2013

I'm disappointed I forgot the password to this account the last few years, but I am back!  It's December 31, 2013, and it has been a whirlwind of a year.  I'm a junior in college now, and I think the words of the year were challenge and change.

I started the year hot off the heels of a wonderful semester doing Sight&Sound: Filmmaking, where I made my best friends in film.  Bridget even got me a job working at RLTV during winter break.

Then, during winter break, I went to Delaware and worked on Shannon's independent short, "The Perfect Man."  It was so much fun and I learned so much and felt like I found a family.

Back at school, it was my first semester as Philanthropy Chair of Kappa.  The position helped me get closer to many sisters and get involved.

I worked hard and played even harder, really being mindful of my friends and how I spent my time.  It was a great semester after such an awful fall with roommate issues.

I especially loved being PUG President... especially once all of PUG began bonding more.  I got closer with the rest of the e-board and it made the semester so much fun!

Over spring break, I went to Rome to visit Alex CM and had so much fun.  It was a little taste of what studying abroad would be like.

When I got to Rome, I found out I was offered both an RA position as well as a study abroad spot in Madrid or London (for playwriting).   I decided to be an RA.

Because of this decision, I immediately applied for summer study abroad... in Madrid!  I unfortunately got mono at the end of the school year and had the worst 2 weeks.  I ended up getting depressed and almost didn't go to Spain.  But, eventually, I went and had a blast learning spanish!

I made a few really good friends and I ended up going on a little Eurotrip for 3 weeks, meeting up with different people along the way.  I learned the importance of remembering old friends as well as make new ones.

Also, because of my love of learning Spanish, I realized maybe film isn't for me... I quickly changed my schedule to a more well-rounded one.


Once back, I met my new RA family who I love dearly.  They are great people.  It was definitely an adjustment becoming an RA and living alone and balancing school and friends.

I also only took one film class and started taking journalism, which I fell in love with!  (Though, my semester started well film-wise because my doc from last semester was chosen to screen at the Sight&Sound showcase!)  It was definitely a change and I struggled balancing everything and making so many changes in my life at once.  It was hard.  I realized the steadiest part of my college career was rez life!

I'm also really proud of all the hard work Kelly and I did to reinvent and reinvigorate philanthropy in Kappa.  It became one of our strongest areas and people loved it!

I worked on Shannon's intermediate film and she also asked me to edit it. :)

But, by the end of the semester, I remembered the people who were there for me: my best friends and family.  :)

They helped me re-center as I went through so many challenges and changes and become optimistic about the unknown future.  I again turned to rez life as I was accepted to NRHH!

Unlike in high school or years past, I've always known what the next step was in my life.  But as I go into the second semester of junior year not sure of what I want to do with my life or where I'll go or with whom, I need to stay positive and open to all the wonderful opportunities ahead of me.  Oh yeah... and I turned 21!

While this year was full of new things, I hope the words for 2014 are confidence and balance. Until next year... <3 p="">

3

Time goes on, and before you know it, it's been a whole year! This has also been a great year. If 2009 was the year that I found myself and confidence, then 2010 was the year of opportunity. I was blessed with opportunity and this year has definitely been a learning experience.

I started off the year with my friends, celebrating the beginning of 2010. I really realized enjoyed my new group of friends, the new person I was, the new confidence I had, and I was ready to take a hold of that and turn it into success; into power.

So I was directing my first one-act play, something that I had been so excited to do since I was a freshman. I absolutely adored my cast, and the show was a COMPLETE SUCCESS! Not only did I have a great show, but I made wonderful friendships with my cast.

Then we had our first Simply competition and... we got first! I never felt closer to my choir before, I really loved the whole idea of sisterhood that we had. I was definitely developing my leadership skills and I enjoyed Simply so much. (Even if the hairpiece didn't match my hair anymore!)
Well, after my wonderful summer of 2009, I was so inspired by film and Interlochen that I kept working on my short film Ana, reedited, and even entered it into a film festival. And guess what? I won Best Documentary. It was actually insane! I was going to go see the screening, but I was in Blast at school -- something that I had been working hard in.

In the spring, we had Drama Club banquet and I was voted Best Director for my one-act I directed. I was so happy. My drama teacher thought I was a promising director and actually chose me (out of everyone) to encourage me to apply for a directorship with a professional theater. I made it to the final round of interviews (it came down to me and one other guy). Even though I didn't end up getting the directorship, I realized how much I loved directing, I was so proud of myself, and I realized how much my teacher meant to me.

That summer I landed an internship with a local documentary filmmaker and I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker (yay!). I went to Michigan with one of my best friends, and I realized how close we had gotten over the last few years. Like family.


