"That's another story"

Dear friends who are tired of hearing me rant about how amazing ASE was,

You probably don't want to read this blog post. That might sound a little odd, because there's a good chance that you read all the ones that I posted last year, but I promise that this one isn't for you. You don't want to hear about my wonderful weekend in Gettysburg, reconnecting and reminiscing with old friends. You don't want to hear about the memories that are back at the forefront of my mind even stronger than before.

You don't want to hear about the trip down, when Hadley and I wove through the back roads to Houghton College to pick up Elizabeth and thought that we had made a wrong turn because all that surrounded us were tiny towns and stretches of emptiness until a college suddenly appeared on the hills beside us, or how we jammed out to the perfect radio station amid stories of our senior years, or how Elizabeth and I bounced in our seats when we got close to the restaurant.

You don't want to know how loud our group was when the three of us finally arrived at almost 10 o'clock, or how a few of the girls leaped out of their seats to greet us, or the tears and laughter that mixed when we all got to see each other again for the first time in almost a year. You don't want me to describe the instant sense of wholeness we felt, as if 10 months had not gone by since we were all together. You don't want me to tell you how excited I was to finally see Megan after she handed in her senior thesis, or that we crashed minutes after and slept straight through the night.

You're not interested in our brunch at the Ugly Mug, or our trip to the campus art gallery. You'd rather I didn't describe our tour of the town, where we took pictures with Lincoln's statue and then stopped in a candy shop before grabbing ice cream at a favorite local haunt. You'll probably tune out my play-by-play of our visit to Gettysburg National Military Park and our tour of the battlefield, led by Emma with occasional help from Bobby and Rachel H. because they get too excited to stay quiet when we're talking about something that means so much to them. You aren't interested in hearing about our dinner at the Lincoln Diner, with the waiter who split the check more smoothly than any of us ever believed would be possible.

You don't care that I spent a quiet night in with Hadley and Megan, doing homework and catching a breath, or that homework eventually spiraled into the easy conversations we had had all of last spring. It doesn't matter to you that we turned in early so that we could get up and get ready for the trip home before we met Emily and Rachel P. for brunch. The picture I took with Megan so I could hold onto one more moment together before we said goodbye again doesn't mean anything to you.

But that's ok, because it means the world to me. The pictures, the friendships, the memories - they are some of the best parts of who I am, and seeing them again felt a little like coming home. No matter how tired of my stories you have become, I will never be tired of telling them. ASE friends, I love and miss you all. Next time let's meet in Bath, ok?

Love,
Melanie

One Year Later

Well, here we are. One year later. I have been sitting at my new computer (story to come later) for hours with this blog post open in an unchecked tab, trying to find the right words for this moment.

One year ago, I nervously walked through the security line at Newark airport after saying goodbye to my parents, who were more emotional than I was. To be fair, they were watching their little girl walk away, knowing that they wouldn't see me again for four long months. It was the longest single stretch I had ever spent away from them.

One year ago, I was a mile high, trying to sleep. I knew that I should get some rest, but I had taken off at 6PM NY time (just before the Superbowl kicked off) and I would land at 6AM local time, and the dark wasn't quite long enough to overcome my nervousness and excitement about the adventure ahead of me.

One year ago, I dragged a giant suitcase behind me through the winding corridors of an airport I had never seen, feeling too small in its path. In it, I had crammed four months worth of clothes, and shoes, and hopes, and fears, and everything that I thought I could possibly need.

One year ago, I stepped off a train for the first time in my brand new city, looking around until I found others who looked just as confused and lost as me. I dragged my bags across the cobblestones and the sidewalk and into the small house that would be my home for the duration of my stay. It took two of us to carry my bag up the stairs, and it would take the same effort to bring it back down after.

One year ago, I met some of my most trusted friends, though I didn't know it yet. Together we would travel, we would study and write, we would push our boundaries and try new things. We would share the adventures in a way no one else would be able to understand.

It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year. I can still remember calling my mom that day, telling her I had arrived safely, and unpacking four months worth of life, knowing even then that it would never fit back in quite the same way. I can't begin to describe the ways this year has changed me, no matter how hard I try, but I am who I am now because of this adventure and because of all the amazing people and places who witnessed it, and I will never stop being grateful for it.

Happy one year anniversary, ASE Spring 2014. Love you all.

New tagline!

