Emily V. Gordon

I’m a writer and comedy producer. I write for the NBC show The Carmichael Show. I also freelance write for different publications. I wrote a book last year called Super You, and I cowrote and sold a movie that will be made in 2016. I’ve produced a live standup show in L.A. for the last five years that is also a TV series with Comedy Central.

I got a BA in Psychology in 2001, and a MS/EdS [Master of Science/Education Specialization] in Couples and Family Counseling in 2003. I practiced as a therapist for about six and a half years before getting burnt out and deciding that I wanted to try to pursue writing and comedy. I experienced a ton of self-doubt. I had poured all of my money and time into getting this education, and it was tough for me to just abandon it. It had also become part of my identity to be a therapist, so when I quit practicing, I wasn’t really sure who I was anymore for quite some time. My boyfriend (now husband) was incredibly supportive, as I had supported him when he made a career change a few years before, and he believed that I would be successful. My parents were supportive, but also a little confused by what I was doing—if I had such a specialized degree and seemed to like what I was doing, why was I doing something else? They just wanted me to be able to support myself and be happy.

It took me SO LONG to feel like I had put together a career after starting over. Before, I had a job I went to and got paid for, so I knew that I was fully an “adult” with a “career.” Afterwards, I was piecing together a career from a hodgepodge of jobs and gigs and opportunities. I worked for free quite a bit. I took every opportunity that came my way. I worked constantly, and yet didn’t feel like I had a job at all, because I spent a lot of time at home, writing on my laptop.

I think my commitment to working showed the people around me that I wasn’t looking for an easier life, but just a different life. There’s a version of me that could have been happy staying a therapist, but this is just a different path. And one that I’m very happy with.

I’m lucky because mental health kinda infuses any interactions you have with people, period. The book I wrote was a funny but genuine self-esteem and self-improvement guide. When I’m writing scenes in any kind of screenplay, I like to think of the characters as if they were my clients—what would they talk to a therapist about? How are their relationships with each other unique?

The biggest thing I got from my education was learning how to juggle a billion things at once-I’d have classes, internships, jobs, papers to write, and I’d have to get them all done with only 24 hours in a day. That skill—staying calm and organizing my time-has stayed with me and will stay with me no matter what job I have. The biggest thing education gets you is crossing all the hurdles to earn it. Once you do that, you can cross any hurdles.