College!!!

So. I moved. I'm in a dorm. Yay!

I moved in 2 days earlier than the norm since I have a music scholarship and thus must be in choir - how sad :) - and the choir met yesterday (which is when I moved in) and we practice today again, in preparation for the first day of school - we sing for Mass. I'm so excited!!!

So, campus is really quiet and there's not a whole lot going on - I have a lot of dead time, which isn't all bad, considering I'm still adjusting to being here. There are not very many people on my floor, and those that are here are in band, not choir, so we have different schedules.

Choir practice yesterday was super fun - we learned the music (some people had not looked at it before, so, considering that, we did really good!). I've decided that the choir people are slightly crazy, and therefore I am super delighted that I am one of them! Can hardly wait to actually get to know the people and for them to get to know me so that we can all be crazy. :)

Last night the musicians were invited to the Dean's house for a bonfire and s'more's. It was really fun! I felt like a real college student, sitting and chatting and being silly around a HUGE bonfire (seriously - my sweatshirt was covered with ash from the sparks flying up in the sky and raining down on us like a bunch of fireworks.) I joined ranks with a bunch of other girls, and we decided to walk back to campus. In the dark. It was a very long walk - over a mile, I should think - and my legs were screaming at me - I'd been in the car for 6 hours, done pointe the night before, moved onto the 3rd floor (which required many trips, not to mention weight-lifting ;) ) and then there's this steep-ish hill and scary staircase that must be climbed to get to the music building, which I did multiple times yesterday. So yeah, my legs. are. TIRED.

But I'm having fun, so they'll just have to get over it.

This morning I got my textbooks, so that was very exciting! They're somewhat pretty, I think, although the math one looks kind of scary. ;)

I'd better get ready and go to choir practice now, but I wanted to let you know where I was at. I'm going hiking this afternoon. Should be fun!

A Time of Preparation

Exactly one week from today I will be moving into my 3rd floor dorm room and thus beginning what will be my life for the next four years - COLLEGE!!! I'm uber excited.

So I've been prepping. I sewed 160 squares together to make the top of my quilt; Mom is sewing on the back and batting and finishing it up and stuff - she's awesome like that. ;) When it's done, I'll be sure to post a picture of my loverly fabric.

Oh, last time I posted I mentioned an upcoming vacation - it was awesome! Started off with a super fast shopping trip where I got all sorts of awesome supplies for school, then we settled in for a weekend of family fun! The one downer was my face still hurt tons from the whole wisdom-teeth thing, but I had a really good time, anyway! To see more about what we did, Trudi posted a delightful post with some great pictures here!

So now I've been organizing my stuff (still SO MUCH TO DO!!!), sewing the quilt, I'm making another dress quick (a 1912 summer garden party dress - there will be pictures if I can actually figure out how to make the thing - so far it's really pretty, though!!!), playing organ for church a couple of last times, and, of course, keeping up on the coffee & chocolate intake. Couldn't survive without that, now, could we? ;)

I read a really good book the other day - "The Healer's Apprentice" by Melanie Dickerson. I highly recommend. I couldn't put it down, it was a fairy tale, and the whole story was simply delightful. I look forward to reading more books from this author.


"Every once in a while you just have to decide to do something very crazy and very right--just to dare yourself to live. I don't mean doing something stupid and destructive--just something fun and good and beautiful." ~Regina Doman, The Shadow of the Bear

'But that's all one, our play is done...'

Twelfth Night has ended.

And I miss it terribly.

All three performances went off splendidly - the audiences all had a good time, I think; while there were plenty of mistakes, there weren't any disasters that couldn't be overlooked; and it was SO. MUCH. FUN!!!

I don't think I have ever quite immersed myself into a project as I have this summer. Twelfth Night was my life for 2 months - not even kidding. I dissected the script, analyzed the characters, learned my lines super-good so that I wouldn't ever be tempted to mess up even in a nervous moment, sewed costumes, studied and practiced the technique of masculine walking, thought deeply about every little movement that I could make with my eyes and limbs and vocal inflections to make my character more believable, and loved every minute of it. :)

The last performance was bitter-sweet for me - while you know a play has to end, it's always sad to say goodbye and let it go. It was really cool that one of the cast members held a small party for the cast afterwards, so we had a good couple of hours to unwind together and share some laughs.

But that was over a week ago.

What have I done since?

Well, first I crashed. Really crashed. I was so wiped out and exhausted afterwards, that I slept a lot and couldn't function normally (what was normal?) for days. This always happens to me after a show, so I was expecting it, but that doesn't make it less dismal.

Even now, when I look at the slideshow of pictures and think about the countless wonderful moments, I almost start crying a little bit - it was truly an amazing experience and I shall always cherish the memories and miss the awesome people that made it possible!

But I'm moving on; I'm getting ready to move to college in two weeks - still can't hardly believe it's coming up so fast! - and I had the terrifying, new experience of getting my wisdom teeth surgically removed. Still recovering. The first few days were really painful, but livable, and I was on pain medication, and just had to lay on the couch and watch movies all day. But no one mentioned the insane migraine that anesthesia, plus the pain meds after the fact, can cause! That has been the worst part. I still have it right now - it's not as bad as yesterday, thank goodness, but it's still pretty awful.

Not the most thrilling experience of my summer, by any means whatsoever.

But I have things to look forward to - I'm going on a vacation to visit my oldest sister and her family tomorrow, with my Mom and other sister, Trudi. We're going to start out with some shopping for stuff I need for college, then head north for some late-summer-fun! I'm super excited, and I really hope my headache is gone so I can really enjoy myself.


"Thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges." ~Twelfth Night
  
"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." ~C.S. Lewis

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it." ~J.K. Rowling, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." ~Romans 5:3-5