Year Of Yes

When I found out that Shonda Rhimes had a book coming out, I knew that I had to read it, even before I found out what it was about. I have long wanted to be a part of Shondaland, not just because it is where some of my favorite shows live, but because from my outside perspective, it looks like a family, where getting killed off of, or leaving one show just means you can come back and be on another show. It is also a magical land where you can spread your wings and try new things, like directing or writing, but also let your freak flag fly proudly, without fear of judgment or rejection. Her characters are strong and vulnerable, flawed and wonderful. Her interviews can make you feel inspired, or that you truly are not alone. So the book had some big shoes to fill, even before it set the bar so high, with a title like “Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person”.

This post isn’t exactly a review of the book, more like me telling you that you should read it, while sharing how it made me feel, and affected my life. The premise of the book is that Shonda’s sister tells her “You never say yes to anything” so she decides to spend the year saying yes to everything. Not to prove her sister wrong, but because after all of the excuses and justifications that she defends herself with, she realizes that her sister is right. She went to an event and had an amazing time and realized that if she had been asked if she wanted to, rather than told that she had to go to this event, she would have said no.

There are a lot of differences between me and Shonda. Our stories, some of our wants and dreams greatly differ, but as I was reading this book, I kept thinking, “This is me.” I grew up writing stories and having conversations with my characters, sometimes in my head, but sometimes out loud. I didn’t exactly come up with magical worlds in the pantry, but I do remember using my grandparents’ old pill bottles rather than canned vegetables when I was little. And to this day, if you want to keep me occupied and out of your hair for hours on end, just give me a piece of paper and a pen. I’ll write as small as I have to in order to make that paper last me as long as it needs to.

Even more than our love for imaginary worlds, at the time of reading the book for the first time, I very much shared her fear of doing things and meeting people. I had just signed up for a semester at LAMDA, which would send me to London, on my own, to study something I had never learnt, while doing theater, which has always terrified me.

To this day, I will often find myself regretting missed opportunities, or the fact that the fear that I wasn’t good enough kept me from applying to any theatre programs after high school, where I could have learnt so much and conquered fears years earlier. At the same time, I know that I was nowhere near ready. Had I gone to theatre school when I was 17, I probably would have hung out in the back of the class, gone up when I was called upon and forced to, been constantly terrified, and hopefully made it through. I wanted to be different, but I was still too afraid to actually change.

After starting the book, I took to Shonda’s Year of Yes philosophy, and pushed it farther so that my time in London was incredible. I not only said yes when asked to do things, I volunteered for them. I am not bragging, because it was things that everyone else in the program probably considered routine or not that exciting, but I was amazed at all of the things I was getting myself into and accomplishing.

I reread the book when I got back and am pretty sure it is a book I will be rereading over and over again whenever I need to be reminded to say yes to life and new experiences and all of the wonderful things that the world has to offer. Because the things that terrified me before I went to London aren’t so scary any more. And since I kept up with this momentum, my comfort zone has grown exponentially, and continues to do so. This time last year, I was a couple of weeks into my semester and doing amazing by my standards. LAMDA was definitely the starting point of my journey, or at least putting the philosophy into practice, but even in the time since I got back, I have grown so much. If I went back to LAMDA right now, there are even more challenges and adventures that I would have sought out. More people I would have talked to in class and in hallways. Students from other programs I would have gotten to know.

The book is full of so many lessons and so much wisdom that I definitely needed to hear. Because it showed me that I truly wasn’t alone. That someone understands. It also terrified me to think that being Shonda Rhimes wasn’t enough to make all of the fears and insecurities go away. But there is no magic wand once you’ve ‘made it’. I don’t think it’s true that you need to love yourself in order for other people to love you, but I do think you need to love yourself in order to fully accept this love and believe it.

Through stories told with her magical flair for storytelling, Shonda teaches you to say yes to what matters in your life, to being honest (with yourself and with others), to loving yourself (whether that means accepting all of the imperfections that make you perfect, or finally putting yourself first and taking care of yourself like you deserve), to breaking glass ceilings, to compliments (just say “thank you”, don’t argue or explain it away!) and also to saying no when you need to.

Like Shonda, I am not stopping after a year. And while I am maybe not saying yes to every single possibility, I am putting a lot more consideration into why I want to say no. If it is something that I really don’t want to do, or am just too afraid to hurt someone’s feelings, I will say no. If it is something that I am afraid of, because it is new or outside my comfort zone, then I will say yes, and 99% of the time, I am glad that I did.

