Catching up and pushing forward

Wow... I've already completed one whole semester of college. Time has flown by! Well, not exactly... at times it feels like it drags on, but life has been treating me well. Here are a few things that have happened:

This cute boy surprised me and took a spontaneous trip with his best friend, Justice, to come visit me in New York! And by spontaneous, I mean that he knew for 3 weeks and didn't tell me! They arranged to stay with a good friend named Jameson from our high school that also lives in the city. As part of the set up, Jameson asked if I wanted to go get frozen yogurt with him one night because he said, "he would be in my area." Since I'm always up for frozen yogurt and good talks with friends I, of course, said yes. While I was sitting and talking with Jameson, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tall boy in a red jacket walking into Red Mango. To my complete surprise, it was Blake! I was SO shocked. I was speechless. Although it may sound cheesy, I have no other way of describing it than to say that it didn't seem real. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that Blake was actually in New York. I hugged him FOREVER and couldn't and didn't want to let go. That will be a moment I will never forget. That night we both walked the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time. I could not stop smiling. We also took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. He loved it so much that he rode it twice! We took a picture in front of the famous Serendipity restaurant- we have an inside memory of him always asking me what my serendipity (or highlight) of the day is and I would always reply and tell him that it was him and that he always will be. We visited time square. That wasn't his favorite place in the world. I think it was too crowded and too cold for him. We went on several walks in central park where he would tell me stories. I love listening to his fictional stories. They usually have a deeper meaning to them and they keep me entertained. And my favorite of all the memories of the trip is going to the top of the Empire State Building. And yes, we may or may not have kissed at the top... Checking that off my romantic bucket list :) I couldn't be more grateful for Blake and the example he has been to me. That 5 day trip created memories that will last an eternity.

Touring with New York City Dance Alliance is my absolute favorite. NYCDA is truly like a family to me. There is no better feeling than having a job that is doing what you love with people that you love. So far this season I have traveled to Houston, Boston, Vancouver, and Las Vegas! Las Vegas has been my favorite city so far because I was able to see teachers and friends from my dance studio back at home. I was supposed to be in Chicago this weekend, but because of the bad weather here, my flight was cancelled. I'll be looking forward to being in Denver next weekend though! I love the dance world. I am so blessed to share dance and be inspired by so many amazing dancers across the country! 

I also had the amazing opportunity to be featured in the Dance Spirit magazine Februrary issue! I modeled what to wear for a "Convention Scholarship Audition." I had a ton of fun meeting every one associated with Dance Spirit. It was such a great experience. Here's a link to the behind the scenes video that they made of us at the shoot! http://dancemedia.com

Being home for the holidays was much needed. Pace has an extremely long break, so I was home for almost a month and a half! I was able to teach dance a lot and spend almost every minute with either my family or my favorite cousin in the world, Kayla Mathews. Unfortunately, because of finals and a school show, I wasn't able to come home soon enough to say goodbye to this handsome Elder. I was so sad (yes- tears were shed) that I missed his farewell talk and wasn't there to show him my support. (I was luckily able to watch a video of his talk while I was all the way in Houston for NYCDA. It wasn't how I would have preferred, but it was better than nothing!) It wasn't easy when the time came to say goodbye to someone that I care so much about. I am so grateful that the Lord has allowed our two lives to cross paths. But like he said, it's a "see ya later" not a "goodbye." Elder Oldham is going to be an amazing missionary in Aguas Calientes, Mexico and has been one to me since the day I met him. I love all of our countless memories. They won't be forgotten.


That's all I'm posting for now. Hopefully there will be more to come soon! Thanks for reading! xoxo

Happy, busy, and a little homesick!

Hello all! Ok... where do I even start? As expected, I'm a little late on updating what's been going on. Here are a FEW of the things that have happened since my last post!

November 29th:
Bright Lights Shining Stars performance! The concert celebrates New York City Dance Alliance's college scholarship foundation (NYCDAF). This year it was in honor of Catherine-Zeta Jones! Her speech was incredible and she looked absolutely stunning. I was so excited because I was asked to perform in the opening number with Zoey Anderson, Mattie Love, Logan Epstein (Pace friend), Chase Madigan, and Jakob Karr! We did a musical theatre dance choreographed by Joey Dowling. We were supposed to wear tan character shoes in the dance and since I didn't have any... I had the perfect excuse to buy a pair of La Duca's! I was ecstatic. La Duca's are a really nice dance shoe if you didn't know :) Performing was a ton of fun. A lot of the students from Pace bought tickets to come see Logan and I perform.  It was truly an amazing and inspirational night! 

