4 more days!

Wow... only 4 days left and I have so many mixed feelings right now. I just got done with my last day at the studios, and it was bittersweet. I'm glad that I got to have my last class with Mr. Han, who has been one of the best teachers I've ever had the pleasure of learning from. He's quite the character. One minute he'll be screaming at you and telling you how much you suck, and the next he'll be cracking jokes and making everyone in the room laugh at his impersonations. He can be really harsh, but I think that's what makes him such a great instructor. He dishes out a lot of insults, but, when it comes down to it, he's such a caring person and I'd like to think that he only says all of those things for the benefit of our improvement and capabilities. And, while you hate hearing that you look like a sushi waitress or that you have sausage legs or that you are so stiff you look like you've swallowed a stick, it pushes you that much harder to try and be good enough for him. Some days are discouraging and I get so frustrated when I don't do what he has asked us to do week after week after week, but it is the greatest feeling in the world when he finally tells you that you've done a good job and that he is proud of you.

After our rehearsals were over, we all had a pizza and cupcake party. I supplied the cupcakes, of course :) and the teachers brought us the pizza. It was so nice just to sit there and be in the company of all my friends, even if we spent most of the time trying to conceal how many pieces of pizza we had scarfed down from the teachers. haha! Every time they left the room, we all dashed to the table to snatch another piece before they walked back in. I think everyone loved the red velvet cupcakes. I'm going to miss making my little baked goods for everyone here because I know, no matter how bad they've turned out, all my friends are still so supportive of me and tell me how good they are. We are officially heading into the weekend full of shows. I can't believe how fast this last week went, and it's going to all be over so soon! I just don't want to think about saying goodbye yet and I am going to try and soak up every last minute this weekend, regardless of how exhausted and stressed out I will probably be.

YAGP Torrington in our "secret" dressing room :)

4. I am going to miss the thrill of performing with all my Washington Ballet buddies. We've all gotten so close this year. It's amazing how well you get to know someone when you're in the theater. You really don't get to talk very much in the studio when you're just taking class and rehearsing, but when you get into the theater, you have so much more time and you end up learning so much about each other. During Nutcracker, I made many new friends, all of which are now so close and dear to my heart now. I will forever cherish the moments we spent, goofing off in the dressing room, singing the grande pas de duex music in the bathroom and jamming out together while waiting in the wings before we finally got to go on stage. Once you've shared the stage with someone, you gain this sort of connection. And after you walk off after you've performed together, you get to laugh about all the stupid mistakes you just made and congratulate each other for how amazing they were. I always love my time in the theater, and especially all the people I grow so close with because of it. I love the feeling you get when you step out on that stage and all you want to do is flash a smile and put out all you've got. It's such an amazing, freeing feeling. None of your teachers are there, screaming at you to point your feet. All you've got is the vast dark audience in front of you and the lights all around you. I simply love it. And it's even better when you get to appreciate all this magic with the people you love. Through Nutcracker (30 stinking shows of it!!), YAGP fundraisers, YAGP in Torrington, the dreadful and epic failure flash mob in Dupont, and now this Spring Show, we've all stuck together, laughing and sweating, maybe even crying a little, freaking out in the wings, hanging out in the dressing room, and every moment in between. My friends are what got me through these difficult performances and are who have made them some of the most memorable experiences of my life. I will never forget all of the stressful times, trying to learn choreography 10 minutes before the curtain comes up, and the difficult times, trying to finish the Waltz of the Flowers without completely dying, or the hilarious times in the studio or the dressing rooms before going on stage, the terribly long rehearsals, the crazy competition dancers who glared us all down, the anxious moments in the wings, and every other minute in between. I have loved all of it and I will miss all of the people who made each of those performances spectacular in so many ways.

This is Choo San Gho's "Fives". A whole year of memories with this piece!

Just one example of what we do while we are waiting countless hours in the theater: Eat Bagels and pose for ridiculous pictures :) Going to miss this most of all!