Then, I went to Canada in late August. I was a little nervous, I'll admit it, I didn't know if I would make friends, etc. etc. But guess what? I did. And they were amazing. We would stay up all night talking about everything. Experiences, our various countries (I had some friends from Canada and even one from England!), school, relationships, everything.

I realized, just like I did at Interlochen, the bubble outside of my hometown. People, experiences, flirting, friendships outside in the world. I had fun. I took risks. I felt fun. I felt relaxed. I felt gutsy. I felt pretty. I felt free. But most of all, I could be myself. And I loved it.

I again went back to school feeling excited to take the year by the horns. I had been voted Drama Club President, I had the charity film festival to look forward to, I was in Showstoppers, and it was senior year!

I continued to hang with my friends, getting closer to them. I got a nice role in the school musical, and I even got the solo in my show choir!

School, activities, and college appications got really crazy this year -- it was stressful. I definitely got through with my friends. From our graduation bucket list to talking all night about the future, I feel like I'm part of a family with my friends. I love it.

So I'm 18 this year, and I'm ready to take the next year by storm. I think if 2009 was the year of confidence and 2010 was the year of opportunity, then 2011 is the year of success! From graduating to college to just having fun, I'm so excited for 2011!

2

It's new years eve - the eve of the magical change of the calender. I know that just because we break open the plastic wrap on our new calender doesn't really mean too much, but it's true, a new year is a big deal. It's a new opportunity for change. For improvement. For time to achieve dreams and become something different.

I have been so blessed this past year with great (new) friends, an amazing family, and just an overall privileged life. I may be young, but this has really been the best year of my life.

I started off 2009 a little heartbroken - I had lost my best friend of a year and didn't know what to do. But show choir actually came to my rescue, and I met my new best friends. I reconnected with past friends and I now have lots of friends, and a group of close, best friends. I love them all so much.














As the spring continued on, I was looking towards the future. I wanted to see life outside my little bubble of my hometown, and remembered the good days that I used to do film in middle school, so I went to summer camp for six weeks for film production.

















My life was literally changed at that camp. I cannot say it enough - I learned so much there. Not just about film. Not just about relationships and other people. About myself. What I'm capable of. I learned about life. And all of a sudden, I grew. I matured. I was no longer that awkward (okay I still have my moments) girl from Maryland, I was learning so much.















I made such amazing friends there. I met so many people that have touched me and affected me in ways they don't even know.















I loved it so much that I applied to boarding school there. I got in but was not able to go because of financial issues...















I was heartbroken, but I had to go on a trip with my home school to Scotland to perform our show at the theatre festival there. I was sulky at the beginning, but remembered that I was different now. Yes, I had seen outside the bubble of my home, and I should not dwell on unhappiness. Besides, why should I be sulking? I was going to freaking Scotland!















So I embraced it and had an amazing time! I befriended even more people and expanded my circle. I didn't to go on complaining. I was ready to really embrace good things in my life - good people, fun people. That's something I learned at camp.















So I came home with a new attitude. I had such an amazing summer and was ready to jump into the new school year with my new and improved self.















I was more confident. I wore what I wanted and didn't care about others' judgments (not that there were any, really). I seized every opportunity and didn't back down from a challenge or shy away from anything.















I started a club at school for a charity and I feel good about giving back to rest of the world that may not be as privileged as I.















I even made dance captain of my show choir. I am in no way a dancer, and if you had asked my choir director last year, he would have made fun of my dancing (okay, maybe not to my face... but he was not a fan). However, I went into rehearsals with such confidence and a fun-loving attitude, that I didn't care if people were judging me on my dancing. I would try my best. And it worked, because I improved.















Then on to the play where I got a cameo role that I loved and I continued to make new friends.















I stood up for what I believed in and got my 15 minutes of fame that November because of it. It was a proud moment.















Which takes us to December and my 17th birthday, in which my best friends threw me an elaborate scavenger hunt around my town that led to a surprise birthday party. That is when I really realized how much they loved me, and how much I loved them in return. How blessed I am that they are in my life. They even made donations to my favorite charity in honor of me!















This has been such a whirlwind year! And I can honestly say that I love my life, and I have loved this year!















I'm not disappointed that the year is coming to end. This doesn't mark an end to a good year, but the beginning of an even better year. It's possible. I'll use what I learned this year and embrace the one coming up. I'm 17 and I'm ready to embrace the world and the year!

Happy new year everyone!

1

This is my latest blog. I don't know how long this will actually go on because I'm not the most loyal with these things. I'll try though, although posts probably won't be consistent at all. But read and enjoy.

Right now I'm looking for something to do this summer. I'm a junior, and everyone keeps saying that what I do the summer between junior and senior year is "so important." I'm looking for helping out with a film or maybe some journalism. Of course I can always go with the volunteer project route or leaderships training. The last sounds so weird.