Ballsy Girl

I reluctantly picked up the February issue of Glamour at an airport Hudson News recently. I needed to satisfy my craving for a pre-flight magazine splurge, but nothing really tickled my fancy after judging the glossies by their covers -- Glamour included. As much as I admire cover star Allison Williams, I didn't anticipate her interview being all that interesting. Williams is a TV star who's earned "good girl" status in her personal life. She's the daughter of famous parents (her Glamour feature was well before the current Brian Williams scandal emerged) and she's in a committed romantic relationship. It all just seems so saccharine, so I assumed she wouldn't have much to offer in terms of entertaining interview content. But boy was I wrong.

Allison Williams is not a boring "surface person." She's the real deal. In her Glamour interview, Williams comes off as both intellectual and street-smart. She knows she's fortunate and she's quite perceptive. She's decidedly self-aware and she shares a real-life example:

Say I got an email about a friend from college having a birthday at a bar. I now know that simply walking into a bar gives me anxiety--for myriad reasons. So I don't go. Instead I send an email: "If we can get coffee soon, amazing." It's fully selfish, but it's just something I've learned about myself.

Williams then goes on to share a trick for dealing with anxiety triggers:

A good trick is to literally wiggle your toes in your shoes, just [to] ground yourself: "I am right here, and these are my toes in my shoes. This is where I am, and everything's OK." It's just sort of bringing yourself back to where you are, because inevitably, when I'm anxious, I retreat into my head. But the way out is through.

Williams allows herself to be vulnerable, but at the same time she's setting her sights on an EGOT. She seems authentic and confident. She even refers to her "balls [getting] bigger" as she makes leaps towards achieving her dreams. I'm officially intrigued.

[Girl? Please., Logan Hill, Glamour, February 2015]