One thing I must do this summer is get a tan tattoo. I know, it's a little childish, but I've attempted this for the past few summers and it has never worked. I've used a sharpie, I've used sunscreen, but nothing ever comes of it. Maybe I should just accept that fact that I'm not blessed with beautiful and easily tanned skin and move on, but I don't want to! I'm going to try really hard this year and spend lots and lots of time at the pool, and hopefully I can get that little white rimmed heart on my shoulder. Ok, writing this makes me sound really stupid, but I think they just look so cool!! That's another thing: I'm going to spend lots of time in the sun and at the pool. I feel like every year, we get caught up in all these activities and never get to just relax and sun bathe as much as we should. My goal for the summer is to soak up as much sun as possible and take more time to just relax in the swimming pool :). At least this goal shouldn't be too difficult for me! haha

5 DAYS LEFT!!!!!!!

5.... More......Days!!! I can't even fathom how close we are to the end. But, it's really starting to hit me. I couldn't wait to finally get out of here, but now that it's getting down to it, I'm really sad to leave. I've cried more the past week than I have this entire year. All these emotions are hitting me all at once and I don't know what's happening to me!! Seriously, yesturday, I just burst into tears after I realized that it was my last class with one of my dearest teachers. She said some really good things to all of us and just apologized for anything mean or nasty she'd said during the year. At the point, I don't know what happened, but the next thing I knew there were tears streaming down my face and I was in a kind embrace. All I have to say is, Thank you, Ms. Windom. I'm hoping this new emotional me is not a permanent thing! I hate crying in front of people and it makes me so frustrated that people have to see me like this. So, I'm sorry for appearing so weak. I'll try to keep it together for the next 5 days... then it's all gonna come out at the end haha! Here's to hoping I can hold it together!

These next few days are going to be tough. We've got the dress rehearsal today for 6 hours and then 4 performances this weekend, which would be lovely, but it turns out that my back is still hurting and now I feel like I have a cracked rib. I'm just falling apart at the seams!! First the stupid emotions, and now the terrible back pain and excruciating rib. I've never been like this before. Never once have I been injured (knock on wood) and it just feels like everything is coming on at once. But, I'll just have to suck it up for the next few days and get this all over with!

5. I'm truly going to miss taking class with the professional company in the mornings. I haven't taken this class in awhile because I'm desperately trying to finish up my last semester of high school, but I had the greatest time, and the most intimidating time, taking class with all the professional dancers in the mornings. It was cool just to be able to observe them warming up before class and to see how they move with the music and interpret the combinations. They all seem so put together and sure of themselves, while I was always huddling in the back of the room, trying not to get in anyone's way. I've never felt like I am just so sure of myself like they do. I'm always worried about making everything perfect and making sure I don't mess up a combination. I look up to them in that they have a certain confidence in their work. I can only hope that one day I will actually feel good about my dancing and be able to put it out there like they do, instead of having to worry about doing everything right all the time. I'm going to miss the atmosphere in the studio at 9 o clock in the morning. It's so much different than walking into the studio with all your student buddies. In the company class, it just seems more relaxed, but at the same time, you know everyone is there to work and to not goof around, which is one of my biggest pet peeves in ballet class. I hate when people just talk and mess around like they aren't paying thousands of dollars in tuition to be there. It's nice to be in a class where everyone around you is responsible and is there for a focused purpose. I loved being able to work with the company teachers and I especially enjoyed performing with the company this year. While most of them don't really correct you during class, it's always a good feeling when you are noticed by them and get to hear what they have to say. It makes you feel important. I'm really going to miss the company classes and the company teachers...so, thank you for a wonderful year.

I don't know if this one is entirely possible, but I really want to go to a drive in movie theater this summer. The only drive in I have ever been to in in Driggs, Idaho, and the reason I don't think this one is possible is because I don't believe my family has any intention of driving up there this summer. Bummer... Idaho is seriously one of my favorite places in the world. The small towns, the Grande Tetons, all of my relatives that live there, the horses and the snow machining. I've had some truly unforgettable times in Idaho. Every time we go visit, we always make time to go watch a movie at the drive in. It may seem pretty lame, but there is just something spectacular about climbing up on top of the car, cuddling in a pile of blankets, tuning your radio to the right station and enjoying the huge screen in the Idaho summer chill. Usually it doesn't even matter what movie is playing because you usually end up not even watching anyway. You get too carried away laughing and telling stories with all the people you went with, and that's the best part. You know you have amazing friends when you drive away from the theater and you don't even know what the movie was about. My plan of action is to find the nearest drive in theater and beg everyone I know to come with me and watch a movie, regardless of how far away it is. I just need to go to one!! For the sake of all my good memories and for the sake of my Idaho obsession, I simply must go.