It's been a crazy semester here in Rochester. Senior year has meant more work both in and out of the classroom. I welcomed 28 new residents in August. I choreographed for BPG, stepping back onstage for the first time in a year. I'm tackling new research for my upper-level and graduate level writing requirements while searching through options for next year. Luckily, one of those is now off my plate!

I have officially enrolled in the Warner School of Education beginning this May. I will be pursuing a Master's Degree in Teaching and Curriculum with initial certification. My specific degree will be in elementary education, bringing me one step closer to my ultimate goal of becoming a teacher. I couldn't be more excited!

This all leads to my ultimate announcement: after my graduation, my blog's tagline will change to "knitting through graduate school, one skein at a time". Be on the lookout for this exciting new chapter of my life!

Giving Thanks

I know, I know - this is a little late. Thanksgiving was 2 days ago, but between all the travel and then spending time with family, I never got around to blogging like I had hoped. But hey, better late than never, right? So, here it is: a list of (a few of) the things I'm thankful for this year.

This year, I'm thankful for music. I've been singing with Roc Hakol since my sophomore year, but this year we're finally starting to come together. There are so many amazing opportunities opening up for us, and as excited as I am for all of those, the best part is spending time with these amazing girls. Some weeks, we spend more time laughing and joking around in rehearsals than actually singing, but we still get our work done. I'm so grateful to have them in my life.

This year, I'm thankful for dance. Dance has been my place of refuge for as long as I can remember, but after a few injuries during high school (and then a repeat my sophomore year of college), I wasn't really sure that I would be able to keep dancing as much as I wanted. Simply stepping back on stage this fall was a blessing, and being able to do so with some of my closest friends was more incredible than I could ever imagine. There's something so special about the bonds I've formed with these dancers through hours spent together. I can't imagine how different my life would be without them, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to try.

This year, I'm thankful for adventures. I had the amazing opportunity to spend 4 months abroad this year, and I can't begin to explain how incredible this was. The people I met and the places I went have become such an integral part of the person I am. In truth, the semester I spent in Bath was one giant adventure in the littlest ways. I've barely gotten to see the others who were on my program since we got back, but that doesn't lessen the space they hold in my heart.

This year, I'm thankful for friends. I've already mentioned Roc Hakol, dancing, and my program abroad, and to be fair, these three groups have shaped who I am in more ways than I can count. However, others have also played a role - friends from my trip to Israel, friends who have moved away over the years, even a few friends from high school who are still around - and I'm so happy that they have.

This year, I'm thankful for family. My siblings and I were never close growing up, but now that we're older, we get along a lot better. I don't get to see any of my family as often as I did when I was living at home, which makes the we spend time together even sweeter.

This year, I'm thankful for change. I'm not the same person I was 4 years ago. In fact, I'm not even the same person I was at this time last year. The person I am today is a combination of all of the amazing experiences I've had and the choices I've made, and I am so thankful that I can say I have no regrets and that I am truly being the best version of me that I can.

The Official End of my Summer

Livetweeting the So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) finale marks the official end of my summer internship with the Dancers Vs Cancer campaign. Though I'll be continuing to work with them, I thought this would be a good time to sum up some of the amazing progress that I have made this summer.

The database I created currently has over 5,000 listings from 20 states and the District of Columbia. That's right, I spent my summer doing "grunt work." What's more important is that I'm PROUD of that grunt work. How many others can say that they worked on a project that had as much of a lasting impact as that?

I got to be really cool all summer as I livetweeted SYTYCD every week. By the end of the summer, tweets I wrote had been favorited (and even retweeted) by choreographers Mandy Moore, Warren Carlyle, Pharside & Phoenix, contestants Serge & Carly, allstars Will Wingfield, Anya Garnis and Amy Yakima, and a dozen of their siblings, teachers, and companies. One week, we were even mentioned by the official SYTYCD twitter account!

The most fun part of my summer work, however, was all the secret projects I got to be in on. The Dancers Vs Cancer National Dance Day video was featured on the highlights reel on SYTYCD, which even I didn't get to know in advance (I may have spazzed out a bit)! As Misty Copeland and Under Armour launched the "I Will What I Want" campaign, advocates prepared to be featured on "Dance Moms" (which I also got to livetweet). The social media campaign that we ran leading up to it included retweets by Tara Lipinski and Misty Copeland, and during the episode we were mentioned by Holly, one of the Dance Moms!