 

“Ditch the dream. Be a doer, not a dreamer.”

-Shonda Rhimes

My Second Brunch in the City

Yesterday I went to Female Department’s Brunch in the City for the second time. This year I was sans Carolyne, but I did still manage to have an amazing time, and hang out with some pretty cool people 🙂

I got there a little before 12, when it was supposed to start, so I figured I would get one of the free manicures from Trippy Nails before the lines got too long. I chose Pearl for my color, and chatted a bit with the owner, but I messed it up by grabbing things before it dried, so I won’t post pictures. But still, it was nice to be pampered for a bit 😉 While there, I got to talk with the girls waiting in line behind me, as well as sample a lot of delicious food.

And a drink. I don’t generally do alcohol, but it was a raspberry puree with Disaronno and it was pretty good. And I got to keep the mason jar, which I love 🙂 I will need to find a way to make a virgin version…

As for the food, there were cookies from Yes Please! which were soft, sugary and perfect.

As well as catering from Forketta: French crusty bread with ricotta cheese and a roasted grape/balsamic compote. The flavors went incredibly well together…

Tiny shooters of blueberry maple sauce with french toast sticks to dip inside. The toast was slightly dry, but the taste of everything was amazing, with the cinnamon and the maple and…I poured what was left of my sauce into the raspberry puree drink and it was wonderful!

The waiter introduced this as salmon gravlax when I asked him what it was. Basically, it was like a smoked salmon with creme fraiche on top of a tiny pancake. It was topped with dill and had a slight citrus taste to it as well.

This one was exciting because I feel like I could figure out how to make it at home. It was the whole wheat tostitos scoops that we usually make nachos with, but instead of being covered in cheese, there was avocado mousse, mango, cucumber and shrimp. It was…refreshing? I guess might be the word for it. I liked it a lot 🙂 Also, I somehow didn’t realize the tray was a mirror when I took the picture…

My favorite was the tart. I didn’t ask what it was before trying it, but the waiter warned me that it had Pancetta in it, probably in case I was vegetarian. I couldn’t recognize anything in it at first, except for the honey drizzle, I only knew that it was amazing. It was when discussing it with a friend (and later looking at the menu) that we discovered it was pear gorgonzola. As in the fruit and the cheese. Kind of heavenly.

There were a bunch of booths selling jewelry, purses and clothes, even one with roses in boxes. Some were new, some were there last year, and others were at the Christmas event.

One new and awesome vendor was Miyuki Crochet. She brought her summer collection, which includes bathing suits, awesome tops as well as chokers, hats and cacti. Her website also has more winter stuff, like scarves, sweaters and headbands. Definitely worth a look 🙂

“In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.”

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

Meetups, lines and movies

I have some lines to memorize, some scene work to do and should probably be getting to bed to prepare for my early start tomorrow, but instead, I am writing this post to let you know what has been going on with me. Selfless determination or semi-productive procrastination, you be the judge.

In acting/ text, we are working on points of concentration. For instance, we had to do simple tasks, but Debbie would come and whisper some kind of information to us. Sometimes it was environmental, like the time of day, the weather and general atmosphere of where you are. Other times, it was more emotional, like she would tell you a secret or an event that had recently happened, that you would inevitably think about. As an audience member, you have no idea what the person was just told, but you see the change happen immediately, in the person’s whole body, not just their faces. On Friday, we took it one step further, where we were having decision-making discussions instead of silently folding laundry or something. My scene partner and I chose a really serious topic, which I hadn’t really been taking all that seriously at the beginning. I was seeing it more as an improv exercise, which isn’t real. Once Debbie gave me my point of concentration though, for some reason, everything became so much more real, and the stakes were so high. I can’t go through everything that happened, and I don’t want to incriminate myself, but let’s just say that if you threaten my family and then you disappear, I maybe did it.

In stage combat, we added to the choreography we already started learning, but I really have to work on not cheating (in addition to the steps and the moves and everything else). You see, when I am supposed to be aiming for my opponent’s arm pit, I like to aim for somewhere off to the side and above their shoulder, where there is no chance of them even accidentally being hit by me. I need to try to actually aim for the arm pit though, so the person can know where I am trying to attack them, and will be able to defend themselves properly either against mistakes, or if they have a partner who actually does it right and aims for the targeted spot.