This is The Spud; aka the greatest place on earth. I miss you, dear Spud!

  

6 DAYS!!

 

Did I hear that correctly?? 6 more days?? Are you sure? Because it still feels like it's the middle of March and I've got 2 months to go. Boy, does time fly fast. Now that I have less than one week left here in Washington, DC, it's really starting to hit me how much time I don't have and that sooner than I can fathom, I'll be flying back to Colorado and who knows when I'll be back here on the East Coast! I probably should have used my weekends more wisely and actually done a little more sight seeing. I probably should have made more time to spend with my friends here. Now, there is simply no time left! We've got a weekend full of shows to worry about and the rest of the week to focus on preparing for those shows. Plus, I'm about down to the wire with my school work, which means I literally have no free time. I can't wait til I finally step off of that airplane and I will be free!!. . .for 2 weeks at least :).

6. Once this year is over, one thing I will miss is my ballet teachers. When you spend at least 4 hours a day with the same people, you really learn to appreciate everything that they do. I love knowing how my day will go based on whose teaching class or whose in charge of rehearsal. What I've really enjoyed is that each of my teachers has a very different style of teaching and dancing. We've got the full spectrum at Washington Ballet! Russian, Balanchine, and everything in between. I'm really grateful for each of my teachers and what they've added to my education throughout the year. I want to thank them for pushing me everyday and for working with me on all my bad habits, and I've got plenty of those! I appreciate the extra rehearsals my school director spent with me in the mornings, working and struggling with me on my variations. Those may have been the hardest, yet most rewarding rehearsals I have ever been through. While most days I was frustrated and wanted to cry out of utter exhaustion and disappointment, it was amazing to finally get to hear your most intimidating teacher tell you that you've made him proud. That is really all you want to hear from your teachers. They have all given me something I can walk away from this experience with and I am so happy that I got to work with such caring and personable people this year. I know that they wished that I would have improved even more this year, but I can assure you that I will keep trying to better myself and my dancing. Hopefully, I can remember all of the things they said to me over and over again and keep working on them as I move away from this school. I will always cherish the good times, the hard times and the crazy times I had with my instructors. Thank you for the yelling and the screaming, for that is what has motivated me most, believe it or not! Hopefully our paths will cross sometime down the road.

One thing I have to do this summer is stay up for 24 hours and watch the sunset and sunrise all in the same day. I've always wanted to do this but for some reason, I chicken out at about 3 in the morning. It's not the staying awake that's a problem, it's the idea of not sleeping for an entire 24 hours and what kind of monster I will become from sleep deprivation. Believe me, you do not want to see me on less than 6 hours. It's quite a nightmare... But! This summer, the summer of doing everything I've never done, I will do it! And I'm actually going to make time to watch the sunset and sunrise. We always say we are going to do this, but when it actually comes to be 8:30 and the sun starts to set, we get too busy or too preoccupied to just sit down and appreciate it. It would be even better on a beach, but I can't have everything I wish for haha! When my family spent last Spring Break in Florida, we sat on the beach and watched the sunrise. It was one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen and I intend on watching Colorado's sunrise and sunset just to prove how spectacular Colorado is, even if it doesn't have any sandy beaches, or warm oceans... or body surfing.. or . palm trees... Alright, I should stop comparing Florida with Colorado. I might actually unconvince myself of Colorado's amazingness.

