Midterms

I can't believe it is already mid semester. I feel like I have learned so much. It also feels like we have to read about 3 books a week, which isn't really that far off. I am ALWAYS reading. The fun thing about the reading though is that they are books I actually WANT to read.

It has been nice to get in the swing of my week. I know what to expect everyday with my schedule, which is really nice. It has started to look like this:

Monday: Observe in a school for 1-3 hours in the AM, Laban movement class in the evening
Tuesday: Work at the NYU Box office in the morning/afternoon, modern class in the evening
Wednesday: Work at the NYU Box office again in the morning/afternoon, methods and literacy classes in the evening.
Thursday: FREEDOM ALL DAY (which really means do homework and run errands all day), teaching performance of dance class in the evening
Friday: Kaleidoscope company in the morning, then a networking class in the afternoon.
Saturday: Teach dance in the morning, have my piano lesson right after, then go to NYU for rehearsal in the afternoon, evening and night is free (which again means homework, and catch up on sleep)
Sunday: DAY OF REST. I try to not do any homework on Sunday and give my brain and body a complete day of complete rest from school and dancing. It's pretty wonderful.

My dad came to visit a few weeks ago from Utah. It was so fun to have him in town and show him what my life looks like here. He was able to see my apartment, school, box office, and some other things around town. We walked the High Line park in Chelsea, the Brooklyn Bridge, toured the NYU rehabilitation center (mostly for him to meet his fellow admin directors located at NYU location), check out 5 pointz, and eat some yummy food.

I have also been able to see some great entertainment so far this semester too. Zach and I where able to get cheap tickets through NYU box office and see an off-broadway show, Peter and the Starcatcher (it won 5 tony's). It's the prequel to Peter Pan. The story explains how Peter got his name, how Captain Hook lost his hand, where the mermaids came from, etc. It was the funniest play I have ever seen. I was literally crying I was laughing so hard, to the point where it was embarrassing. Each character had their own personality and the actors did an amazing job at playing with those and it was hilarious. If anyone gets the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

We also were able to attend the Global Citizen's Festival in Central Park. Zach had to do some things online to earn the tickets, (like donate $ to the rainforest, sign some petitions, etc) but we were able to go for free! The lineup was Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, John Mayer, and Stevie Wonder. There were special guests there too. Bono, Will.i.am, Olivia Wilde, and some pretty important political people from Africa (Africa's first woman president was there, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf). Since this was on a Saturday it was after waking up early to teach, take piano, and going to rehearsal, so to say I was tired at the festival is an understatement. I found myself sitting on the grass while everyone around me was standing, because my body was so fatigued.

With that being said I have actually noticed that my body has gotten SO much stronger since the start of the semester. I am doing things in class where I think, oh boy, I won't be able to move tomorrow, but then I wake up the next day and I can, and I am fine! I am loving the strength this program has given me, mentally and physically.

Oh, and one more thing. I have started a GoFundMe account to start saving some money for my upcoming trip to Uganda. Take a look at it here: Uganda

Well, that's all I have time for to post. I am currently in between teaching and going to rehearsal. I have just enough time to make some lunch and head into Manhattan. I am so happy with what I am doing and couldn't think of being anywhere else right now, but here and doing what it is I am doing.

Oh, and BEST NEWS OF ALL... my dearest and best friend Lauren Stanek just recently got engaged! I am so happy for the love she will share with her wonderful FIANCE, Nyle, for the rest of their lives! They are currently living the dream in Chicago. I love you Stan!

Me and Lauren Stanek are the blondes of our group. 

Sarah, Lauren Drolett, Lauren Stanek, me

Short video I made for fun to get used to iMovie. I'm hoping to make a dance reel soon so this is just a warm up. 

Dad at 5 pointz in Queens

Brooklyn Bridge

 Outside of a building at NYU where most of my classes are held.

Washington Square Park, pretty much what NYU's quad would be, if we had one.

 Dad snapped this picture of me in class.

Lunch under the Brooklyn Bridge. There was a food festival going on in DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) so we were able to each get something different, and it was all SO good.

 Walking the High Line park.

 Peter and the Starcatcher

 Global Citizen's Festival

One of the school's where I put in some observation hours

First day of classes & dance lineage.

Today was the first day of class at NYU. My class was held in the same room I had my audition in last fall, which I loved. The class was a basic intro modern class to loosen our nerves and get us moving. At the beginning of class my professor had us do some basic movements on the floor. We were asked to lay on our backs in an X and slowly collapse into a ball on one side, then stretch back out into an X, and then collapse again on the opposite side. We loosened our bodies and became very familiar with the floor for a significant part of the class. While on the floor we had a minute to lay still, on our backs, and relax. I found myself near the window and as I lay there looking out, I couldn't help but think about how I got there. I could see the clouds passing above the skyscrapers that surrounded this little studio in this giant city and I felt at home. The road to the tiny studio in the big city has been a very windy, bumpy, and unpredictable road but for some reason it looks like this has always been the destination.