I have also been enjoying our rehearsals. We were emailed a schedule, so although we all come in for a company warm up in the morning, we aren’t all there for the entire day, depending on which plays we are in. When I first got the schedule, I started thinking of afternoon teas I could have, going home early…I was excited. In the end, I didn’t reserve for any teas, which is good, because I realized that the exciting part isn’t having breaks and free time. The exciting part is getting to run lines with the other members of my ensemble, working on characters and accents. I was happiest being there and working, even when I was sent out of the circle so I would be forced to project my voice better, or when I was just whispering the lines to someone for another scene.

Our movement teacher asked us how our time here at LAMDA is going, and I didn’t quite know how to explain it, but…all of this is new to me. School has always been sitting at a desk and reading textbooks or getting lectures. As long as you remembered what you were told and gave the answers they wanted, you got good grades. Here, we sit on floors before walking and running around rooms. We spend hours warming up. We play games. Teachers don’t want to give you answers, or tell you things, they want you to discover them on your own. Homework is never something concrete like read these pages or do this exercise; it is trying to learn the lines of at least 5 different characters and also doing all kinds of scene work. I have never been so immersed in acting, or constantly doing things that scare me. Some things scare me less now, but when I am told I will have to recite a monologue in front of the class or do scenes in a bunch of accents that aren’t my own, I no longer stress out. I am still terrified, but I take a deep breath, and then I get to work. Sometimes, I even volunteer 😉 I hope so badly that I am growing as a person and as an actor through all of this, and that I don’t lose it all once I go home.

In singing, I knew all the words and could tell when the song was being played in the wrong key for me, but I am still not so great at the singing part. Still, instead of shying away as I would love to do, or giving up when he told me to enunciate my words more clearly, I pushed harder, singing louder and not caring when I obviously wasn’t in tune or doing it in the way I was supposed to. I had given myself the personal goal of not letting my feelings towards my performance dictate how I sang (as in JUST EFFING DO IT!) and I did. Unfortunately (or I should say fortunately, since I do want to improve), my teacher has decided that I have a lot more voice hidden inside and he is determined to find it. I would love for him to find it as well, I am just slightly apprehensive about the journey it might take for me to find this voice that everyone is convinced I have. (not as in an amazing singing voice, I don’t think, but as in a louder, confident voice. The kind you use when you actually want to be heard)

This week was really busy as far as non-school things go. On Tuesday I went out for Pancake Day, then on Wednesday we had a masterclass with Alex Waldmann, so I went to see In The Night Time (Before The Sun Rises) at the GATE Theatre , before a showing of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Both were amazing. The play was funny and sad and happy and had beautiful performances by both of the actors. It felt real and human, even as it veered off into clearly imagined circumstances. I’m really sad I missed the talk back, but P&P&Z kept me and Molly laughing for almost 2 hours. I think it’s because I love Pride & Prejudice and Jane Austen, as well as the zombie genre, but I was so excited all throughout the movie. It was like I was torn between asking myself who in the world greenlit this project, and anxiously awaiting what I knew was coming next, since I am very familiar with the original plot. It kind of combined a lot of the things that I love in movies, and I thought it would have been amazing to be in it.

On Thursday, there was a blogger’s meetup. You see, before coming to London for a semester, I searched for as many blogs about living in London that I could find, especially from LAMDA students, and North Americans. I also really wanted an idea of lifestyle blogs, for the pictures, recommendations and inspiration for my own blog. It was then that I stumbled upon Aspiring Kennedy. At first, I just read the blogs about places I wanted to go to, but then I read everything. And I was so excited to see that she organizes meetups, but it didn’t seem like they had been happening in a really long time. I was trying to build up the courage to email her and ask about it when she announced a meetup within really easy walking distance from where I’m staying. My nerves throughout the day had me coming up with excuses that I could use to leave early, because I had no idea what I would talk to a bunch of strangers about for 2 hours. Would they all have awesome blogs and judge me when they read mine? A lot of my fears seem so ridiculous in retrospect, but at the time I thought that the worst that could happen was pretty big. As it turns out, some of them had blogs and some of them were just new to London and read her blog like I do. Not only was everyone super nice, but they actually seemed to care about the answer when they asked a question. I have a tendency to put popular people (like actors, bloggers and prom queens) on pedestals, and assume they are above me (which I know is ridiculous) but even Lauren was so welcoming and sweet. I did check my watch a few times in the beginning, but then all of a sudden there was only 10 minutes left and we were still in the middle of our conversation. It was a really lovely evening and I am really happy that I went, and that I spoke up sometimes and wasn’t just a wallflower observing, as I  often tend to be.