7 DAYS TO GO!!

 

I do believe that it is time for me to utter the somewhat predictable, yet completely necessary words: 7 MORE DAYS!!!! AHH!! Let the final week countdown begin, my friends. Yep, you heard it here first, folks. haha! I know this post is coming slightly later than usual. I mean, heck, we could technically say that today is over and there's only 6 more days, but for the sake of this blog and my goal to successfully blog every day until I go home, I just can't accept that idea. I just got home from a very long and very dreadful rehearsal in the theater. The first night on stage is always killer. For some weird reason, you get all discombobulated and everything you do either sucks or simply doesn't even happen. Basically, dancing is quite impossible. It's just a fact of tech rehearsals. It's such a big switch going from being in a enclosed space in a studio with mirrors and everything around you is white, to a stage with tall ceilings and the mirror becomes your audience and everything is black. But, we can only hope that I'll be used to it by Saturday for the real performances!! I'm utterly exhausted... I seriously thought I was going to collapse and die on the floor. Thank goodness for my comfy bed and peanut butter cookies :)

7. One thing about DC that I will surely miss: living so close to the ballet studios. This has been one of the greatest blessings of the entire year. It takes me exactly one minute to walk out my front door and into the front doors of the studio. When it was freezing and raining outside, I was the lucky girl who didn't even need to bring an umbrella with her when going to class. People probably thing I'm weird, but I have the benefit of coming to class everyday in my sweatpants and slippers because I can guarantee that I won't see anyone "important" when I make my way over to the ballet haha! Every night, I can see when the studio lights finally turn off and everyone gets to go home, and it's kinda comforting. I love that I can walk home if I forget a pair of shoes or if we have an hour break. Every Saturday, I go home for a quick lunch and after classes are over, I have the pleasure of coming straight home, instead of having to wait for your parents, who are always ALWAYS late (and, yes, I know when you're lying about being "just down the road" when you drive into the parking lot like 15 minutes later...mom. She thinks she's fooling everyone...). I love that sometimes, if I listen really close, I can hear the music coming from the studio and the pianist plunking away during the class. For my entire life, I've lived about 20 minutes away from my studio back home in Colorado. It was always a hassle getting there when there was bad weather, or my brother decided to "wait for traffic to clear" after school before leaving. And you knew that you'd have at least an hour taken out of your day because of the time it took driving back and forth to ballet, which only cut even further into your little precious homework time at 10 o clock at night. It is so nice knowing that I'll be home right at 6 when my daily rehearsals finally commence and I can, again, throw on my pajamas and settle into my nightly routine of watching all the Bachelorette episodes I've missed. I have truly loved living close to the ballet studio. I'm hoping it can be this way in the future!

And, now for the summer bucket list: Play messy Twister. I have just recently discovered this from my good old friend, Pinterest :). Basically, you put paint or different colored condiments over the circles of a Twister board and then play normally, if you can call a game of twister normal haha! I don't remember a game of twister that didn't get crazy or that didn't end in everyone dying on the floor, busting their guts laughing. But, it's way more awesome because everyone gets covered in paint and/ or food, and we all know everything is way more fun when there is a food fight or splatter paint involved. Which leads me to another thing I simply must do. You know that scene in Princess Diaries where they fill up all those balloons with paint, tape them to a wall and throw darts at them?? Yep. That is what I'm going to do this summer. Balloon paint wall art... or whatever other clever name you want to call it. That's the best one I could come up with. Now, all I need to do is purchase lots of paint, lots of balloons, and lots of darts and find myself an empty wall that no one would mind splatter painting on :) Wish me luck!! I sure hope this is going to be a messy and spectacular summer. I will settle for nothing less than this. It's going to be awesome!

Eight Eight Eight!!!

EIGHT MORE DAYS, PEOPLE!!! count em. . . that means just one more week and a day! That means just 192 hours left! That means 11,520 minutes left!.. alright this is getting extreme. Let's just stick to 8 days. It's a lot simpler that way. The psycho in me wants to start packing right now, but the sensible little voice in my head keeps telling me not to. I can't decide who I want to listen to at this point! I guess we will find out tonight when my suitcases are thrown across the room and their are clothes all over the floor :) you win, psycho person!