Our first assignment in class was to illustrate our dance lineage. That was all the instructions given, well with a huge piece of paper and some markers. I slowly started to think... and draw... my personal dance journey. I realized it has been a journey I have been taking most of my life. I drew a girl sitting in a dance studio (stick figure btw) watching as her friends danced. When I was around 9 years old I used to go to my friends dance studio just to watch. At the time of interest it had been too late to join the class so I spent the remainder of the year just watching. I was in awe of this art, sport, class, or whatever it was and went every chance I had. The teachers must have seen the wonder in my eye because I remember being invited to join them a few times with across the floor routines and small combinations. It was at that studio in Alabama that I found my niche. The next year I signed up for just about every class my dad let me sign up to take. I was quickly taking clogging, tap, ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, etc. I couldn't get enough. If I was 10 minutes late I would be sobbing by the time I arrived at the studio because I was so upset I was going to miss any bit of instruction. I look back on that experience and should have known then that this desire to dance was not something to overlook later in life.

As I moved to Park City, Utah finding a dance studio was one of the first things we had to do. Luckily, I found an amazing studio that welcomed me and pushed me into great companies from year one. I was now not only taking classes, but competing and strengthening my body like never before. Being a part of competing companies with girls my age and older was challenging and thrilling. It was at that studio that I learned how to motivate and push myself, because if I was going to get stronger and better at dance it was up to me. You quickly learn how to cheat yourself out of strengthening drills such as the "2-minute-torture", aka doing the plank for 2 minutes. By High School though I didn't want to drop a knee down early, or fake anymore sit ups. I wanted to be the strongest (most of the time).

While in High School I continued to dance at the studio and joined the dance team at the high school. Also, I was able to take classes at the University of Utah in dance and although not even old enough to vote I was taking classes and working on group projects with college students. The U and the dance team taught me so much in choreography. By the time I graduated I had won Dancer of the Year at the private studio and Best Choreographer at the High School.

Even after all of this, I decided to pick up my life and move to upstate New York to study fashion merchandising. What?!

That lasted about a semester, maybe two, before I decided that wasn't right so I switched to something I thought was... elementary education. It felt great to be teaching and to be around children. It still does, I love teaching, but after 5 years of studying it and doing it I still can't shake dance. When I hear a song or see my nephew at the playground I feel inspired to choreograph. I am always being inspired. That never stopped because I stopped dancing. I guess the reason why I didn't major in it in undergrad was because I wanted a degree "to fall back on" that could "give me a career" a "safe choice". Dance as a major was always terrifying to me, because what if "I got in a horrible car accident and couldn't use my legs" or "a dancer's career is only so long". I realized though that you can't live your life in fear.

While taking a year off after graduating with my Bachelor's Degree, I was living in NYC and I started to take classes more regularly. I found myself in the same studios I used to dance in while I was competing growing up. We used to travel to NYC and compete in nationals, while taking classes during the time spent in the city. I fell in love with the city on those trips. My love for dance grew so much when I was visiting. I saw how many other people shared my passion and were SO much better than me. I knew there was something way bigger out there. Now, I am there, or here, or whatever.

"And I'm back in the game" -to quote a line from 10 things I hate about you, and I am jumping for joy. I am now not only surrounded by dance I am fully submerged in it. I am working at the NYU Box office, where students can get tickets to any performance or show you can think of in NYC at a phenomenal price. I am taking classes at NYU in Dance Education, while still taking classes on the side at studios throughout the city. Every article, book, and assignment will be about dance and/or education. This is right.

As much as I like to think of my undergrad as the long road, it was the necessary road. It gave me the skills, degree, and understanding that I actually like to teach. I love it. To be able to bring my love and passion of dance with my education background is perfect. There is no other way to say it. Literally everything I have done has led me here. I just can't wait for what lies on the other side of this degree. It always seems fuzzy and unclear until your on the other side. Right now I am thankful and excited to have a second of clarity.

California!

California was amazing. It was the longest vacation I can remember taking... 10 days! We had some definite plans and a lot of "we'll do it if we can" plans. I am still shocked by everything we were able to do. Let's see if I can remember everything we did in a quick (but actually kinda long) wrap-up.

Friday
We left NYC for San Diego. Picked up our rental car (a Fiat!) and drove to Aunt Ruth's house where we ended our traveling day with great company and a hot tub!
(not Aunt Ruth's house below, but this was incredible parking we got in Pacific Beach we were very proud of. The Fiat could fit anywhere!)