On Friday, I went to the LAMDA Improv Semi-finals, which were absolutely hilarious, and I am in awe of all of their singing abilities (as in being able to not only sing opera and other genres, but also making up the entire song on the spot, based on a topic we give them). Then I went to see LAMDA’s Fiddler on the Roof, which also featured some excellent singing. Having actually talked to some of the cast, either at Sleazy or when the Student Union put us in touch with other foreign students, kind of made it even more incredible, to see what they can do, and the difference from who they are offstage.

Finally, today I went for lunch with Molly at Nando’s, which is clearly a staple here in London, and then we saw Deadpool. Definitely not a kids’ movie, but I did spend a whole lot of time laughing. It was really interesting how they would break the fourth wall, and also make fun of themselves (either the character, or the actor playing them). I especially enjoyed the opening credits 😉

 

“The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.”

-Neil Gaiman

 

1st Day & Hampton Court Palace

Yesterday was my first day at LAMDA 🙂

We mostly just went over the schedule, had the basics explained to us and our questions answered. Until the afternoon. That’s when we played a bunch of games to possibly get rid of some shyness, and to have everyone get to know each other. Which continued during welcome snacks and drinks in the evening. Even with yesterday and all of my prior research, I am not sure what to expect from the course, but I am pretty sure that I am going to have an amazing time studying with all of these people 🙂

Today we didn’t have classes, but a school trip to Hampton Court Palace. Rodney, one of the guys in charge of our program, told us it would be a useful visit since the building and remodeling of the palace spans from Henry VIII to King George II. Still, the main point of the excursion was probably for us to get to know each other before starting class. And the palace and the grounds and the entire thing was also absolutely beautiful!

A regular admission also gives you access to the maze, which is pretty cool. And even if it’s kind of cold and you’d rather stay inside for your exploring, it’s worth it to go outside, just to see the gardens and the trees and the fountain and the…

“There’s nowhere else like London. Nothing at all, anywhere.”

-Vivienne Westwood

Fortnum & Mason

MY FIRST AFTERNOON TEA IN LONDON! I chose it because I thought the festive afternoon tea was still going on, which it wasn’t, but it was still delicious, and really made me feel very English.

For starters, I decided to walk there, taking a shortcut through Hyde Park, and getting my first glimpses of Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. As soon as you walk in, you are surrounded with teas and treats that you can buy and take home, but I was in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, so I had to go up to the fourth floor, where you are greeted by a reception desk as well as a piano player. This would be the first glaring indication that F&M is fancy 🙂

I was brought to my table, and felt kind of out of place, being alone at one of the most social traditions there is, but then I looked around the room and couldn’t help but smile. I was in London, having Afternoon Tea at a fancy Tea Salon.

You might think Afternoon Tea is a little snack to tide you over before supper, but it has evolved into quite the meal, where I needed to take breaks and still couldn’t finish all of it.

For my tea, the waiter asked which teas I normally drink at home, then recommended the Countess Grey, which is kind of a one up to the Lady Grey I’ve had back home. He told me to take the first sip without milk, which I did, and although I still poured milk in my first cup, all subsequent ones were just tea 😉

 

I started from the bottom and worked my way up, so the sandwiches were the first things I savored. There were 2 smoked turkey, which were delicious, an egg salad one which was exquisite, a smoked salmon one that I think you might like even if you don’t like smoked salmon, and finally the traditional cucumber and cream cheese. Each had their own special bread, and when the waiter asked if I wanted more, I only said no because I knew I wouldn’t have room for the rest of it.

 

I had two scones, one plain and one with raisins. Both were melt in your mouth delicious, crispy on the outside, but warm and soft on the inside. I also used the clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry preserve, and got to take what was left of the last two home 🙂

For the dessert platter, the pink one tasted like roses. Or, you know, what roses smell like, and therefore what I think they would taste like, although I have never eaten a rose. The big yellow ball was kind of like cheesecake wrapped in lemon on a graham cracker, so tasted a bit like heaven. The creme brulee one had tiny pieces of fruit, and I think it is brilliant to put it in an almond tasting cookie instead of a bowl, because you get to enjoy every last drop. The pink and yellow cake is actually wrapped in possibly almond paste, when I had been expecting fondant, so absolutely delectable.

