I started writing this post Saturday evening on southbound I-95 as I was en route to this wonderful week at home but alas, the wifi on the bus what coming and going and I was being totally unsuccessful. So here I am, coming at you live from my living room couch, very much enjoying this quiet Tuesday evening!
Really quick though, before I get going I have to share with you what my bus riding environment was looking like as I was trying get some thoughts onto my very frozen computer screen. A few photos to give you an idea of what was outside my window (yes, filters were added here, but the sight was absolutely stunning nonetheless):
Now, do me a favor and pair these gorgeous sceneries with the genius acoustic musical stylings of Andy McKee for a minute (or four) and you may get a better idea as to how even a 4.5 hour bus ride down the New Jersey Turnpike can be beautiful and relaxing. I mean, I'd much rather have been able to enjoy these skies and those tunes on, maybe, a porch or deck or a waterfront seat with a cool drink and some friends, but that's just a little summer daydreaming sneaking into the mix ;) Contentment is a wonderful thing, so I will say that I was perfectly content sitting on that bus with two out of the three pieces of the dream!
So here I am, spending a few days in Virginia and loving every single moment of it. Don't get me wrong...New York City is my place and I could not have more love for it, but these Virginia trips are always the best and are so perfectly timed; by the time I head to Penn Station to catch the bus, it is time to head to Penn Station to catch a DC-bound bus. This time was no different, especially since it's the first visit home since graduating college and really the first time I've been able to step back for a minute and evaluate all these pieces of "real life" from a bit of a removed standpoint and acknowledge where I am now and how to tackle the coming summer months.
I have to say, my first three weeks out of school have been an absolute blast! Busy but very productive and I'm so loving feeling fully in charge of what happens from day to day. The first week out of school I did a weeklong intensive workshop with Keigwin + Co. and it was THE perfect lead-in to this summer. I left every single day refreshed and inspired and motivated. (And to be able to leave a studio day in and day out feeling so newly in love with the art that I get to practice is something that I pray that I never take for granted.) The second week out of school was the last week of rehearsing for "Behind Painted Lines," the benefit performance for the Wounded Warrior Project that I was honored to be a part of. Long story short, it was an INCREDIBLE evening and I can't tell you how amazing it felt to be dancing on that stage that night...The energy reached a place it hadn't known up until that night and I really hope that we will be able to perform the show again in the future.
(Photo by Stephen de las Heras)
The third week out of school was a big audition week, and a successful one at that! I wrote last week about the Disney audition that I attended, and then Friday I had an audition for "Fire & Grace," a Celtic-inspired dance project that is currently a show based out west. The choreographer and director made her mark as a dancer in Riverdance and has created a show that takes ballet and contemporary technique and pairs it with Irish and Celtic music. That was a quicker audition process--much smaller--but regardless I was thankful and glad to have made it through to the end. So now the best part (actually, not at all)...The waiting game. (The feeling I get about this part of the process isn't unlike that of when an adult says to a young kid, "I have a game to play! Let's play the quiet game!" Like, you know that sinking feeling you get because you were really hopeful at the beginning of the suggestion? But as much as you'd rather play Tag or Hide-And-Seek or just be able to watch that extra half hour of TV before bed, you know you have to now play and win the proposed quiet game because, well, you've just got to? It's a tricky time! Haha!)
So now's a really great time to decompress and regroup at home. After three full weeks and a pretty loose plan about what's happening next in this new whirlwind, a week here I think is exactly what the doctor ordered. Some cable, some sleep, some visits with friends, some planning, less working out than I should be doing (tomorrow's a new day! Haha!), and some tentative game plan-making so that when I head back to the city Friday I can hit the ground running once again! And I have to say, I'm still excited about it all! I'm thankful for these slower moments of rest, as they really are so necessary, but I know that come Friday I'm going to be feeling pretty ready to take this newfound revitalization and carry it on back into the city and back into the routine and get working!
As for now? I'm feeling like another episode or two of Friends is in order :)
No comments:
Post a Comment