Follow Your Dreams

Searching

2011-08-11T20:53:00.000-04:00

and searching. and searching. and searching.

Finding a job in this economy is downright miserable. You look and look and finally find something and if you're lucky you make it to interview along with a ton of other people. You check Monster, Careerbuilder, individual company sites, even Craigslist. It's hard to get hired, and even harder to stay motivated in the meantime. Me personally, I'm not good at that sitting still thing... I get so bored, so fast. The first two weeks of relaxation were nice, but now I'm going stir crazy!

And at the end of the day, I have to ask myself... how long do I wait? What if the right opportunity hasn't come along in a month? Six months? I can't be unemployed forever... I need to contribute to my mom's place here and eventually get my own. I'm not the only one of my friends in this situation, but it certainly can feel like it at times given that my friends are scattered around the country and inconveniently not in Texas. Where, I would like to point out, it has been over 100 degrees for the last 40 days in a row. We may have broken that streak today. Not really sure. But the point is, that it's a lot tougher to get a job than I thought it would be. It seems like no one is hiring, so the ones that are can be really picky and choose whomever they like.

Enough of my jobless ranting. But that's the update. Looking for work, living in Texas, suffering from heatstroke... All that jazz.

The Beginning in the End

2011-05-09T10:35:00.000-04:00

I've written a similarly titled post for one of my other travel blogs, but I think the title is apropos to the occasion. I graduated Saturday, a mere two days ago, but it's opened up a whole new chapter in my life, the post-grad chapter, in which I officially move to NY-- provided that the trip that I'm taking tomorrow to find a place to live works out successfully. Cross your fingers! I'll post a bit about my (hopefully successful) apartment search after I get back to Texas, in which I visit my family and attend my grandparents fiftieth anniversary party. But it's still somewhat weird to think that I won't be returning to D.C. in the fall and I won't be attending classes anymore. And in another way, I've been waiting for this moment for a year-- I learned so much about myself being abroad that I really didn't want to come back to college at all. In that way, it's not surprising, and it just feels right.

So here's to post-grad. To all my friends, who I'll leave behind, and the new ones that I'll make in a new city: here's to you. To my family who've stood by my side throughout my four years here, and to the ones who made it worthwhile. Here's to you.

Collegiate Dance Class

2011-05-01T21:09:00.000-04:00

This semester I also took a dance class as an elective in school. As I later found out, I overestimated the dance program's difficulty-- I thought it was a beginning professional-level class rather than a beginning class for people who had literally never taken a dance class before in their life. So it was a rather interesting experience that really upped my confidence level as well as my passion for modern dance.

Because I didn't want to overcommit myself, I ended up in beginning modern rather than an intermediate or advanced class. It ended up being pretty basic and easy, and a big self confidence booster (I don't want to brag, but I was at the higher end of the class). So it ended up being a really good refresher course and an opportunity to dance on a regular basis throughout the week as a part of my obligatory schedule.

During the last class (our exam time), we each shared with the class our final takeaways as well as what we thought other people had really done well throughout the class. The biggest compliment that I received (and really, that I think anyone can receive) was that I made the choreography not even look like choreography, like I was just out there... dancing. WOW!

This class really reinforced my love of modern. I'm not convinced I have anywhere near the technique to succeed in an audition, but I would love to perform as a part of a modern dance company. The biggest takeaway? Everything, everything is a learning experience! Even when you know technique really well it still is a really good experience to go through it again and reinforce your knowledge.

Hearts,

E

My Education in Being a "Rabid Dog"

2011-04-30T22:10:00.001-04:00

Otherwise entitled: Daytona Beach National Dance Alliance Championships.

So this semester the AU Dance Team advertised for a few extra dancers for their nationals team and since I didn't take on an internship this semester and had a bit of extra time, I figured why not try out? Because I didn't have solid fouettés I ended up in the hip-hop dance, which is not exactly my specialty. Little bit more about me: I'm classically trained, modern, jazz, drill team (the Southern kind that involves dance, not tossing flags) and while I can do hip-hop, it's not my favorite.

The team ended up being a much bigger financial and time commitment than I was initially led to believe, but it was a really great experience. The dance was choreographed by Tara and Jason, who coach West Springfield Dance Team in nearby Virginia. Their team consistently wins NDA Nationals at the high school level, and they are known for their innovative and unique choreography. Which leads me to the "rabid dog" part of the title of this post. Tara and Jason do something so beyond regular hip-hop that it can't help but catch the attention of all who view it (We were told to act like rabid dogs to get into character). It was really a fascinating and challenging experience, and I learned a lot. We competed in the 1/1A Division, and placed all right... the judges would have preferred to have seen something a little more standard, but I'm really proud of what we put forward and I don't think we would have stood out among the forty-person 1A teams without something truly unique.

