollins

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3 years ago

Bae-watch.
📸: @river.chad taken in Malibu, California by @rancecollins

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3 years ago

35 and a Cool Rider.

Here’s to another trip around the sun, and this set from @g2fotog. taken in Los Angeles, California by @rancecollins

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3 years ago

As already seen on my story. @ariscestocrat told me this is “plum.” Oscar party realness @academymuseum. taken in Academy Museum of Motion Pictures by @rancecollins

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4 years ago

Stepping out of the cave I am living in for the next two years while I pursue my MFA. Thanks for making me look mysterious, @vadellaphoto. taken in Los Angeles, California by @rancecollins

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4 years ago

Writer. Journalist. Soon-to-be MFA candidate.

📸: @pletrondo - @plretouching taken in Los Angeles, California by @rancecollins

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5 years ago

Boosted. #teamdolly taken in The Sunset Strip by @rancecollins

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5 years ago

You gotta friend in me. Swipe for throwback, and no I can neither pole nor dance. It was part of the photo booth at the event. taken in Los Angeles, California by @rancecollins

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5 years ago