Woman, 57, who quit her job and spent entire pension to pursue an acting career shares heartbreaking reality

A 57-year-old woman has gone viral after revealing that she blew up her own life in a bid to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional actress. Celeste Jona quit her corporate career at 54 to relocate from Memphis to Atlanta to focus on acting, only to be left broke and doing DoorDash deliveries to make ends meet.

'When I left my corporate job, making a good salary, and decided to chase a dream, thinking everything would fall into place and things would be in order, my life blew up,' she confessed. 'I recognize that most of it is my doing and undoing, and honestly, I really want God to wave a magical wand and take me back to the day I was going to resign and listen to the advice I was given.'.

She continued, 'When God tells you something, listen to it and be obedient to it. And I didn't and I know that is part of the reason why I'm having issues today.'. Jona admitted that when she first moved to Atlanta, she was offered an easy job that was 'right up [her] alley,' but she turned it down because it wasn't flexible enough to accommodate her acting ambitions.

'Unfortunately, I self-sabotaged and I said, "You know what? I can't do this job. I'm going to be acting. I don't know when I'll need time off." I made an excuse,' she said. With no acting gigs turning up, Jona soon found herself doing DoorDash and Amazon deliveries just to make ends meet.

Celeste Jona has gone viral after revealing that she blew up her own life in a bid to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional actress - only to end up broke and struggling. 'I worked overnight at Walmart. I did everything I could and then I also ended up withdrawing my pension and my retirement because I just didn't have enough money,' she said while fighting back tears.

'This is not how I expected things to go because I have always landed on my feet.'. Things went from bad to worse, with Jona eventually ending up living in a 'roach infested' apartment before she finally decided to call it quits and return home to Memphis.

When she got back to Memphis, her old company refused to hire her back and she ended up living with a friend when she couldn't afford rent on her own. 'I feel like I spat in [God's] face and I'm being punished, but I know that's not how God works,' she sobbed.

'These are the repercussions of my own actions and I'm not angry at him, but I am angry at myself and it's been tough,' she continued. 'It's difficult because I think back to who I am. I went to school on an academic scholarship, I graduated with honors, I'm talented, I'm smart, I have a great work ethic, and it's just been hard because I'm not making the money I was making, but God knows I am so grateful to be working,' she said.

'And I've just panicked because I'm trying not to resort to any of my old ways. I don't want to borrow any money, because of course my credit has tanked.'. Celeste, now 57, quit her corporate career at 54 to relocate from Memphis to Atlanta to focus on acting, only to be left broke and doing DoorDash deliveries to make ends meet.

She added, 'Oh my gosh. I am seven years on the other side of fifty. And waiting for this to work out is hard, and I don't know what I'm going to do.'. Jona said that things have become so bad that she now feels like the only way she can dig herself out of debt is if she sells everything she owns and starts living out of her car.

'It's the first time in my life where I feel like I don't have an out,' she confessed. The heartbreaking video has since gone viral, racking in over 400,000 views in a week and attracting an outpouring of public support. 'You are not alone. You just are one of the ones who chose to make it public!' commented one fan.

Another wrote, 'I am 67 and have made so many bad decisions in my life that I totally regret. I'd give anything for a do-over. I'm having a difficult time forgiving myself. Your video touched me deeply.'. Jona shared a follow-up video on Wednesday, thanking fans for their support and sharing her plans for the future.

'I've cried a lot in 2025 and I'm tired of trying to hold it together,' she said. Jona shared a follow-up video on Wednesday, thanking fans for their support after the video went viral on YouTube and social media. Jona said that she didn't feel comfortable taking donations on services like Cash App or PayPal, but said that if people want to support her that they could buy her published books on Amazon or purchase items from her inspirational apparel line.

She also encouraged her followers to help others who had shared their own struggles in the comments section of her videos. 'If you can help somebody who's in the comments please do, that's what I'm asking,' she urged. 'I have a hard time receiving. I love to give and I hate that I'm in a position that I can't even give out of my lack, that makes me crazy,' she continued.