October 6th:

Conference weekend was amazing. Michael Ann

(I absolutely love her) invited us over to her apartment to watch the Saturday afternoon session of conference and to have brunch. It was so nice seeing them and having a home cooked meal! I had to take the subway to get there, but the train I took was running express instead of local, so I had to transfer trains. While I was waiting for the train to come, I was reading my acting assignment. I wasn't paying attention to the people around me when a guy caught me off guard. I don't remember the first thing he said, but something along the lines of him "finding me quite attractive." He gave me a piece of paper and then quickly walked away. When I opened the paper, it had his name and number on it. Don't be alarmed! I didn't and don't plan on calling the number. However, it was unexpectedly flattering! The messages shared during conference were just what I needed to hear. I am so grateful for the gospel and it's accessibility and consistency no matter where you are in the world.

I often go out on the weekends now to either assist Jacki Ford or to choreograph/teach at this studio called the Art of Dance. It has been an awesome learning experience! The kids are a lot of fun to work with and they absolutely love the small group I choreographed for them. Apparently when I came the first time to assist, a girl named Tessa was so excited to see me that she had to leave the room because she started crying. She was very distraught when she found out she couldn't come the next week when I was teaching a master class. After I taught the following week, the girls told me why she couldn't be there, but that it would "make her life" if I followed her on Instagram. I followed her and her reaction to it was priceless. She was ecstatic! I'm glad that I was able to make someone so happy by doing something so simple.

Now for my random thoughts:

Laundry... I am now truly grateful for all the times my mom willingly did my laundry for me at home. Not only do I have to find time when I can do my laundry now, but I also have to find dryers that I can actually reach! Long story short (no pun intended), I came back to the laundry room the other day to transfer my clothes from the washer to dryer, but someone had already switched them over for me. (If you take too long to pull your clothes out of the washer, they pull them out for you.) When I went back to get my clothes out of the dryer, I realized I was too short to reach and get my own clothes out! I had to climb up the lower dryer, so I could reach my clothes above. I looked like an idiot and of course the only other people that were in there were two boys that just stared at me the whole time. Not to mention that the clothes were still so hot that I had to climb back down to grab a cooled shirt to use as a "mitt" to grab the rest of my clothes still in the dryer. It was quite the experience!

The term "Just Barely" So... I don't know if it's a Utah thing or what, but people get confused when I say "just barely." For example: My friend, Devin, told me that he had been practicing his song in his room that he was going to be singing in auditions. I asked him, "Just barely?" (meaning: had he just recently been practicing in his room?) Apparently, most people use the term "just barely" as a form of quantity, not time. He thought that I was asking if he only partially practiced his song, but I was asking if he had been singing recently. I've ran into a lot of cultural differences while being here. Some are pretty interesting!

I am now officially a "New Yorker" because I missed a train due to oversleeping and a transit problem. I was supposed to go out to New Jersey to assist Jacki, but instead of meeting her outside the subway at 8:00am Saturday morning, I woke up at 8:00am to a text from her. As soon as I received the text, I frantically tried to get ready to make it to the subway.  Unfortunately the subway was running slow and I arrived at Port Authority right when the bus was leaving at 8:30am. Note to self: set MULTIPLE alarms!

Classes have been going great so far! So far, I have learned 3 dances for our upcoming show!
1. Scott Jovovich's Pointe dance: This dance is a lot fun because I'm the lead role's understudy, so I get to do a lot of partnering! I came from a studio that had no boys and now I'm doing all kinds of different types of partnering lifts! It's a whole new learning experience.
2. Chase Brock's musical theatre dance: Chase was one of the choreographers for Spiderman on Broadway, so he set one of the dances from the show. It's very different, but it's a lot of fun.
3. Chloe Arnold's tap dance: This was so hard for me. We had to audition to be in this dance and somehow I made in as 2nd cast. It was completely over my head when we were first learning it, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it!

