Bryna Paston with her
books about being a
perfect grandparent 
Photo by Marissa Stern
Passions Fraught with
Rejection MARISSA STERN | JE STAFF
BRYNA PASTON LIKES to say her two passions in life —
writing and acting — have been fraught with rejection.

But with an acting resume that includes features commer-
cials for DKNY with model Emily Ratajkowski and an ad for
Jdate, as well as a writing portfolio including cover stories
about the Russian Jewish mafia and serving as an editor of a
local paper, it hasn’t been all that bad.

4 MAY 10, 2018
“As long as you can deal with
rejection, if you can just say, ‘You
know what, there’ll be another day.

I’ll get another job.’ And if I don’t,
it’s not the end of the world, and I’m having a good time and
so what?” the 80-year-old Paston said, her voice as airy and
carefree as her vibrant personality.

She grew up in State College, where her father was an
accounting professor at Penn State University, and she was the
only Jewish student in her class at State College High School.

“I tried my best to be one of the gang, but there was always
that little barrier, always,” she said.

Her family was influential in the town’s small Jewish com-
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