Crazy at Wheaton

If you are still following this blog - kudos to you for remaining dedicated!  I have obviously been off of my blog for quite some time, and keep meaning to come back to it.  A lot has happened since I returned from New Zealand, so I'll try to give a quick update...

I spent my one month summer at home in New Hampshire (after returning from LA and then TX, respectively) working at the same store I've been working at for a while, aerie.  What was nice about this time is that my bosses actually started to respect me and even let me create a little charity project called "Support for the less fortunate."  I asked all of the employees to bring in the bras that they don't wear anymore (because of our fantastic discount), and collected about 35 bras that were donated to a women's/girl's group home in Dover.  It was a really rewarding experience.

Since returning to Wheaton, I have been involved in quite a lot.  I am the co-Captain of Dance Company and we had our auditions as usual.  This year, over 30 students auditioned and we only had the space to take 5 of them.  There was a lot of talent and I think this just speaks to the growing popularity and prestige of the Dance department at Wheaton.  I also decided that I wanted to join the multi-cultural and hip hop group called TRYBE, of which my roommate Rachel is the co-Director.  I auditioned with 55 other students and was one of the 7 that they accepted!

I am dancing for 4-6 hours per day, for 4-6 days per week and am loving it!  I feel like I am in the best shape of my life, although my knee is starting to bug me and I am trying to be careful of my muscles and body.  I have been having a blast on TRYBE and also have been working hard in Dance Company.

Last but not least, I applied over a week ago to the Wheaton selection committee with my proposal for a Watson Fellowship, a grant that seniors can apply for to do a project of their choice post-grad.  They announced the 12 students who made it through the first elimination process and onto the editing round, and I was one of them!  Sooo... currently I am in the library, attempting to edit my proposal.  Maybe I'll post the actual proposal or a more detailed version of what I'm applying to do, but essentially I want to go to many different countries around the world that use dance as a means of social and personal empowerment, and try to find the thread that connects them.  My countries have been changing since the first application, but it is looking like I'd be traveling to Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Samoa, and China.  The grant is for 12 months of independent study abroad in which I cannot return home.  It would be intense, but certainly an amazing experience!

Well that's about it for now... I'm going to stop procrastinating and edit my proposal :)  Until next time...