Fifty Cups of Coffee #14 : Jen Hendrickson
Date: March 29, 2024
Location: Caffé Concerto, London, England
How we know each other
Jen and I went to Emerson College together. Class of ’96, baby! I was so excited to learn that she and I were going to be traveling to London during the same time. We met up in Caffé Concerto’s Covent Garden location on her 50th birthday. I feel so honored to have been able to spend time catching up with her after all these years on her special day!
What Jen is doing now
At the time of our interview in London, Jen had been one of the casualties of the 2023 writers’ strike in Los Angeles. She had been laid off after working at Blumhouse Productions. She has since landed a new job at the Director’s Guild, and I couldn’t be happier for her!
Three questions
During these Fifty Cups of Coffee chats, I ask each person the same three questions. The reasoning behind each is as follows:
Question 1 – Social media makes it easy for other people to think that they know us, when truthfully, we all only see a small sliver of someone’s life and who they really are. This is the interviewee’s chance to share something that is important to them that, for whatever reason, other people may not know.
Question 2 – We all have fears, no matter who are are or where we are in life. This helps connect us and show we are all more alike than we are different.
Question 3 – I believe the answer to this question helps show each person’s true values, passions, and their why in life.
There are no right or wrong answers to any of these. I’m including each person’s answers in first person. Their answers have been edited from my notes for length and clarity, but these are their words.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about you?
“I think I come across a lot stronger than I really am, and I think people don’t know how vulnerable and sensitive I am. And that’s something even I am working out. I think people would be surprised; we all have our defense mechanisms, and mine is to put on a strong face, a stiff upper lip. That was always my modus operandi. And it’s come back to bite me in the ass sometimes.”
“So it’s a lesson. Learning to be vulnerable has been a progression for me. A lot of my friends think I am a lot stronger than I really am.”
What is your deepest fear?
“I think, honestly – I’ll be very vulnerable – I am afraid of being alone in my older age. I’ve never been married and I’m ok with that. I’m fine, and I’m having a lot of fun with it. But I was an only child. I have a lot of friends in LA and we talk about “we should start a commune” and I’m like, “no guys, I’m serious about this!”
“I don’t think I’ll ever feel fully prepared for my old age. That’s probably my greatest fear: not being prepared for those later years.”
If you had unlimited funds, what would you do with your life?
“I would love to buy a nice house in LA. And my dream job has always been to be a philanthropist, and I would love to make it legit and formal and start a foundation. I would just love to give money away. And not to big companies, but to the small ones you never hear about.”
“Or like if there’s, say, a tornado in Mississippi on Christmas day and everybody loses their presents. I would love to give money to that. Those are the kinds of things I would love to do. Whenever I volunteer or give money, it just makes me feel so good. People realize that you can just give $5, and you feel like you’re part of the solution. That’s what drew me to the organizations that I work with too. It just feels so good and it’s really kind of my driving force.”
“If I had my way, I would just give money away. And travel more.”
Lessons Learned
I loved being able to catch up with Jen after all these years. And how random yet somehow fitting that it would be while we were both traveling in London!
Here are some of the top things I learned from our conversation:
- Never underestimate the power of volunteering. Both the people who benefit from the volunteer work, and the volunteers themselves. Jen’s volunteer work is commendable and inspiring!
- It’s important to remind ourselves of each other’s humanity. We can be both strong and vulnerable, and just because someone appears or comes across as being strong doesn’t mean they don’t also have feelings or aren’t sensitive.
- It’s important to stay in touch. Even if it’s just through social media, even if it’s not frequent. Jen and I hadn’t seen each other in person since we graduated from Emerson College 28 years ago. Yet it was so nice to see each other and catch up in person, and didn’t feel like that much time had passed at all. These 50 Cups of Coffee chats have made me realize that I need more of this. It’s not always easy the older we get and the more our lives move apart, but it’s important, and if there is any chance that you can reconnect with someone positive from your life, you should take it!
Thanks so much for sharing, and for taking the time during your 50th birthday travels to meet up, Jen!
Learn more about Jen’s volunteer work
For the past 15 years, Jen has volunteered with Reading to Kids in Los Angeles. It’s a co-curricular reading program for kids in underserved areas in LA. The volunteers read a book with a child – a book that is chosen by a teacher – and they do a craft with them. Then each child goes home with a book, which helps them build their collection and helps them read with their parents.
She does this one Saturday each month, for about three hours each visit.
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