Staying Positive

Many people know me to be a very spunky, outgoing, and all around positive person. I see the good things in life and appreciate the small (and sometimes seemingly unimportant) things. I use each new life experience, whether good or bad, as a lesson. But lately I've been struggling to continue to be my normal, positive self. I've been dealing with catching up on work, sicknesses and deaths in the family, and people who just don't seem to understand. When things like this happen, I get a little down on myself. I start to develop anxiety (I have NEVER had anxiety about anything EVER!) and become very emotional. Near the end of the whole ordeal I realized that there was really nothing more that I could do but to just move on. And I did! The people who were understanding have been absolutely great. The entire thing made me a much stronger person because I learned how to deal with all different types of personalities. Besides STAYING POSITIVE (which is the main point of this post), there was one other thing that I found to be the most important lesson that I've taken away from this.

I have learned how NOT to treat another human being.

I understand that people get tired of excuses but sometimes things just happen. There is no way of preventing that. It's just life. And sometimes, when that happens to a person, you can't turn your back on them. You should try to empathize and work with them. Although it may seem like an inconvenience to you at first, it may make a huge difference in someone's life. I learned this important life lesson because someone who I had looked up to as a role model decided that they didn't have time to try and work with me and it really hurt. I would never want to make anyone feel the way that I felt in this situation. I've decided that from now on, I want to make sure that I don't blow people off. No matter how frustrating someone is, I would rather work with them, talk to them, and see things from their perspective before I make decisions about them. Because sometimes people just need to be shown a little compassion. Especially in a stressful time.

Back to the point of staying positive. The only thing that really kept me sane throughout everything was talking with my parents. I know they are always there for me and I am so grateful for that. Most people don't have parents who support their children like mine do. They are truly saints. I know that I can always call, whether it be during the work day or 3 in the morning. And the whole time, they continued to tell me that I just need to stay positive. It will all work itself out in the end and will eventually be over with. (Actually, that's something they've told me my entire life). And you know what? They were right. It's over. The stress has been lifted and now I can focus on getting things back in order.

Tonight they took me out for an early birthday dinner seeing that I will be gone on my actual birthday (in a week. Yay 19!). Dinner with them would have been enough but they also happened to pick me up a gift. Part of that gift was a ring (which makes this gift even cooler than it is with the meaning behind it because I absolutely love rings). On the ring is engraved the phrase "I promise to STAY POSITIVE". It's a nice little reminder from them of something that has been a huge part of growing up. (I'll put a picture below). I plan to wear this ring all the time and whenever I look at it I will always be reminded of what's really important in life.

"Happiness, that's the great thing. The important thing is to be happy" -Our Town

And the only way to be happy is to remain positive.

Also attached below is a picture taken of me today (after everything was finally over with) and you can just see how relieved and relaxed I look.

-Jackey

The First Weekend of Rehearsals!

This past weekend I had my first set of rehearsals. Let me tell you, this is the most difficult dancing that I have ever done but it is also the most fun I've had in a very long time.

The nice thing about working five and a half hours away from home is the fact that I'm meeting new people. I know almost no one here and it's great! I love making connections and networking. Sure some of my fellow performers and I have mutual friends but for the most part everything is new.

This is also the first time I'm really living away from home. My college is only an hour and fifteen minutes away from my hometown and I have a car so it is fairly east to get home when I need/want to.

I am completely new to this style of dance. Because our show is all about current pop hits, all of the dancing is Hip Hop and a little bit of Latin. I am mostly a tap dancer, I also do ballroom, jazz, and just started contemporary. At least I have a bit of experience with the Latin through the ballroom training. Because Hip Hop is so new to me, it seems very strange (and difficult at times) to move my body in such a different way. I've been really practicing this week though and I feel that I am getting better and better every time. I think this is probably the most intense workout I've ever had as well. I thought Scottish Sword Dancing was hard but this ranks right up there! On the bright side, I'm going to be super fit by the end of the summer!!!

I'm very excited about performing so much this summer, and after experiencing this weekend I already know that I definitely want to be working here at Valleyfair as a gazebo performer again next summer as well! It's a great group of people. The cast of SMASH! contains some of the nicest people I have ever met! Everyone works so hard and wants the best for the show. My bosses are a joy to work for and are always willing to answer questions and help the performers out as much as possible. I love that we work as a team and that we are not in a sort of "dictatorship" as some jobs tend to be.

As a performer, I only work part time until June 1st. So I'm going to use my free time to rehearse and also explore the surrounding area a little bit. I've never really spent much time in Minnesota so this will be a good chance to get to know where I'll be living for the next few months a little better. I've actually only really visited Minnesota twice. The first time was when I was really young to tour with a children's choir. We didn't get to do much 1) because we were touring 2) because we were all pretty young. The second time was in 8th grade for a mission trip. For the majority of that I stayed in a small town where we were working. We stopped at MOA for a short while on the way home but that was really my only experience with it.

If any of you are free this summer you should come visit Valleyfair in Shakopee, MN (which I found out is pronounced SHOCK- OH- PEE not SHACK-OH-PEE darn Wisconsin accents). It's a great place for the whole family. We have roller coasters, water rides (don't forget the swimsuit), live entertainment, and an area for the young ones! If you do come, make sure you stop by the gazebo to see SMASH! (just not on a Thursday. We don't work then).

Hope to see you there!!!

-Jackey