What does this all mean? It means that I spent my summer helping a larger effort to get the campaign noticed. Everyone who favorited or retweeted us, if only for a second, saw our name. They saw the iDance4aCURE handle. They saw the icon of one of our warriors.

For a moment, they got to see all the amazing work that I got to be a part of. 

First Day Jitters?

Something tells me that after 16 years of education, I'm not supposed to have first day jitters. I'm probably supposed to dread the first day of school, and in some ways, I do. When I start to think about the amount of work I'll have this year for my classes, I balk. I haven't even looked at the graduate school applications I'm supposed to fill out this fall. The start of the school year means that I have to face those things, despite the fact that I don't want to.

At the same time, though, the first day of school is still a little exciting. I can't wait to step into my classrooms, meet my professors, and start to learn. I want to know who else will be in my classes this semester. I'm excited about the material my courses will cover this fall, because being a senior in college means that I'm taking courses I really want to be in.

Maybe this is why I want to teach so badly. Because I know how it feels to be excited for the first day of school, despite dreading the start of classes. Because I know that the two emotions go hand in hand, and that that's probably a good thing. Because I want to harness that excitement for the whole year.

Happy First Day of Classes!

Lucky Number 4

As I tried to sit down and write this post, I was at a loss for words. I didn't know where to start. There seemed to be no way to sum up the time I had spent abroad. No way, that is, until I started to think back further to my trip to Israel. That's when I realized today's date, and suddenly, everything came together.

Exactly 4 years ago today, on June 23, 2010, I left on my first trip abroad. I packed my giant suitcase and a small overnight bag and piled into the car. At JFK Airport, I met the 25 other students I would be traveling with that summer for the first time, and boarded my first international flight. We studied and traveled together for 45 days, and I will never stop being grateful for the friendships I made and the ways that travel changed me.

Fast forward to today. Not only has it been 4 years since my first trip began, Saturday marked 4 weeks since my semester abroad - which lasted 4 months - ended. A journey that started when I first landed in England on February 4 came to its conclusion at JFK Airport, where my first journey had begun.

At times, it feels like lifetimes have passed in the last 4 years. I'm so different today from the girl I was then. Even spending just 4 months abroad has changed me in so many ways. In the weeks since my return, I've started to pick apart the 4 months I spent in England, and here's what I've boiled it down to.

Number of visits made to St. Andrew's: 10 (to a class of 23 students)

The school placement program was one of the main reasons I had initially chosen to apply to ASE. I liked a number of things about the program, but the education program had been the first thing that pulled me to it. Thanks in part to friends in Rochester who listened to me rant about ASE and another program that had accepted me, I eventually decided to go to Bath for the semester, which was the best decision I could have made. The students in Year 4 welcomed me with open arms, and I had a fantastic time joining their class every week. 

Number of formal essays written: 6 (plus a 40-plus page education portfolio)

That's right, I did take classes this semester. It's called "STUDY" abroad for a reason. I did plenty of reading, took lots of notes, and even learned a few things in the classroom. As torturous as my Shakespeare class was, it taught me quite a bit. My Tudors and Stuarts course was equally as informative, although significantly more enjoyable thanks to a friendlier environment. My favorites by far were the education courses (one theory and one based on our placements) when the seven of us in the education program basically just hung out with Mike Rix and Andrew Butterworth. 

Number of cities visited: 19 (spanning 6 countries)

Traveling, whether with the program or for personal reasons, was one of the most fun things I did all semester. I took more train rides than I can count, and saw more landmarks and museums than I'll probably remember. I got a taste of so many incredible places, which only made me want to see more. 

Number of blog posts related to my trip: 38 

Even though I knew not many people would probably read my blog posts, I was so glad I decided to write about my journey. I would get back from a new place and pour all the memories out. I realized I became a bit of an adjective junky, but I simply couldn't find any other way to describe all I had seen.

Number of photos uploaded to Facebook: 1252 (plus 1 video)

Where words failed, my camera at least came closer. So many people have yelled at me for not being in many of my own photos, but as cliche as it sounds, I loved the way that the world looked through the lens of my camera. There were so many moments I wanted to capture, and looking back, I'm so happy I did. 

And, of course, the reason you all probably read this post, my grand total.

Number of miles logged: 269.28

I still can't believe all of the experiences I had this semester, or how long it's been since I returned. Looking back to my first summer abroad, I never saw this coming. I never imagined these opportunities, or the wonderful people I would meet along my journeys.

Here's to my next 4 amazing years.