Riva is a misplaced Jersey girl living in Utah –  if her accent doesn’t give it away she will tenaciously inform you herself.  She is both quick to laugh and  to set others laughing with her rapid-fire jokes. Swarthy, svelt, and style savvy, she is an aspiring actress, an eating disorder survivor, and a dreamer who hopes to entertain throughout her life.  Meet Riva.

Where do you find beauty in life?
In my life I have seen a lot of the black and white. As I have gotten older I have tried to see more of the grey. Which I think is truly where the beauty begins. Life is an obstacle course, some people can run through the test succeeding every obstacle with no problem, and others get stuck at the bottom of the rope trying to get over the wall. Where is the beauty in life? The beauty is the grey, knowing even if I can’t pass the wall; it doesn’t mean I can’t do something else. The grey is finding the good, the things you love. I try to find the beauty in everything. For every sad day, there will be another better day. I try to find things that make me happy, whether it is yoga, or watching my favorite movie while eating a box of pizza. The one thing in life I think that has really changed the way I see things is photography. I have always loved both sides of the camera but when I am the one taking pictures that’s when I not only find the beauty, I feel it. One of my favorite quotes is by Robert Frank  “The eye should learn to listen before it looks.”  We should all learn from the beauty in that.

What have you learned by moving from East American culture to … Utah American culture?  
The change from being born and raised in New Jersey for 18 years to moving to Utah was quite difficult at first. Everything seemed different to me. I think the biggest factor of course was religion. I never really grew up with a religion. We celebrated both Christmas and the Jewish Holidays however there was no real talk of God, or religion in my house. I think when you are from the East Coast people are also more direct and up front about things.  I have also never had a quiet or shy bone in my body (maybe that from always wanting to be an actress, or just the Jersey- who knows?!). I get the “Oh you’re not from here, where are you from?” At least once a week. One lady actually said “You don’t dress like you are from Utah” I think a lot of things are different for me here, but I have learned that some of my closest friends have different view in life than I do, but that doesn’t make them any different from me. I have learned to never try to change for someone who thinks differently of you. Be yourself and if they do not agree, or like you then they weren’t worth the time in the first place. I don’t care what or who you believe in, as long as you are a genuine person.

Your friends seem to be very important to you – what do you look for in a friend?
My friends are very important to me. One thing I have learned in moving from New Jersey to Utah is everyone I meet along my journey has become a teacher, and most importantly my family. What I look for in a friend is someone who inspires me, someone who can see my worst and yet love the good. I don’t look for people just like me, because if you know me that’s just probably never going to happen anyway. I think I owe some of my best days to my best friends. Who inspire me to get out, take adventures, go on hikes, make spontaneous trips, talk for hours to on the phone. I feel like I get along with a lot of people but my group of friends is small. One of my best friends I would say is very different from me in a lot of ways, however she is the most brilliant, tell you right to your face, beautiful, innocently funny person I know, and I adore that. She has taught me a lot about life. That is what I look for in a friend, I don’t care how old, or how tall, skinny, or what color you are. If you have love in your heart and compassion, but can also call someone out in hopes that they learn from it, and you have respect I embrace that.

How important is it to have a sense of humor in life?
I like to think, and tell people I am the Tina Fey of St. George. So if that doesn’t answer this question I don’t know what will. A sense of humor in life is so important to me. I think I have always been sort of jokester and never really knew it until I discovered my true self. I can throw out one liners like you wouldn’t believe. One of my dearest friends always says I am hilarious when I am mad. MAD! Which I actually think is a wonderful thing, because even when I am mad I know I can try to bring some light into a situation.

Tell us about a person who has inspired you in life and why.
Now this is a tough one. There are so many people who have inspired me in my life. I mean really I could just list so many people. As I mentioned before I like to look at life as a journey, and everyone I meet along the way inspires me. My parents and siblings, who never gave up on me, my favorite actresses Jessica Lange and Faye Dunaway. All of my friends, and mentors. I don’t know if there is just one to choose from. They are all an inspiration. However there is one person who always comes to mind, my sister. As kids and teenagers I would say we probably were not very close, we were actually completely different. Now as adults who both moved away from home I would say she and I are very close. We talk almost if not every day. A complete 360! And, you know, we may be different and never be the same, but I am okay with that because through all our differences she is the one person in life I would say understands me more than anyone. Whether it be my crazy obsessions or which selfie to post, she is the one I go to. She inspires me every day to do the things I want to do in life, no matter how hard they are, because that is what she is doing. So the person who inspires me the most in life is my sister a girl who through all her challenges in life is living her dream as a film student in Los Angeles.