There is so much that's been going on! I love it! My days are full and it gets tiring, but I wouldn't change it! I can't wait to come home in 24 days (But who's counting?) for Thanksgiving break! I miss my family so much. My mom told me I get to choose what we have for Sunday dinner and I'm thinking long and hard about what I want :) I am also so grateful for how everything has played out to get me to where I am. I can't explain how many tender mercies I have seen in the process of moving here and beginning my journey. I am so grateful for the gospel and the joy that it brings. I am truly blessed and watched over. Thanks for reading!

One Week Down!

I did it! Leaving definitely has been the hardest part. I was so glad to have my close friends and family come with me to the airport. I felt like they all truly love me and are supporting me and my decision to move to New York. Blake reminded me to think of it as a "see ya later" rather than a "goodbye." That has stuck with me. I am now moved into my dorm and have started my life in the city. I was extremely nervous for what my roommate was going to be like, but so far, I love her! She is a psychology major and loves frozen yogurt! I would like to eventually minor in sports psychology and I have an absolute love for frozen yogurt, so it is awesome that we both have those common interests! Yesterday was a Jewish holiday, so I had school off. I met up with my friend, Jameson, in Harlem to have lunch. After, we went to the Apple store and then went to Grand Central Station to have some delicious world famous cheesecake at Junior's. When I used to come out to New York every July for NYCDA dance nationals, it became tradition to make a trip to Junior's with my mom. After visiting so many times, I became friends with one of the waiters. When I went there yesterday, I asked if he still works there. He was on vacation, but he still works there after all these years! I will be making a visit to him hopefully sometime next week!

In the dance program the upper class-men are assigned one freshman to help if they have any questions. They refer to the freshmen as their "little" and the freshmen refer to the upper class-men as their "big." Tonight my "big" and her roommate asked me and her roommate's "little" if we wanted to go see the Broadway show Annie! We didn't know it until we got there, but we had front row seats! We were so excited! The show was so cute and funny. I would highly recommend it. I absolutely loved it!

On the down side, don't ever send dorm stuff by USPS. You never know when it will arrive. It's been over two weeks and I'm still waiting for my bedding to come (along with some other helpful supplies). I'm bummed it hasn't come yet because I was excited to set up my new cute bedding! I'm definitely looking forward to when that package gets here!

That's only a touch of what has happened this past week! There is a ton to do in New York and it feels like there's something always happening! Thanks for reading!

 With my family and friends at the airport! 

I am so grateful for their love and support. 

Front row seats of Annie with my big, 

her roommate and her roommate's little! 

Delicious and world famous Junior's cheese cake. 

My piece is definitely the biggest!

Less than a month!

It is so crazy for me to think that in less than a month I will be moving away from little Orem, Utah and moving to NYC to attend Pace University! Everything I know now, will be completely different. As I have told people about how I am moving to New York to go to school, I have been asked lots of questions. Here are some of them:

Everyone asks me if I'm excited. I am most definitely excited, but that excitement is mixed with a bunch of different emotions as well. I am extremely nervous for such drastic change, sad to leave my home behind, anxious to know exactly what it's going to be like to live there, and hopeful that it will all work out and that I will love it there! It doesn't seem like all those contrasting feelings can happen at the same time, but they sure can! I know New York is going to be a huge adjustment from my home life now, but I can't wait to take this next step in my life!

Is Pace a dance school? Pace is not a performing arts school. It's a university and I am majoring in their dance program. Pace University is the only school in the country that offers a BFA (Bachelors of Fine Arts) in commercial dance! I knew Pace was the right place for me because they are a university with a strong education and amazing dance program!

A lot of people have also asked me if I'm taking my bug with me to New York. I can't help but laugh and think that I would die if I tried to drive my bug in New York. I would be squished like a bug! My car is definitely staying home safely with the family.

What am I going to miss the most? By far, I'm going to miss my family. They have been through a lot with me and have supported me in everything I do. I am also going to miss my friends and dance studio. Change is another hard thing for me, so I'm going to miss being consistently with the loving and familiar relationships I have with my family and friends.

Moving still hasn't quite settled in as a reality, but each day it becomes more real! I am so excited for this new journey and forever grateful to all the people that helped me to be where I am.  Can't wait to see where life takes me as I "take my bite" into the Big Apple! Thanks for Reading!