Senior Year, and a Little Taste of Summer

    After pulling into the driveway of the house I will be living in for senior year, it still hasn't hit me that this is the last year I'll have here. It honestly hasn't hit me yet this entire week. Everyone always says that college goes by quicker than high school, and I couldn't agree more. I do feel some distance from freshman and sophomore year, but I still feel like a junior. I remember the first week of junior year so vividly that I keep thinking it can't have already been a year since then. 

    But enough about that, let's talk summer! 

    This summer, I spent 6 weeks in Coldwater, Michigan, working at Tibbits Opera House, performing in Dear Evan Hansen and Rock of Ages. It was one of my favorite parts of the summer; truthfully, it felt like being at a summer theatre camp with all of my friends, since there were 8 other ONU students there, and people I didn't know before became some of my favorite people I've ever met. There were long days; we would rehearse around 9 hours a day and put the show together in around 2 weeks before we opened to the public, so it was a mad dash to the finish line. 

    After leaving Michigan, I took a pit stop in Cincinnati to do La Cage Aux Folles at The Carnegie. In this production, I acted as an offstage swing, which does not perform in the show, but learns other performers' roles in case they are sick or injured and need someone to go on for them. In total, I swung 9 people. This was a huge task and one that I had to be completely locked in and prepared for. Throughout the process, I fell in love with the show, and it is one that I want to do 50 more times. The music and dancing are a true highlight. 

    That show closed this past Sunday, and right after leaving the theatre, I drove straight to campus and moved into my senior year house. On top of that, last night we started rehearsing for ONU's production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. So it's all been a blur and a whirlwind, but I am looking forward to this year.