What You Cannot Ignore, Explore!
Before Christmas, I was asked to participate in our annual school musical. I auditioned, and was given one of the adult leads. Three months and more than 100 hours of rehearsal later, the musical opened to a community set with anticipation.
The timing for this project couldn't have been worse. In addition to rehearsing, I was preparing my students for the state assessment. It sounds ridiculous, but since January, I have literally lived at school. It has been dark outside when I entered the school building before 7 a.m., and dark when I left after 9 p.m.
But it has been one of the most enjoyable six weeks of my life!
It has been a tremendous experience to interact with the kids in a project that required us to "be" other people. I wasn't asking them to learn, but they did.
We all did.
It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of your peers, regardless of how old you are, and sing and dance without inhibition.
But in doing so, I freed part of my spirit.
When I'm on stage, I don't care what other people think of me. I am confident, self-assured and free.
Everything I'm not in everyday life.
There are two more performances to go and then I will have my life back. Saturday will come, and for the first time in more than six weeks, school won't be waiting for me.
The musical has awakened something within my spirit.
I miss modeling.
I miss auditioning for television commercials.
I miss being the center of attention and the confidence that I feel when I'm standing in front of a camera.
I wish the person people saw on stage was who I really was. I imagine part of that persona is authentic, but a greater part of it reflects the "wishful" part of Vanessa.
Summer is fast approaching and I will have time to get back to the things I enjoy.
Maybe it's time to get a new portfolio going and start auditioning again.
I need that fulfillment, that outlet.
Everyone has something that brings out the best in them. For me, it's always been my students. Usually it is in the classroom, but for the last several weeks, it's been on a darkened stage, wearing sweats and a ponytail, and it's been fabulous!
The timing for this project couldn't have been worse. In addition to rehearsing, I was preparing my students for the state assessment. It sounds ridiculous, but since January, I have literally lived at school. It has been dark outside when I entered the school building before 7 a.m., and dark when I left after 9 p.m.
But it has been one of the most enjoyable six weeks of my life!
It has been a tremendous experience to interact with the kids in a project that required us to "be" other people. I wasn't asking them to learn, but they did.
We all did.
It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of your peers, regardless of how old you are, and sing and dance without inhibition.
But in doing so, I freed part of my spirit.
When I'm on stage, I don't care what other people think of me. I am confident, self-assured and free.
Everything I'm not in everyday life.
There are two more performances to go and then I will have my life back. Saturday will come, and for the first time in more than six weeks, school won't be waiting for me.
The musical has awakened something within my spirit.
I miss modeling.
I miss auditioning for television commercials.
I miss being the center of attention and the confidence that I feel when I'm standing in front of a camera.
I wish the person people saw on stage was who I really was. I imagine part of that persona is authentic, but a greater part of it reflects the "wishful" part of Vanessa.
Summer is fast approaching and I will have time to get back to the things I enjoy.
Maybe it's time to get a new portfolio going and start auditioning again.
I need that fulfillment, that outlet.
Everyone has something that brings out the best in them. For me, it's always been my students. Usually it is in the classroom, but for the last several weeks, it's been on a darkened stage, wearing sweats and a ponytail, and it's been fabulous!