Life Update: May 2019

It has been one heck of a school year, I must say. To think that I am about to graduate college is so wild to me, but I am so excited and ready to take on new challenges and to continue learning about anything and everything. My senior year of college brought many hardships and many triumphs. I have grown as not only a performing artist, but a human being and I am immensely grateful for this new outlook I have on life and faith.

At the beginning of my senior year I was certain that I was going to be in New York City the second after I walked across the stage and grabbed my diploma. It is funny how things can change over time. I applied to and was accepted to several different professional auditions, and over the course of my last semester I auditioned for hundreds of companies (I'm not exaggerating- HUNDREDS). I was convinced that someone would think I was talented enough to hire me.

Time passed and I didn't hear from anyone. My email inbox was empty. Luckily, I had auditioned for theaters that I had worked for in summers past, and I had some pretty amazing contract offers waiting for me from them. I wanted to go for something big, shiny, and new this summer but it wasn't in the plan that God had for me. For some reason, I was placing so much of my self-worth in possible job offers. Not only was it a wrong way of thinking, but it was completely crippling to my self-esteem.

It took a while for me to accept this, but it's true. God has been orchestrating this whole thing throughout my entire four years of college, and He knew what was going to be the best decision for me post-graduation. I am graduating with a heart that is craving familiarity, love, no drama, and family. God knew that this is what I needed, and every door had to be slammed in my face because He knew I was too stubborn to walk through the correct one myself.

So, with the many "no's" I received this past year, I also received an incredible "yes". This summer I will be returning to two of my favorite places to do theatre with a bunch of people that I love with my whole heart. I will performing in The Bridges of Madison County as "Carolyn" at Haywood Arts Regional Theatre, and then moving back to Burnsville, NC for the summer and performing in The Three Little Pigs and Amelie. My heart is excited for the rest and recovery it is going to receive in this new season.

After the summer is over, my plan is to make my home Asheville, NC for at least the next year where I will (hopefully) get plugged into the amazing performance opportunities there and feed my creativity. I'm thinking of this next year of my life as an active and productive gap year. I plan to work on my ACE certification to become a certified Health Coach so that I can begin touching more lives with my passion for health and fitness. I plan to do more research and possibly apply for graduate schools, since I am interested in continuing my education in the arts. I also plan to blog more, because it is something that truly sparks joy for me.

I'll be doing all of this while saving money and figuring out what the next step is. But for now, this is next step and it is the 100% correct step. Thankful, grateful, blessed beyond measure, and excited for what is to come.

Also, shout out to my parents. I don't know how I could have done any of this without them.