Alexa initially wrote to me because she was interested in one of my single peeps. She attached a picture of herself 鈥� a headshot, where she looked like she was 14 years old. My friend never responded, probably fearful of getting arrested on a date with a ninth-grader. But I invited her to the Anti-Valentine鈥檚 Day event sponsored by The Journal. She came with a friend, and after the event they hung out with my crew at a bar. Apparently she鈥檚 of legal drinking age. Alexa鈥檚 kept in touch with a few of my friends. I saw her last week at my friend (and fellow single peep) Eli鈥檚 Shabbat dinner. She looks a bit like Belle from 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� 鈥� a cartoon character come to life. When she walked in, she said 鈥渉i,鈥� then went to the kitchen and helped prepare the food. Because she鈥檚 sweet like that. Later, a girl I know leaned over me to dip a chip in guacamole and dropped a dollop of it on my shoe. She said, 鈥淥h,鈥� and then threw the chip in her mouth. Before I had the chance to stand, Alexa swiped off the guacamole with a paper towel, tossed it in the trash and went back to making the salad. I said, 鈥淵ou will make the greatest wife ever.鈥� And then I turned to my friend. 鈥淎nd this is why you鈥檙e still single.鈥�
Alexa鈥檚 parents are from Mexico City. She didn鈥檛 learn to speak English until she went to school. She鈥檚 wanted to be an actor and director since she was 9. She went to community college near her home in Irvine, but decided to drop out of school at 19 and move to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time.
鈥淚 live with my best friend and my brother. I enjoy yoga, I鈥檓 getting into kickboxing. I鈥檓 very healthy. I鈥檓 vegan because of a new discovery that I鈥檓 allergic to dairy. I haven鈥檛 eaten meat since I was 16. It鈥檚 easy to be kosher now,鈥� she jokes.
鈥淚 want someone who鈥檚 smart, someone who鈥檚 funny, someone who鈥檚 ambitious and has a passion. A nice guy. If he鈥檚 being a [jerk] in some way, I get turned off. My friends think it鈥檚 attractive. I鈥檓 not like most 21-year-olds. I don鈥檛 drink, I don鈥檛 smoke, I don鈥檛 party. I鈥檓 low-key. I don鈥檛 care about the finer things. I鈥檇 rather be eco-friendly than have a nice car or a big house. If I have a lot of money when I鈥檓 older, I don鈥檛 want to have more than I need. That鈥檚 why I don鈥檛 shop that much. I don鈥檛 spend money on stupid things.鈥�
I make fun of the spandex pants she鈥檚 wearing. She laughs. 鈥淚 hardly get dressed up. I鈥檇 love to be in yoga pants every day if I could. I hate jeans. I鈥檒l wear them, but if I鈥檓 not comfortable in what I鈥檓 wearing, I鈥檓 very fidgety and [don鈥檛 feel] confident.
鈥淚 want to raise my kids in a suburban area. But you never know. I change my mind every day. The only thing I do know is that I want kids. And I want to marry a good, 91传媒 guy. And a huge thing for me is communication. If there鈥檚 no communication for me, then there鈥檚 nothing 鈥� because there are going to be arguments, but if we can鈥檛 see both sides of it, then it鈥檒l build up. It鈥檚 like me and my roommate 鈥� the only way we get through things is by talking about our problems, talking about what we need to work on, and we grow from there. And that鈥檚 how I see my husband. We hit rough patches, but we鈥檒l grow through it together, and we鈥檒l become closer.鈥�
If you鈥檙e interested in anyone you see on My Single Peeps, send an e-mail and a picture, including the person鈥檚 name in the subject line, to mysinglepeeps@jewishjournal.com, and we鈥檒l forward it to your favorite peep.
Seth Menachem is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. You can see more of his work on his Web site, , and meet even more single peeps at .
