Life is Good

It is the Sunday before finals week, and I could not possibly be happier. Believe me, I never thought those words would come out of my mouth. Somehow, I managed to finish most of this semester's work load before finals week, and I have two exams left, but I am feeling good.

This semester has been such a journey for me. After a challenging fall semester adjusting to my job as an RA, changing friendships, and the sophomore work load, I was beyond nervous about the spring semester. For most of this semester, I felt more in control, but not much happier than last semester. Then, I cut my hair, and decided to choose joy.

Since then, my life has opened to new horizons. My dance finals are the week before the university finals, and all of my dance professors commented on my improvement. I have performed both on and off campus this semester, and I am looking forward to continuing to work on my own choreography this summer.

This semester, I have read my poetry at two readings. The first was an open mic a few weeks ago, and the second was the final meeting of Write Club, a creative writing group that meets informally on Fridays. While it was a good experience to read my poetry at open mic, reading it to a group of English majors felt so cathartic because they respect the challenge of my craft.

While I was in the English village, I picked up two copies of this year's Criterion, LMU's journal of literary criticism. My critical essay from my poetry class was published in this edition of Criterion, and I am beyond proud to have my first printed publication. I wrote the essay on the intersection of poetry and dance, and a graphic artist designed a beautiful title page that took my breath away.

As I look toward summer, I am so proud to announce I received a grant from the Honors Program to attend a dance conference in NYC with a professor. I am also attending the Institute for Dance Journalism and Advocacy in Washington, D.C., in June so it will be a busy few weeks. Last, but certainly not least, I am studying abroad for the second half of summer in Paris, France, through the Dance program, taking choreography and French classes.

So many good things happened to me all at once, ad I am thankful for the light brought into my life. Much of this year seemed like a tunnel without end, and now I know I had greater things in store all along.

Now, off to study some Kinesiology and Dance History - the only two pieces left of my sophomore year.