This… this was a year, guys.
I would do a month-by-month recap, but it honestly just all blurs together, so that’s hard.
Early 2013 was spent doing school and working on my favorite play of all time, Arcadia. However, it wasn’t long before life started to fall a part at the seams. Arcadia got canned because it didn’t fit our school’s mission statement, and so everyone got recast into The Importance of Being Earnest. I was upset, but it wasn’t the biggest deal in the world. I was still spending time on stage with ‘theatre people.’
But then – then I got sick. I spent 10 days in the hospital. I got cut from the play. I honestly doubted I would be able to finish the semester. I had a blood clot in each lung and my Ulcerative Colitis flared back up and, honestly, I felt quite hopeless.
I spent over a week doing breathing treatments, getting shots in my stomach, being poked and prodded and scanned and checked – and somehow not falling behind on my schoolwork. It is really a testament to how good God is that I made it through that semester with a 4.0. Once I was discharged from the hospital, I spent the rest of the semester at an inner-city school in Jackson student-teaching fifth graders, and I fell in love with upper elementary reading. My time in the Jackson Public School System was definitely a highlight of the year.
Summer brought on many new experiences. I went out on a limb and broke through a lot of insecurities I have about myself and auditioned for community theatre. In the novel Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Annabeth says, “At camp you train and train. And that’s all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That’s where you learn whether you’re any good or not.” And that’s kind of how I have felt about acting this past decade. Junior high, high school, college… I did plays. I learned how to act. And that was good, but I only knew I was a decent actress compared to the people I was with in school. I didn’t know how my acting would hold up in the ‘real world.’ Auditioning for Noises Off was by far one of the scariest and rewarding experiences of my life. I worked with wonderful people and had a blast, and it inspired me to do two more shows this year.
I student taught a wonderful fourth grade class. I got to read Percy Jackson with them and I already miss them so much. My student-teaching experience was so good and I will treasure this fall in my heart for many years to come. I am so excited to take on a fifth grade class for the rest of the year, and the plus side? I only have 11 kids!
My friend Lauren got married and I was an honorary bridesmaid. We spent a wonderful weekend in French Camp celebrating her beautiful vows! And I caught the bouquet!
And of course, I can’t wrap up 2013 without talking about my graduation! College has been a journey. I went from an engaged 19 year old English major, to taking an entire year off as a single girl, to changing my major and spending three and a half more years pursuing elementary education. It has been a wild ride, but I have never felt more proud of myself than when I walked across that stage to receive my diploma.
I am ending 2013 in my own apartment in the heart of Jackson, and I couldn’t be more excited about the prospects of things to come, and I really plan on stepping up the game on the blog (y’all… I have a week of scheduled posts. This has never happened before!) Make sure you check back tomorrow for 2014’s resolutions!
Soliloquies & Sass 