Saturday
Went down to Pacific Beach near San Diego and walked the boardwalk, grabbed a treat with an amazing view of the ocean, saw some dolphins, and then went to meet Zach's friend. We all went on a bus to this huge pool party out in the desert! It was so much fun. Think lazy river with tubes, three different pools, free lounge chairs and towels, and a DJ. Luckily, I didn't get burned. When we got back to our car at PB we could barely keep our eyes open, and it was only like 9pm. I think we were still super jet lagged and went straight home to Aunt Ruth's and passed out.

Sunday
Spent the morning having brunch at incredible cafe ( I think thats the name?), then went up to Orange County. We were supposed to meet some of my high school friends, but ended up only meeting up with one of my buddies from college. We went to the Sawdust Arts Festival at Laguna Beach. It was awesome and even cooler than expected because we got in free with my friend's military ID! After the festival we got lunch at this amazing mexican restaurant called Las Brisas, over looking the ocean. I'm pretty sure we paid for the view because it was probably the most expensive meal I'll eat all year. We spent the rest of the time on the beach after throwing a frisbee and avoiding seaweed. That night Zach wanted to see downtown San Diego so we went down to Ghiradelly's and split a banana split. Mmm!

Monday
Monday was our LA day. Zach had an audition at 1:30 so we left San Diego by 9:30 just to be safe. It's a good thing we did because it took us 3 hours to get to studio city where his audition was taking place. While Zach auditioned I walked Santa Monica Blvd and got a manicure and an underwater camera. After the audition we drove to the Hollywood Sign took some pics, then went and grabbed some dinner at Unami Burger near Hollywood Blvd. It was delicious! We walked the strip for a little bit and looked at all the stars names on the walk of fame then went out to Venice beach. Venice was crazy! We had so much walking around and looking at all the crazies. We decided since it was a nice night we were going to walk up to the Santa Monica Pier instead of drive. At the pier we rode the Pacific Wheel and it was AMAZING! We were able to see out over the ocean and over the beach it was incredible! One of my favorite memories of the trip was riding the Ferris Wheel, by far. We walked down the pier a bit and grabbed a bite to eat. When we went to pay the bill Zach realized he had left his debit card at the restaurant near Hollywood Blvd and had to BOOK IT to get there by when they closed. We ended up having to pull a New Yorker on LA and hail a cab back to our car in Venice. It all worked out and we got his card with no problem. Then we drove back to San Diego and passed out from a fun full day yet again.

Tuesday
We slept in hard on Tuesday. We were so delirious by the time we got back to San Diego we knew our bodies needed the sleep. We were able to get out of Aunt Ruth's house around 12:30/1pm though and head down to La Jolla. It was probably one of my favorite days of the trip. We saw the "Children's Pool" where all the sea lions and seals swim. That was really pretty. Then we walked up into the town and went in their shops for probably close to two hours! We definitely weren't planning on that, but we kept seeing cool stores we wanted to stop in and have a look. Mr. Dobson bought me a super warm hoodie that says La Jolla on it, which was very useful later on in our trip when we headed toward San Francisco. After shopping we made our way down to the water where people can swim. There was still a lot of sea lions and seals around, which was pretty incredible. There were pelicans and other huge birds too. Also, people were snorkeling because the fish in the cover were huge and super colorful. We didn't have goggles but every once in a while we would see a huge fish swim past our legs. After La Jolla I picked up a cake and some ice cream for Zach's birthday and headed back to Aunt Ruth's. Aunt Ruth and Jamie took us out to an amazing dinner at a Brew Pub kinda place called Karl Strauss, it was so nice to spend time with the fam. After dinner we sang and had cake and ice cream. Yet another night ended with the pool and hot tub. Seriously the best day of the trip.

Wednesday
Wednesday was Mr. Dobson's birthday! We woke up super early since this was the day we were planning on driving most of the coast. We left San Diego around 8am and headed north. Our first stop was Ventura where we walked on the beach for a little bit before grabbing some Mexican food. They were having their Ventura Fair and I wish we had more time to stop, but had to keep heading north. The drive was beautiful. We drove through Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, a funny little town called Guadalupe, before making it to our next stop at Pismo Beach. This was where Zach's birthday started to be really fun. We rented ATV's for an hour and went crazy on some sand dunes! It was unbelievable! I couldn't stop laughing! I did get stuck a couple times and my super strong handsome boyfriend had to lift the ATV out of the powdery sand. Seriously something I will highly recommend to anyone who is going to drive the coast. Just be sure to bring a change of clothes because you will have sand EVERYWHERE! After Pismo it was a race to see Big Sur before sunset. Big Sur was breathtaking. I was so happy I wasn't driving because even from the passenger seat I was getting nervous about some of the turns on this road. You literally just go up and down these incredible mountains right on the cliff of the ocean! We pulled over just before the sun went down and took some pictures. I decided that this was the perfect spot to give Zach his present. As the sun went down and the ocean was crashing on the cliffs below us we were able to relax and enjoy where we were. We had stopped where we had wanted, traveled to where we were aiming for, and had a moment to soak it all in. Even though Zach's birthday had been mostly spent behind the wheel it was all worth it. We had seen so many amazing things in one day. It didn't stop there though. We pushed our way north for an hour or two more and decided to stop in Monterey. Having it be Zach's birthday we stopped at an Italian restaurant for a hearty meal. Bizarre experience there, but not worth sharing in the blog. Just a funny story, you can ask us about it if you care. We ended up staying in Monterey for the night and were very happy to get out of the Fiat.

