You have no idea how hard it is to just come out and say that to whoever the hell decides to read this blog. I got carried away in the summer by a new, huge group of friends and a brand new social scene, and everything that I was working so hard to become before had changed, and as it turns out, it wasn't for the best. So naturally, when all of that fell away I felt as though I was left with...nothing.
The last few weeks have been nothing short of hard, this semester has been stressful, and anxiety lurks around every corner. Sarah Kay is known for her spoken word poetry, and in case you don't have enough time to watch the TEDtalk, just read this:
"This life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air."
I began this blog a year and a half ago to get out of a rut, and now I'm using it again for that same purpose. But 6 months is a long time to go without letting you all know what I've been up to, so I'd like to remind myself, that despite going through some shit, I've accomplished some pretty awesome things, and experienced even more. Here are all the things I wish I could have been blogging about all along.
Better late than never?
We took Magic Mirror on the road to the NYC Fringe Festival
The pit in our little black box theatre
It was a long week...
...had to carry both my clarinets AND the bass clarinet. Made going through the turnstiles in the NYC subway an epic endeavor.
Stayed with my best friend, who has an awesome view of Manhattan.
The Fringe crew
I had SIX awesome friends help me finally MOVE OUT. Some of them might be questionable, but they're good people. For the most part.
Moved in to my NEW PLACE
This happened...
Had my birthday, two parties, dinner with friends, and a trip to the hookah lounge.
Saw Bonobo
Went to an art show in Maine...
...and stayed in a haunted house.
Drank a beer flight in Portland
Saw the sun rise and set on Block Island
Went to two full days of the Newport Jazz Festival: Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Marcus Miller, Paquito D'Rivera, Joshua Redman, just some highlights.
Day drank on Block Island
Had a gig on George's Island in the Boston Harbor
Had a blast being Legally BOND for Halloween
Performed Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf Quintet with Symphony Nova players in a FORT
Saw James Blake
Saw one of my best friends play a show
Two of my good friends are back in my life.
This.
Had a happy Drunksgiving
I'm still slightly taller than my little brother
Had Korean BBQ in New York City with one of my best friends.
That was hopefully quick and painless.
Now that you're all caught up I've decided to take it easy this month, finish up the semester, hopefully do something awesome for Christmas, and who knows? January first will be my first 30 day challenge after over half a year, so I've gotta come up with something great.
My goal is to use up the rest of this month to try to get back to where I was. Inspired, reading, running, and living life by my rules, and doing what I want to do.
I'm already getting more excited about music, I just bought a new mouthpiece so I sound good, and I got to coach a sectional with my old youth orchestra today. I downloaded a book onto my Kindle, and although it's not the most uplifting book, I'm looking forward to the read and perspective. It's entitled The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star, about Nikki Sixx, from Motley Crue. I'm afraid to go running since it just snowed and it's super icy out, but I did go for a super long walk, where I did a lot of thinking, and decided to put the blog back up.
This is where I did a lot of reflection today.
The inspiration really came when I decided to warm up in a sushi restaurant. Craving something alcoholic, yet warm, I decided to try hot sake for the first time ever (I know...It's taken me this long)...and feeling ambitious, ordered a chefs selection of sushi...and honestly, I can only identify about half of what I ate, but it was super good. Life is about living and trying new things, blah blah blah...living it to the fullest.
Then I warmed up with hot sake and sushi.
Oh and one quick thing. Going back and reading some of my older posts, I realized I've become a completely different person, and I'm okay with that.
So that's where things are at this point. My only option is to see where this year takes me, and to see where the heck I'll end up when I graduate. It'll be a wild and slightly terrifying ride, but that's what makes life exciting.