Finally, you get to choose a slice from one of the cakes on the cake cart. I believe I was the first one to go for this, because all of the cakes were hole when I went to take mine. I knew I didn’t have room for more than a bite or so, and he said the Fruit Cake was the traditional English kind, so I went for that. It was very good, especially the icing on top, and the nuts, but my grandmother’s is better 😉

I plan to be an expert on Afternoon Teas in London by the time I leave, but for now, Fortnum & Mason will be hard to beat. And a special thank you to Michelle and Brenda, who gave me lots of tourist advice and made sure I wasn’t completely alone 🙂

As for the rest of my time here so far, I have subconsciously decided that the best way to discover a new city is to get lost in it, which I have been doing repeatedly. Sometimes I discovered things that could be useful later on, other times I just walked a lot longer than I had intended (like going to Buckingham Palace to get to Picadilly), but it was in London, so I am not going to complain.

I got to explore Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland, did some shopping and saw the Christmas lights on Bond Street and Oxford Street.

Now I am off to work on the homework we were given, and get ready for my first day of school tomorrow!

“Not all who wander are lost.”

-J. R. R. Tolkien

All I *Need For Christmas

On Friday Night, I attended my second Female Department Sponsored Event. To celebrate the holidays, they rented out a loft, with a different vendor in every room, treats and drinks to go around, and some Christmas spirit 🙂 The tickets were free, we just had to bring a donation, which I think was an incredible idea.

I got there super early because I clearly don’t know how long it takes to walk places. This was slightly awkward, because I just meandered while they finished setting up, but it was also awesome, because I got to actually talk to some of the vendors, had first dibs on everything, and got pictures before all the food was eaten 😉 There were sugar cookies, as well as bacon chocolate chip cookies (which were surprisingly delicious) and tiny shooters of milk from Yes Please! I am not sure who made the other treats, but there were brownies, a cinnamony caramel cake, and salted caramel and chocolate popcorn. Be warned that I am guessing at these flavors, but they were scrumptious.

As soon as you walk in, the first thing you see is this winter accessories line. Although I am sure they are super awesome, I didn’t spend that much time there, because if I am in need of a hat, a scarf or anything of the sort, I would head over to Miyuki Crochet 😉

The first bedroom held clothes from Female Department, set out like any girl’s bedroom, especially when trying to figure out what to wear for a night out!

Next came Philo purses, designed here in Montreal, made in China, with a part of the sales going to charities. The girls were super nice and helpful. #BagsThatGiveBack

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a lingerie room, a super nice and friendly girl selling emoji shirts and beanies, as well as some cool jewelry with things like ‘namaste’, ‘hope’ and ‘strength’ written on it, but my purchases were made at BKind, the natural, vegan bath products/skin care line by the Christmas tree.

Everything is made here in Montreal, with natural products, no water, and she uses them all herself. I wondered what kind of school you go to in order to make that kind of stuff, and it turns out she studied microbiology. Which is not a requirement, but I’m sure it helps. She let me try almost everything, told me the awesome properties of all the ingredients, and I had full intentions of posting pictures of what I bought, but it ended up being a gift, so I let the experts at DakorMtl wrap it instead.

Also, not sure if it was Female Department that put these up, since they usually have awesome quotes strewn around, but there was some pretty inspirational writing on the walls 🙂

Skipping Breakfast at Tiffany’s

After having so much fun at last month’s Brunch in the City, I decided to try it again and spent yesterday at the second Skipping Breakfast at Tiffany’s event. Unlike last time, when I went with Carolyne and knew people who would be there, I had absolutely no connection to anyone involved, and the friend I inadvertantly heard about it through didn’t even attend. Still, that in no way means I didn’t have a lot of fun 🙂

I decided to ease my way in by accepting an invitation to get my hair braided. They had Nüva, a beauty salon doing hair, nails and makeup, so I figured it would be an easy way to check out my surroundings with absolutely no pressure. It turns out that I chose a style where the hairdresser had to partially straighten my hair, so I spent quite some time in that chair, smiling at strangers and getting my picture taken in slightly compromising hair situations. Still, it was a lot of fun and I got a pretty hairstyle that I definitely wouldn’t do on my own.

Next I wandered over to the sweets table. It’s what happens when you come to one of these things and haven’t had lunch. Maria, the sweet tooth caterer of the day, made an assortment of cupcakes, some blueberry cheesecake and the most delicious cake pop I have ever had in my entire life. It was moist and scrumptious and I could spend pages giving them compliments, but the point is, you have to get yourself some. Divine D’zerts. I am not sure if she also makes the cake pops like this, but some of the cupcakes were even gluten free and vegan 🙂

After this, I finally ventured upstairs to check out the clothes. Nathalie, founder of the Love, Nathalie website, who organized the event, doesn’t actually design the clothes, but she chooses them based on quality material, and styles that she would actually wear. She also has a sizing chart, to make sure that the clothes will actually fit when they get to you, since it is usually an online-only venture.