Thursday
Free breakfast! I love staying in hotels for that reason and probably for that reason alone haha. When we left Monterey we were San Francisco bound. We had a few pit stops around Santa Cruz, once for a bagel and some juice, and then later for a farmer's market for fresh Kale and pie. When we arrived in San Francisco we couldn't believe what we saw. SF is unlike anything I had ever seen before. It felt like I was in a different country! It was metropolis for sure, but a city of houses! No yards just home after home after home stacked right on top of each other. I couldn't help but sing this song as we drove on the highway. We couldn't check into our apartment we found on airbnb so we did some sightseeing. We started with the Golden Gate bridge obviously. We then hit up Lombard St and the Painted Ladies before safely checking into our apartment in The Mission neighborhood. We didn't stop there though of course we just kept going. Luckily, our apartment had a kitchen so we planned on eating home for most of the time in SF so we stopped up at Safeway before heading out for the evening. (Did you know SF charges 10 cents for every bag you have to use when you go to a store? It reminded me SO much of this Portlandia clip. The funny thing is that we actually ended up carrying most of our stuff out to the car like that guy because we didn't want to pay for a bag.) Ok so back to our night, we spent our evening at the California Academy of Sciences. We were able to see music and spend some time in the aquarium. It was another amazing night!

Friday
The first day of Outside lands! We got there pretty early since Zach wanted to see his friends who are in the band Houndmouth. They are from his hometown and are kinda blowin up. The festival was pretty cool. The stages were close enough that you could easily walk to see two bands who have the same set time, but far enough apart where you couldn't really hear them over the band you were seeing. Friday we saw: Houndmouth, Band of Horses, The National, Paul McCartney, and Pretty Lights. We were walking by all the other stages all day long too so we saw a few more. Paul McCartney is just wow.

Saturday
Did I mention there is a place in Outside Lands called Chocolands?! That's right.. all chocolate. Zach got one of the best hot chocolates I've ever had. Oh and did you know Golden Gate Park is FREEEZING in August? I wore two sweaters everyday and was still cold every night.
Saturday we saw: Atlas Genius, James McCartney, Young The Giant, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Tallest Man On Earth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Head and the Heart, and Phoenix! I don't think I've ever danced so hard in my life. Phoenix was the biggest dance party I have ever experienced. Just imagine so many people in one area that you can't see the stage, only the lights because everyone is standing and dancing, hard. So much dancing! I was in heaven! The happy kind of dancing too, where everyone is smiling and jumping and singing (probably a lot of them were on drugs honestly), but overall a feel good vibe was felt throughout. Tallest Man on Earth was the best show of the entire weekend. I don't think I have been so happy watching a concert before in my life (well maybe Taylor Swift). Definitely the best day of the festival was Saturday. I wish I could relive this day over and over and over again. Not many pictures from this day because I knew I still had Sunday for that and I was focused on living in the now and soaking it all in. I am so guilty of pulling out my phone and camera whenever I want to capture a special moment, but then I find myself not enjoying and living in it 100% so on this day I tried to put my devices away and live it. I'm so glad I did.

Sunday
Sunday morning was very sad. We had to pack up and check out of our apartment. Oh and some crazy miscommunication with our tickets had us on the phone with the airlines for about an hour before we left for the day, thankfully I love JetBlue and they continued to be good to me. We decided to check out Haight-Ashbury before the festival this day since right after the last band we were going to have to bolt it to the airport to make our flight. The Haight was awesome! We walked up and down the street for about an hour and saw some amazing stores. My favorite was Amoeba music. I could walk around there forever! After The Haight we went to the festival and saw: Daryl Hall & John Oats, Dawes, A-Trak, Vampire Weekend, Willie Nelson, Matt & Kim, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. We got to SFO with plenty of time to return our car and find out that our flight was an hour delayed. We slept most of the way back to NYC with a quick layover in Florida where we scored a good breakfast just to keep sleeping on the plane to JFK. Back to real life.

Thanks so much to family and friends who made this trip incredible. Especially to Mr. Dobson and for all of his planning and saving for the trip. There is NO way that this would have happened without him.  I don't think I planned any of it! I am so lucky to have a guy I can trust will make awesome plans and will take care of me everywhere we go. He kept me so happy and safe the entire time and ALWAYS put me and my feelings first. Gosh I love that man.