When my parents denied me the Nickelodeon project, I was furious. I think that’s when everything changed. I became depressed, isolated. I did nothing but watch movies and fantasize about being the writer, the director, and the star.

At eighteen, I moved to Hollywood. I didn’t need to go to college if I was going to be a star. I was so confident, so convinced it would happen for me. But nothing happened. For years, I went to, like, ten auditions a week. I rarely got a callback. I never booked a movie. I never even booked a commercial. Soon I was more of a bartender than an actress. A tired cliché.

On day shifts, I’d chat with the drunks. I was the only one who didn’t mind working during the day. Fewer tips, but also fewer idiots. I don’t really drink, but I like drunks. They’re loners, freaks. Sometimes, I’d ask them their birthdays, which turned into impromptu astrology readings. Astrology was just something I picked up over the years. It was impossible to ignore growing up online in California. Astrology was a second language I never chose.

And there were things I liked about it, still like about it.

I like that astrology transcends gender, class, and race. The stars don’t care that I grew up in a shitty suburb and didn’t go to college. The point is I’m a Scorpio, the same sign as Winona Ryder. I also like that astrology allows me to skip the bullshit and dive right into the mess of the human condition. I mean, astrology is bullshit. But it’s a more interesting type of bullshit than the average bullshit—your job, your car, your siblings … like I care. I want to know if you struggle with control issues or are prone to hysteria.

And once I know someone’s chart, I have a rubric for interpreting that person. They become less mysterious and, more importantly, less frightening.

I was getting ready to throw in the towel and leave Hollywood when I had an idea. I could charge people for readings. A few dollars at first, hook them, then raise the price. I didn’t go to college, but I also wasn’t an idiot. I saw what Uber did.