Just after Sydney Mikayla's final episode as Trina Robinson aired, the actress bid her General Hospital fans and colleagues a very heartfelt goodbye -- and they returned the favor!
March 17 marked fan-favorite actress Sydney Mikayla's final appearance as General Hospital's Trina Robinson, and the young star signed out of Port Charles with a loving goodbye to her fans, co-stars, and GH crew.
"I wanted to wait until my last episode premiered to give a proper goodbye, but I want to thank everyone who made my journey as magical as it was," she shared, along with a short video of the crew applauding her after she wrapped her final scene and some photos she'd snapped over the years with her co-stars.
"I have some castmates to thank first. William Lipton [Cameron Webber], I will always miss goofing off on set with you. You have incredible energy and your amazing songwriting will always put a smile on my face. Eden McCoy [Josslyn Jacks], you never fail to inspire me. You are such a talent to work beside and I couldn't have asked for a better on-screen bestie. Nicholas Alexander Chavez [Spencer Cassadine], you were an amazing first on-screen love interest. For this to be your first acting job, I think you've got a major career ahead. You have to say you knew me when!"
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Mikayla also had kind words for her Port Charles rival, Avery Kristen Pohl (Esme Prince), who she calls "the sweetest and kindest person" ever. "Although I haven't known you for very long, you've told me your goals, and your brilliance is going to change the world," she wrote. "I mean that."
Next on the list was the actress' TV mother, Brook Kerr (Portia Robinson). "Your words of wisdom have been heeded, and I've learned to take advantage of and be grateful for everything you've taught me along the way," Mikayla shared.
The young star also singled out Maura West (Ava Jerome), Briana Nicole Henry (ex-Jordan Ashford), Tajh Bellow (T.J. Ashford), Donnell Turner (Curtis Ashford), Vernee Watson (Stella Henry), Ral Andrews (Marcus Taggert), and Asante Jones (ex-Marcus Taggert), as well as makeup artist Alie Fleck and hairstylist Nikki Malone, in her lengthy post.
She also gave a general shout-out to the rest of the GH cast and crew, who she was unable to tag because she was running out of characters. "Each of you has made me feel so welcome and at home at GH," she wrote. "Thank you to the writers, producers, creators, and everyone who took a chance and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. [Mom,] you told me to always keep Trina grounded, real, and black. I hope I made you proud."
In conclusion, Mikayla thanked all of her GH fans. "Thank you for trusting me," she wrote. "Thank you for the memes, the fan edits, the cartoons, the fan art, and the conspiracy theories. Your love for the show makes us actors love doing what we do. It was an honor to be your Trina. I hope I've made you proud."
Several of Mikayla's co-stars returned her love with messages of their own. Kerr shared, "Such a classy queen. My heart aches that I don't get to see your beautiful face every day, but you have other adventures & success's ahead. Keep shining bright, babygirl," while McCoy shared, "Love you and miss u already!"
Henry wrote, "You are such a kind, talented, beautiful light. It was a pleasure being on the same show as you and I can't wait to see all that you do. Sending you so much love!" and Chavez tweeted, "Sydney Mikayla is such a bright light in this world and my heart is so full of feelings of respect and admiration for her. [I'm] going to miss you very much but so excited for your life to continue and flourish."
Mikayla announced at the beginning of March that she had decided to leave the role of Trina in order to focus on school. GH chose to recast the character, with actress Tabyana Ali set to step into the shoes of Portia's daughter later this month. Mikayla passed the baton to her replacement in her farewell message, writing, "Go kill it, Tabyana Ali!"
How do you feel about Sydney Mikayla's goodbye message and her exit from GH? What would you tell the actress if you could share your own goodbye? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
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