So for / a lot of my / 5-year college career, / I was lost. // Like, actually lost. // Santa Cruz is mostly woods; / you make one wrong turn / and you're gone for days. // But, / I didn't know who I was / or what I was going to do with my life when I finished college. // I wasn't any clearer about my direction / than the day I graduated high school. // I wore Birkenstocks / and I smelled like a patchouli fart. // I'm only willing to admit that now that Birkenstocks are sold / at Urban Outfitters. And then / during senior year / my father asked me what I planned to do after I graduated. / And I told him / “I want to be on Saturday Night Live.” // That's true. // But it wasn't until that moment / I / never wanted to admit / that being on SNL was my dream. // I never wanted / to admit / that I was a Thespian. // And this was back / in the days when people weren't talking about being thespians. // It was before Thespians / could marry. // And my Dad did what any great teacher would do / — he looked at me / unfazed / and said, / “Great." // And how do you plan / to support yourself while you figure that out? // And when are you going to wash your feet?” // He was realistic, / supportive, / deflected the responsibility back to me / and subtly showed his support / for his daughters' pursuit / of a long life / in Fart Jokes. // So / I did what many of you will probably do / — I enrolled in more college / and asked my Dad / to pay for it. // At the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, / I studied Improvisation. // And / in Improvisation / there is one hard / and fast rule, / and that rule / is known as / “Yes And”. // The term YES AND: / to say yes, / and not just yes, / but to add / information. // So, in the adding of information, / you don't / negate the other persons idea / – but in fact, / you build on it. //