EP 094 The power of comedy with Jessica Singleton

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In this episode, Cody talks with stand-up comedian [Jessica Singleton](https://www.jmscomedy.com/). She’s always been funny, even as a kid. That’s something her mom recently reinforced—that she’s always had comedic timing and that she could always find the humor in everything, regardless of how traumatic it got. When her family moved from Mississippi to Alaska, she was in 6th grade. She was forced to leave her friends behind for a place she knew nothing about. She also hated the cold, and her parents continued to struggle with addiction. She says that she lived in a state of fear most of her life. She was abused, neglected and abandoned. There was a lot going on that was hard to process. So, she used humor to shield and heal herself. Her self-deprecating, stream-of-consciousness humor comes from those experiences. So does her empathy. It’s what continues to draw her to comedy—her set is successful if she can, even for a moment, take someone away from their troubles.

It’s taken her a while to get to where she is now—being a regular at the [Comedy Store](https://thecomedystore.com/), performing on sold out tours, working on her next comedy album and she just released [a country song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqY4pLgIDg). It took a lot of self-reflection and recognition of self-worth. She says it’s about shifting your perspective and setting goals. That it’s about being present. And comedy is where she feels most present. On a stage in front of a bunch of strangers, making them feel like they’re not so alone. This is her calling, and she believes that when you find the thing that you’re meant to be, it’ll happen. That when you direct energy and perseverance in a certain direction, the doors will continue to open.