Above, the news article from GWU, where we did our friends and family performance the Sunday before we left for Nationals (that's me, in the back-- red hair). Nationals itself, there's not too much information to share about it and if you are a part of a team, you either know what to expect or you will be able to ask your coach. But for me, Nationals confirmed that I was making the right decision about my future--- I really love to dance and I want to continue to do it while I still can. So therefore in a week and a half, right after graduation, I'm headed up to NYC to look for an apartment. New York's the best place to be for now, both for dancing and publishing. I'm really nervous about getting started and meeting people, but I'm also really excited for what the future could possibly hold.

Above, the team with our trophy. I have lots of dance team experience as well as drill/ dance team, so let me know if you have q's!

Hearts,

E

The Most Magical Place on Earth

2011-04-26T09:41:00.003-04:00

That's Disney, by the way, in case you were confused. Over spring break I popped up to NYC for a day to audition for Disney Tokyo in their dancer-specific auditions. I hopped the bus the night before and then took the LIRR (that's Long Island Railroad for those of you non-New Yorkers) out to (where else) Long Island to crash at my friend's house the night before the audition.

The next morning I got up and headed into the city (fake lashes and all- my friend was very impressed that I put them on without coffee in my system) via the LIRR and then I walked from Grand Central to Pearl Studios where the audition was held. Sign in started at 9, and the audition began at 10, so I got there at around 8:30, it being my first audition and wanting to be on top of my game. Everything I had read about Disney auditions suggested a positive experience and that's what I walked away with, but there wasn't a lot of information about the audition itself, and I wanted to share that.

When the representatives from Disney Tokyo arrived they showed a DVD about the resort and checked us in beginning with those of us on the unofficial list (those who had arrived earlier). I ended up being number 52... out of 200 or so auditionees. The waiting room was packed, and they eventually called the first sixty into the room next door to get started. The audition was for a variety of dancers-- male dancers, ethnic dancers, ballet trained dancers. They taught a ballet combination first (and excuse my lack of accents, I haven't figured out how to include them on blogger): four balancés, chassé, tour jeté, tombé pas de bourrée, glissade, grand jeté, preparation, pirouette (double). Essentially eight counts.

They taught the combination as a group and then we auditioned in groups of four, standing to the side when we were not up. After everyone in the group had danced they conferred with each other for maybe two minutes while we were still in the room, called six numbers and dismissed us. Six! For the first cut! I was shocked. Not even 11:30 in the morning and I was done for the day... my bus back to D.C. left at 11:30 in the evening. I hadn't wanted to leave on the bus too early in case I got called back. Ha. Anyway, it was a very positive experience, if brief. They were very nice and encouraging, and they were obviously looking for something very specific.

That's the end to the Disney story. I ran around for a few hours with some girls I met at the audition (the dancer community appeared very small at the audition-- everyone seemed to know each other, which was intimidating) and then went to the Frick collection until it closed. A nice end to the day. But it was this audition that really kicked off my current life plan.

Hearts,

E

"All About E"

2011-04-25T23:42:00.000-04:00

Well, if you're my parents or SJ, the only other one who is likely to read my ramblings, you know who I am. However, if you've stumbled upon this blog by pure chance, or my audition information has been helpful to you and you're now reading through the archives, you might want to know a lil' about me. So we'll hit the high points.

I'm a natural redhead with green eyes, about five-two. Soon I will be the shortest (or pretty darn close to it) in my family. Thanks K for growing up on me.

My family is the most precious thing in the world to me. I love them to pieces and they are the rock that keeps me sane.

I'm about to graduate from American University in Washington, D.C., where I have spent the last four years, with the notable exception of last year, which I spent studying abroad in Wellington, New Zealand and then Florence, Italy. I'm a justice major who discovered (or rather, admitted) her true passion too late to change her major, so I'm sticking with it (for now...).

I'm an obsessive planner and I'm super organized. As I'm sure you can imagine, this is driving me up the wall since I don't have official post-grad plans.

And I love elephants. Fun fact.

You'll get to know me a lot better as we go along, but if you've ever got a particular question, drop it in the comments box and I'll do my best to answer it.

And I'm off for now. Another fun fact: I'm so not a night owl.

Hearts,

E

Welcome!

2011-03-21T16:14:00.001-04:00

Well. It's been quite the past two years! Spending a year abroad was the most incredible thing I could have done for myself junior year, and I'm sure that stories from my time abroad will pop up from time to time in this blog. Then coming back to the States, I finished my senior year (or technically, am yet to finish) as of May 7, 2011. It's been a tough journey this past year, because my year abroad really refined my dreams and hopes and taught me so much about myself. Having to come back and go through another year of school was something I really struggled with.

But the year has brought a lot of time for reflection and some new opportunities, and it has given me time to wrestle with my desires and to figure out what I really want out of life. And thus you have it: I have chosen to not follow a traditional path post-graduation. But we'll get to that later. I am going to do a little bit of updating before focusing on my current post grad plans. But to get to that updating, I'll reveal this: my passion is for the arts, dance in particular. We're going to be playing catchup for a few posts, but now that the design is done I should be updating pretty quickly. So welcome to my new blog: a melting pot of cooking and baking, dancing, auditioning, job-searching, job-working, moving, travel, volunteering, friends and family, and life in general. So hang in there--because graduation's just around the corner.

Hearts,

E