8. This is sort of a weird one, but I'm going to miss all the sounds of DC. You know when you move to a new place or you spend the night at someone else's house and everything sounds unfamiliar and you can't seem to sleep or focus on anything because all you can think about is the annoying radiator noise in the background, or the sound of the cars driving by outside? When I first moved here, I could not sleep because all I could hear all night was the sound of the buses stopping outside my house and the firetruck sirens flying by and the airplanes flying overhead. But, slowly but surely, these noises have become part of everyday. Every half hour or so, I can be assured that at least one bus will screech its brakes outside and at least once a day, a helicopter makes its way over my roof. During the day, I can hear everything that's going on downstairs in the kitchen and I can hear people talking on the back porch. All these disturbances used to bother me, but now they serve as a sort of comfort. I've grown accustomed to all the same sounds, every single day. It's going to be weird re-adjusting to the noises of home in just 8 days. I'm going to miss the sound of the chirping birds outside my window, and the noise of the bathroom door opening and closing as my roommates get ready each morning. I'm going to miss the sirens heading towards the fire station just down the road from my house. I'm going to miss the noise of cupboards falling closed downstairs, and the voices I hear as I do my morning school work. I'm going to miss all the international phone calls to home happening right behind my doors. It's kinda nice listening to the Portuguese and Spanish words every evening. I'm going to miss hearing my roommates alarm clocks and their various tunes and pitches (weird as that may be). This house has truly become a home for me and it's going to be weird leaving it behind.

Now for an item from my summer bucket list: Make homemade pasta. And I mean, homemade noodles, homemade sauce, the whole shebang. It's just so easy opening a package of dried noodles and dumping a jar of pasta sauce on them once they've boiled. I want to make the real deal. I am in love with pasta. If I had to live on one thing for the rest of my life, it would be pasta, regardless of the carbs :) Sure, I might be morbidly obese for the rest of my life, but I would be too happy slurping up pasta carbonara and scarfing down pesto cavatapi to even notice the size of my waistline. So, this is officially on my things to do list for Summer 2012. I can't wait to try this out!!... although I am slightly worried it's going to turn out just horrible haha! I guess we will have to see!

Seriously.. drooling all over myself right now.

9 more days...

9 MORE DAYS!!!! I can tell this has gotten annoying already :) Too bad. So sad! I'm going to keep doing it anyway. If you missed the last post, I'm using my last 10 days in DC to write one thing that I loved/ will miss about Washington and one thing I want to do this summer. Go back and read day 10. Now!!!  .. :) Thank you for your compliance. 

9. I will miss the weather. Being from Colorado, where the seasons are stereotypically "perfect," it is sort of blasphemy for me to be saying this right now, but I truly loved the mild weather I got to enjoy this year. Apparently, DC gets a lot of snow in the winter, but I'm starting to believe that the people from here are just whimps that don't know what real snow is. Literally, the most snow we got was a little frost on top of the grass that lasted like a few hours; then it melted and it was sunny again. Talk about a weak winter. But, I was glad! The fall was super gorgeous, with all the leaves changing red and falling onto the sidewalks. It was still pretty warm, which is much different than the stupid Colorado falls, which consists of some warm weather in Sebtember, followed by an immediate snow in October and then several more months of cold and snow. It was nice to actually have a real Autumn. The winter was rainy, but still pretty warm, except for a few days here and there which required a coat. But, mostly the coat was used to not get drenched by the pouring rain. Spring was . . .GORGEOUS! The cherry blossoms?? You have not lived until you have seen the cherry blossoms. It simply takes your breath away. I loved getting to see all the cherry blossom trees and being able to walk past them on my way to the grocery store or the bank and giving them a silent salutations as I strode on past. I do admit, the summers are pretty brutal here. It's coming to the point where the humidity and heat are coming back. It's only May, so I am just glad I won't have to experience what July will be like this year. Thank goodness for Colorado dry heat!! But, overall, spectacular weather. I had a lovely year of DC climate, so thank you Washington :) 

One thing I simply must do this summer: go camping. When I was little, my family used to always go camping at least a few times every summer. Since we've grown up, we've kinda fallen away from this tradition and I really miss it! Setting up the tent with my dad (which usually turns into some yelling, followed by a loss of interest by the kids. .. basically dad sets up the tent and we watch as to not trigger any more yelling :) ), building the fire like a boy scout, the best peach cobbler on earth (thank you dad), day hikes that turn into all day adventures (I actually really hate this. We know that the hike is always going to be more than "oh its just a mile or so", so stop telling us it isn't!!), smores of course, and just hanging out with the family for a glorious weekend. It's always a blast, even though we get all dirty and everything we bring ends up smelling like campfire. It's totally worth it. 

