Rearview Mirrors and Gas Pedals

     It's the night before I leave and I should actually be asleep since we're leaving for the airport in a matter of hours. The crack of dawn to be exact and I just can't sleep. I feel like I'm in Elementary School and the next day is "Cheerleader for a day" at the school.  The Varsity Cheerleaders would have one day in the summer where all us little girls came in (pom-poms in hand) ready to learn cheers and stunts. It was SO fun! The only thing thats different is this new job isn't for a day but for a whole year!

   As excited as I am, I also feel a little bit scared and sad. I'm just in a cage of emotion. Ha! The reason why I'm scared is because I've never really been away from home. Sure I've gone on trips but  I always knew I'd be back home in a couple of days. This is different. I won't be able to see my family until November. This is going to be so difficult because my Dad and I have such a close relationship. We discuss so many things and he has been there for me with a loving hug through EVERYTHING. It's gonna be weird not seeing him everyday. It'll probably hit me tomorrow night and I won't be able to say "Goodnight" to him.
I'm really going to miss him.

     I'm also going to miss my friends. Let me tell you something; I have the absolute BEST group of friends. You think yours are better? Well....your wrong. Throughout this weekend I have been biding farewells lots of my friends here in town but last night was aweful! Some of my friends and I had just come back from a wedding where we laughed, danced, sang in the car, and laughed some more. As I was leaving it started to hit me that I won't be able to see them for awhile and yet I still feel like I'm going to see them tomorrow. This whole thing feels very surreal. What will probably happen is while I'm teaching the kids, I'll see two girl best friends giggling and holding hands, then I'll probably start sobbing. The ugly cry at that. I've always had a hard time losing people, you know friendships or relationships when they change but whats nice about this is I'm not actually "losing" anyone. Yes it will be hard not seeing my family and friends everyday but that doesn't change our love for one another. Cheesy I know but its true. Nicholas Sparks once wrote, " The reason it hurts so much is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be." My family and friends have impacted my life so much and in so many ways so saying "Goodbye" to them is extremely difficult to comprehend.

     So yes, I am sad but that feeling gets equalled out with my overall excitement. I can't wait to actually meet my tour partner, make some more friends, and see what the Lord has instore for me this year. I pray that I will be able to and have the strength to pursue Him and His will this year. I know that throughout the year I'm going to be looking back and missing a lot of people at home, there's no question about that. However, my foot is on the gas pedal and I'm ready to go.

 -Jen

Blog #1

Hello?

Hi. I've never done this sort of thing. Virgin. I'm not a writer at all. I've written papers when I was in school and in the past have tried to keep up with diaries but I always hate what I write. In the moment I feel like I'm being poetic or deep, then I go back and read what I wrote and it always sounds stupid/dramatic. Worsties. Thank goodness this isn't a diary! I wanted to start a blog so I could "document" my adventures for this coming year, it's gonna be a good one.

Let me start off with a little bit about myself, cheesy I know but this IS kind of an introduction blog so don't judge me. My name is Jennifer and I am an actress. (This is where you say "Hi Jennifer" just like you were at an A.A. meeting) In May 2010 I graduated from Liberty University with a BA in Musical Theatre and Acting and since then I have been auditioning in New York, for Cruise ships, and Disney. It's already been an exciting year! Well this past February one of my Best Gills and I went to an audition in Tennessee. (Thats right I said "Gill", it's "Girl" without the "R". My friends and I refer to ourselves as Gills. The reason being is because the main gill named Allison decided a long time ago that words are just betta without the "R's" and she was right.) Anyways the audition was intense! Each person had 90 seconds to perform a song, monologue or whatever they wanted infront of about a hundred theatre companies. Like I said, it was intense but so much fun! Well to make a long story short, I got a professional theatre job!

Starting May 31st, I will working for the Missoula Children's Theatre in Montana as an Actor/Director. On May 30th I will be traveling up to Missoula, Montana, thanks to three very long flights. Its gonna be nuts! Oh but I'm not done yet. Once I arrive, me and a few fellow MCT performers will go through training for about two weeks and then we hit the road. I'm mostly going to be in Texas this summer with other stops in Kansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma. I got my boots already to go! Then we get our schedule for the Fall and I have no clue where I'll be then. I guess you'll just have to keep up with my blog to find out. ;D

So traveling is key for this job but thats not it. My partner ( who seems super nice!)  and I have to teach about 60-80 kids a musical in less than a week! Here's our schedule: Sunday we drive to our new destination, (Do you get the title of my Blog now? Ha!) Monday we hold auditions for the kids, Tuesday-Friday are rehearsals, workshops, and good times, and finally Saturday is performance day. Crazy right?!?! I'm stoked! The show we're doing is "King Arthur's Quest". My partner and I get to play the Keeper of the Keep, the Giant, and the Dragon which means we switch off every show. One week she performs onstage with the kids while I direct and then vise versa the next week. Its a lot to take in but I'm SO excited! This is just such a great opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of some kids who may just need to explore their creativity or need a friend. I just hope the kids at school like me. Maybe we can trade puddings at lunch?
-Jen