There were a lot of really nice things. I tried on a dress and this pink blazer that I really liked, but didn’t end up getting either. I know, very boring of me. But you see, there were no prices. It’s completely my issue, and no fault of the event’s, but I always feel super embarassed when I like something, and then don’t get it because of the price, so I was afraid to ask and then have to let them know I wouldn’t be taking it. Although I was a party pooper, a lot of people I talked to bought beautiful sweaters and dresses and told me the prices were very reasonable, so it was obviously my loss. Nathalie explained to us that a lot of other companies have overhead fees or have to pay for employees and a space, but since she is an online store, she can cut out those fees and keep things affordable.

I mingled a bit before Nathalie introduced the fashion show. The business coats definitely made me wish I had a stable, 9 to 5 job where I could wear those clothes, but it’s a small price to pay to be able to follow my dreams. And I can always wear those kinds of outfits when I play lawyers on sets 😉

As I was leaving, I got an adorable goodie bag with some delicious macaroons from Maria, some hair care products I can’t wait to try, candies and some promotions.

All in all, I would deem it another success, and plan on attending both the Brunch in the City, and Skipping Breakfast at Tiffany’s next year 🙂

“Anyone who ever gave you confidence, you owe them a lot.”

-Truman Capote

Brunch in the City

On Sunday, Carolyne and I attended Brunch in the City III, a networking event inspired by Sex and the City, geared towards #Girlbosses and combining fashion, food, manis, henna, makeup, networking and so much more.

First of all, it is categorized as a fashion event, so Carolyne and I made sure to dress to impress 🙂

  

  The clothes were gorgeous, and surprisingly affordable. I especially loved the fall collection at Female Department. If I had another event to go to where I wanted to dress to impress, and support an awesome female-run, Montreal company, that is where I would go 🙂

After the fashion, I very much enjoyed the food 😉 From cookies, s’mores flavored cronuts and pressed juices…

…amazingly delicious vegan and gluten-free cupackes and cinnamon donuts (that means they’re healthy, right?)…

…to my first and currently my favorite matcha latte!

Finally, I finished off the brunch with a well-deserved manicure from Trippy Nails. It makes me happy just looking at them 🙂

    

All in all, the day was an absolute success, and I can’t wait to go to the next one!

“You gotta overvalue yourself sometimes. Know your worth and add taxes to it.”

The First Ballet Class

So it is not technically my first class. This picture attests to the fact that as a tiny child, I was geared up to be a prima ballerina. Ballet classes as an infant were actually what got me potty trained. I wanted so badly to get into class with my cousin Chelsea, but they said you have to be potty trained and so then I was.

Unfortunately, my ballet career did not last so long. We moved and I stopped taking classes and sporadically went back to it, but nothing really stuck. You would think that with that kind of determination I would have gone all the way, but looking back, I had been determined to be like my cousin, who is still an amazing role model I aspire to be like. I wasn’t dedicated to being a ballerina, I just wanted to hang out with her.

Now, I am probably too old to be a prima ballerina. And I have no rythm. And a bunch of other issues I will have to work through, but I am excited about it. I am taking ballet not to be like someone else, or to hang out with the cool kids, I am doing ballet because it makes me happy. Because I want to be graceful and have poise and own ballet slippers. So far we have only had one class, and it is supposed to be for beginners, but one girl has been doing ballet her entire life, except the past two years because tattoos and green hair weren’t allowed at her previous school. This is very unfortunate for her, but very good for me, because I have been copying what she does, and she sees this, and gives me pointers when I do something wrong. I had a really great class last night, and am looking very forward to next week 😉

“Dance like there’s nobody watching.”

-William W. Purkey

Pyramids and Posters

I hope everyone has been having a lovely Labor Day Weekend! This year, my family did something a little different, and joined Sam’s family for a Corn Roast. We spent the day on a large stretch of land, hanging out on lawn chairs, playing drinking games, meeting new people and eating way too much delicious food. Also, at some point during the evening, people started comparing their athletic abilities, which led to our attempting yoga poses, and this pyramid…

In other news, I have signed up for ballet lessons, starting this Wednesday, I have some exciting projects coming out, and there is a poster for Un Jour En Société, the french film I worked on this summer. If you try to find me on it, you won’t, but my name is there 🙂

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

-Albert Einstein