Updates!

I'm having to seriously reconsider how much time I've spent dancing. Not only is it costing my parents a fortune (I've already exhausted all of the money the state gives me through my Charter School), but I'm injuring myself constantly from the repetitive stress, and I'm worried that it's distracting me from my true life's goal (acting).

Competition (Showstoppers, AKA the big one) is in a week. I've made all twelve turns at the end of River Deep about twice. It's also currently difficult to walk seeing as my UT band is extremely tight, causing a lot of pain in my knee when I bend and straighten it. I will literally hop on one leg to the car so I don't have to put pressure on it, then dance for three hours and come back ready to collapse. We got the competition schedule yesterday, River Deep is at 10:00 p.m. on Friday. That means that once we're done with awards it'll be eleven or later, and it takes another hour to drive back. Did I mention that my solo is at ten o'clock on Saturday, and that it takes an hour to drive there and you have to be an hour early? At least I'll have the solo and duo over with, so that I can enjoy the rest of the competition. At Dance Masters my solo was my second to last dance, and the wait was excruciating.

TYR is putting on Les Miserables this summer, and I think I'm going to audition. There are a lot of other people auditioning (although literally no guys, it might have to be an all-girl rendition) so whether I'll get in or not is questionable. It's something to do, though, and that's always good.

New Room!!

Some exciting news, I switched rooms with my sister and completely redesigned and repainted. Here's a picture of my bed!

I Haven't Posted in Forever...

It's been such a long time! I haven't posted anything in forever! What's happened lately...

1. I got chicken pox. It was intentional (if you don't get it, you have to get a booster shot every 10 years for the rest of your life), but it was awful. Awful, awful. I have never been that sick before. It was the worst case of chicken pox that my mom had ever seen. I had about 800 pox all over my body. I was in agony for about 7 days, but I didn't leave the house for 11.

2. I GOT AN AGENT!! I don't know if I mentioned the talent agency that I submitted to, but basically, they responded to my submission and wanted to interview me. I was thrilled! We waited about two months and then went in for my interview. I was super nervous because I still had some marks from chicken pox, but I used lots and lots of concealer and I was all good. They wanted to represent me!! I still have to get my work permit before I can start going to auditions etc., though.

3. I got invited to the senior company at my dance studio!! I'm so excited, but unfortunately I may not be able to do it because of the whole agent thing, but it's still a great honor!!

4. I was a counselor for a kids camp at my old church! I had a blast! It was awesome. There were about 120 kids in that camp!! The best part was hanging out with my friends afterwards.

Updates!!

Well, here are some photos of what I've been doing lately!

I've begun to paint! My dad bought me a few canvases the other day, and today I finally began. I decided on still life for my first go. I've never really painted seriously before, and I wanted to start out with something easy (ish). I did a less serious version of still-life in art class a while back, but it wasn't like this. I just need to remember to not use very much paint--I leave for a couple hours and then it's all dried out.

The paints I'm using...

I did this with a couple of little kids (3 and 5) the other day, and I thought it was cute. :D

My sister discovered her inner photographer! This was actually taken up at my aunt's Jubilee (celebrating her 70th year being a nun), which I think I mentioned, but I'm not sure. Anyways, my sister and I went off so that I could eat my lemon bar without being rude (seriously, the best way to eat a lemon bar is to eat it without using your hands, but don't do that in front of adults), and I suggested that we take photos of each other. She wasn't exactly in a modeling mood, so I was the model. ;D

A scarf I just bought! I really love the pattern, and I think it will add a lot to certain outfits. 

And finally, look who's looking all sweet and cuddly! Don't let it fool you, I spent quite a while climbing the huge oak tree in our backyard to get her down, and nearly dislocated my shoulder in the process. After, my mom, being sweet, gave me a popsicle and let me watch an episode of Monk (great when you're not feeling your best). 

Friday, June 1st

I still haven't really done anything productive. I wrote a poem, and begun what might become a short story, but other than that, I've read and listened to my audiobook and hung out.

A little boy said the cutest thing about me the other day, in a dialogue with my brother. Here's how their conversation went...

Boy: Do you want to marry someone?
Brother: No way!! Do you?
Boy: YES OF COURSE!! I want to marry Marianna!!

I smiled when I heard about that, and I'm smiling about it now. I remember being 4/5/6. ;D

We also took my cat on her first "Kitty Play Date". Which is pretty weird, I know. It didn't exactly go too well. She was really great at first, got very excited as I brought out her harness and leash, and was happy going out the door. But then, in the car, she started yowling! Which is normal for cats, but she's usually pretty good about the car. We got to our friend's house (they're really our friends, not Primrose's), and she was really happy, sniffing around and such. But as soon as the other kitty came out, they started hissing at each-other. So one went in the house and one out back. Prim had a great time, anyways.

I'm still procrastinating around here, but I do hope to get something done tomorrow!

Marianna

Thursday, May 31st

Turns out that I won't be doing a whole lot of creating today. The annual Homeschool Craft Fair is happening today! I'm hoping to make a bit of money, either by scrounging up something to sell or helping out in a friend's booth. It's an easy way to make money, and money is good. :D

Since I don't really have anything else to blog about, I'll tell you about what I've been reading!

 

The Selection

by Kira Cass

I really like this so far. I'm listening to it on audiobook, which is unusual for me, but probably good. I normally race through books incredibly quickly. I just wanted something easy to listen to, and not too intense. This fits the bill. ;D

Between Shades of Gray

by Ruta Sepetys

I *just* started this last night, but it looks like it's going to be a great read. I love historical fiction, and so far, the writing in this is stunning. It might even pass up my most recent historical favorite, I Capture the Castle. 

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

I actually haven't started this one, yet. I finished Divergent in about a day and a half, and, surprisingly, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would/should. Maybe Insurgent will be better. Who knows.

And for honesty's sake...

Yes, I am reading a book about One Direction. LOUIS AND NIALL FOREVER. :D

In Which I, the Blogger, Introduce Myself to You, the Reader

First off, I'm not nearly as moody and dramatic as I seem. I can be very hyper, but currently I'm feeling pretty tortured-artistic-genius-y. And so, I'm prepared to let my feelings flow.

I decided to create this blog after I realized that I'm going to be having to be dancing a lot less. I'll be going from 10 hours a week to probably 3 or 4 for a while. Why I have to do that is probably insignificant to you, and doesn't really matter.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about being a well-rounded artist. I've always sung and acted, and lately I've danced quite a bit, and I love to draw and paint, but I haven't really been...producing as much as I could. I'll post a few pictures and videos of myself doing the things I love, etc., but I would really love to track my process through exploring some of the other arts.

Some goals that I hope to achieve:

-Draw a whole lot more. Learn to draw from my imagination instead of just from what I see.

-Re-design/arrange/paint my room. It's been more or less the same for a while, now.

-Write a novel. This is a serious one. I would really, really love to do this.

-Create something new every day. Which means blogging about it, too. Whether it's flower arranging, learning a new song, memorizing a monologue or writing poetry, I want to let my creativity flow.

-Finish a whole math grade over the summer (yes, exciting, I know). But for me, a someone who doesn't carry out plans well, that really should be something I should focus on. Too often my school gets ignored for more exciting things like putting on a floor-length dress and dancing in the rain, or drawing a picture.

-Be myself. Often, I'm tempted to succumb to the temptations of "fitting in". Why choose to be like anyone else when you could be yourself?