Anna Speaks

In the words of Dr Seuss, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”. I closed my production of Beauty and the Beast last night. This show was incredibly challenging for me, mostly due to my entire semester being immensely stressful. I had far too much on my plate, and it caused me to enjoy everything less. That being said, I absolutely love theatre and working on this show was a blast. Speaking of work, we spent approximately 202 hours working on this show over the last two months. All of it felt worth it on stage. The stress, the anxiety, the blood, sweat and tears, it was all worth it. I have always wanted to do a Disney show like this one. It felt magical. Singing tea pots, dancing trees, flying wolves, glittery costumes and a massive castle. It was an honor to be a part of it. I am always really sad when shows end. It hasn’t quite hit that it is over yet, but once it does, the tears will definitely come. The cast truly does become a family, and it is hard knowing th...

  Sometimes romanticizing life is the only way to get through it! Life as a full time college student can be intense. We all know this. Then you add all of the normal “life” things. Work, family, religion, relationships, extracurricular activities, and sports. It is all so much! I find myself overwhelmed 99% of the time.  But when I stop and think about it, what a blessing this life is. It is truly a gift to be able to do all of these things. I am able to learn, to dance, to communicate, to accomplish things. It amazes me what we, as humans, are capable of and the way we get to spend our lives. If I have learned anything in my first year of college, it is that life is more fun when you romanticize it. If I have a lot of homework to do, I like going to cute coffee shops, listening to music, and getting it done! I essentially pretend to be the main character of a movie. We can trick our brains into thinking that things are more enjoyable than they truly are. It is all in t...

I have always liked social media. I remember being so excited when I was allowed to get instagram my freshman year of high school. I have always loved getting to see people’s lives, especially people that I have not connected with in a while. My parents have always been cautious of social media. Even after I was allowed to get it, there were limits to my time that I spent online. I am thankful for the way my parents were involved in this. Now, I find myself to be pretty addicted to scrolling through instagram reels and Pinterest boards. It is so easy to waste so much time on it. Lately, I haven’t been on it as much due to a constant state of busyness. There isn’t very much time for me to even get my homework done, let alone be on my phone a lot. But I still find myself wanting to be on social media as much as I can. I often think about how much time I spend on it, but making decisions to change this are easier said than done.  A lot of my classes have been talking about socia...

The process of choreographing a show is one that varies significantly every time. So far, I have choreographed or helped choreograph 5 shows and each of them has looked very different depending on the stage of life I am in. My first one was a middle school show when I was a sophomore in high school. Now I am choreographing a high school show as a freshman in college.    One of my favorite things about choreographing musicals is seeing the whole show come together. There is something so special about creating a dance number and then seeing it come to life in the middle of a scene with costumes, props and lights. Seeing my vision on the stage is beautiful. Especially when it is peers or students that I have spent time with and feel connected to. It makes me so very proud. One of the challenges I have experienced is that up until this semester, most of the shows I have choreographed for I have also acted in. For instance, my senior year of highschool, I was the lead in my musical...

In the article,  “ Earning potential goes up a lot for Arizonans with college degrees. Here’s now much”   We see some really good statistics on the topic of how education affects incomes. Even the difference between high school graduates and non high school graduates is so significant. The numbers are shocking yet they feel correct. I firmly believe that is possible for someone to be extremely successful without degrees, but I fear that most people who do not complete school do not put in the effort to make their life one that accomplishes long term goals. The article, “ Ducey: Why Arizona needs more college grads”    made me feel truly inspired for our state of Arizona. I appreciate all of the information that was included in it. But it also has a plan, the funding, and the solution. I like how Governor Ducey relates to us by mentioning that he is a husband and father. It shows that he understands the challenges that come with being the head of the househ...

What a gift it is to feel deeply. I have always been an emotional person. I am often labeled as “the one who will always cry” or the “overly sensitive one”. While it does not usually bother me, I dislike how being sensitive has become perceived as a negative attribute. There are so many beautiful benefits to being open about emotions and feelings. In a world that is so self sufficient, being independent and strong is often highly praised. According to today's societal standards , we should all be able to support ourselves and do everything on our own. This includes handling hardships and emotions. On the surface, I feel as though the more I hide what I am feeling, the stronger I am. But deep down, I know that this way of thinking is not true and is unhealthy. It is a mindset that many of us need to change.    Image source Emotions can certainly get in the way. Feelings, while always real , are not always reality . Our feelings are often a side effect of a deeper issue that is ...