Ok, this is against the one thing a day rule, but I'm also going to add that I want to have a bonfire this summer. Never done it, but I really want to...

Ya, we hiked that. . .after we were told that it was only going to be about 3 miles. It's always a lie. We ended up running out of food and water. Good times :)

The Final Countdown!!

Well, my friends, I have mixed feelings about this next fact: I officially have 10 days left in Washington DC!! I can't believe how fast this year went. And I know it's so cliche to say that. Everyone always says that. It's actually quite annoying how often that phrase is used. But, you know what? It's so true!! It feels like I should still be that little 3 year old, strutting around the house in my pink ballerina leotard, painting my nails with the coolest big sister ever, Jessica, and baking chocolate chip cookies with my mom. But, I'm this 18 year old, all grown up, and living in DC, pursuing my life as a dancer. How did I even get here? Where did all the time go?? And I know that I still have a lot of growing up to do and my life is just beginning, but I hate to think that the next 18 years are going to be this fast! I just wish time would slow down a little so we could enjoy it before it's gone...

I cannot even tell you how excited I am to finally be going home!! But, at the same time, I don't want to leave! I've made so many incredible friends here. I've had so many great times with them and I've learned so much from my teachers and from just living in this awesome city. While there have been some hard times (aren't there always? haha), this has truly been an incredible year. I am so glad I decided to step off the beaten path, moved away from home and experienced the Washington School of Ballet and all of the people apart of it, even if I've missed out on some great opportunities back home... Sometimes, I regret not going to my best years of high school and being with my friends at home. It's hard logging on to facebook everyday and realizing how much you're missing out on. Everyone from my old high school graduated today and it's a terrible feeling knowing that you don't get to wear that cap and gown and walk across that stage with everyone you grew up with. But, I'm hoping, when all is said and done, this will all be worth it.

All I want to do now is make the most out of these last 10 days. We've got a lot of rehearsing to do, and every dancer knows that the week before Spring Show means late nights at the theater and lots and lots of caffeine :) wait, did I just say that? I meant lots and lots of fruits and veggies ;). Sorry if you happened to hear me wrong. But, despite the hectic schedule ahead of me, I have to make time to do everything I want to do before I hop on that plane and land back home again. Along with this, I want to take time to write one thing I love and will miss about DC, as well as one thing I want to accomplish this summer... beginning today!

10. This is a weird one, but I will miss public transportation. Now, most people would say, "What! Really? Taking the bus everywhere is terrible!" And, yes, sitting at the bus stop for 20 minutes only to step onto an overcrowded bus and having to sit next to the really hairy sweaty guy in the back is terrible. But, living in the suburbs my whole life, I haven't been able to simply hop on a bus and get anywhere I want to. I love that everything in the city is so close and I can walk to the grocery store, or take the metro to the National Mall, or hop on a bus to go shopping in Georgetown. I feel so independent and self reliant traveling from place to place with just the shoes on my feet and my bus pass in hand. Some of the best times I've had this year have been going out on a Saturday afternoon and taking a bus to the nearest mall or to a really good restaurant for a bite to eat or to the grocery store to buy supplies for my next baking adventure. I'm going to miss those times heading out to Georgetown by myself, only to walk the streets and do a little window shopping. I'm going to miss feeling like I can get anywhere on a dollar fifty. I'm going to miss sitting at the bus stop after a performance at the Kennedy center, watching the college students walk by. I had some great times. So, thank you bus system :)

One thing I desperately want to do this summer: build forts and watch movies all day in my pajamas :) I know, it's a little childish, but I can't seem to grasp the idea of being an adult yet, so this is what I am doing. There will be lots of couch cushions, disney movies and muddy buddies involved, so buckle up, my friends. Anyone is welcome to join, but if no one is cool enough to want to lay around watching movies and getting fat all day with me, then I will be flying solo :) and thoroughly enjoying myself!