Dear Lizzie,
Oh, my dear friend. What a joy it has been to know you. To be you. I have learned so much from you, Lizzie Bennet - so much about myself and my own judgments, about accepting change and taking risks, about pursuing dreams even when you’re scared and learning from failure. I have never had the experience of spending this much time with one character and growing with her, and doing so has taught me a great deal about myself as an actor. You have been my muse, my inspiration, my challenger, my friend, my mirror, myself. You have highlighted for me, both through your journey and through my journey in playing you, what matters most to me. You have touched my life in so many ways I never expected. I will always be grateful to have known you. To have been you. I will miss you so much, but I will always look back on our time together with immense joy. And I will always love you, my dear Lizzie.
You are more than decent enough. I’ll be seeing you.
Love,
Ashley
Oh you beautiful muffins
What can I say? This year has been such a gift. This show, this character, this team of people, and all of you. What a privilege it has been to tell this story to you.
I feel sad, certainly. I have loved working on this show, playing this character, and telling this story. I have loved interacting with you, the fans. I have made incredible friends that I plan to hang on to. I have done things I never imagined I would do, from standing onstage at LeakyCon in front of thousands of screaming fans…to standing onstage at Carnegie Hall in front of thousands of screaming fans.
Ever since I was little, I always dreamed of a life in which I was an actor. I never imagined a life in which I got recognized or had thousands of twitter and tumblr followers. (Or in which twitter and tumblr existed.) It’s certainly not why I got into this profession, but it is enormously rewarding to know that the work I’ve done has meant something to people. That this story has had an impact. That these characters have been friends to those who felt lost or alone.
Thank you for watching the show. For caring about these characters and their lives; for investing in their stories.
Thank you for your tweets and messages letting me know how LBD affected you. Thank you for following me and engaging with me.
Thank you for the fan art, the gifs, the mash ups, the video responses, the Dizzie mixes, the cosplay, the fan fiction, the lip reading attempts, and every other manifestation of your love of the show. Thank you for donating to the mind-blowing kickstarter. Thank you for sharing LBD with your friends and making new friends in the fanbase.
Whether you’ve been watching since day one or you found the show last week, thank you for going on this journey with us. As many have said, stories must have endings, but these characters and this story will live on.
As sad as I feel, I know that this is beginning of a new adventure, just as Lizzie does. I don’t know exactly what the future will hold, but I’m excited to find out, and I look forward to sharing it with all of you.
