The Laramie Project

Hey everybody, I have not posted on here in a while because, um, I felt like I didn’t have… anything to say. And…that’s probably not true, but, um, I didn’t feel like it was important to… say it to the world, I guess. Um, but,…right now I’m doing a show called “The Laramie Project”…at Playcrafters Barn Theatre which is, um,…like our director said, uh, for opening night, in her speech that, it is very much a passion project. Um,…everybody involved in the show has some kind of personal connection to the story that we’re telling. Um,…and I think that, um, … it’s important to share, it’s…the, very much so, the story is written to be … about hope. Yes, it is about a hate crime, um, it’s about…you know… differences, and divisions, and hate, and…all of those things. But inevitably, … and I think that it’s the message that the Matthew Shepard Foundation shares…incredibly well. It is about hope and hope rising out of those differences. And people …moving forward, and learning, and…caring about each other, you know, um. It’s, it’s super important…and…uh,…so much for me, not just to be involved. I mean, I’m ex… I’m stoked to be involved. I’m, I love being able to help tell this story, and, and do…this important work, um, especially as an actor it’s something that …I love doing. I love telling people’s stories…and sharing…those events from history that we need to learn from and to make better. Um, but so much more for me is to…I get to watch… an amazing group of actors…be passionate and be amazing. I…my fellow actors that are on this stage with me…blow my mind and I get to watch them every night, and, … and listen to them tell this story and…it’s…beyond amazing. So, if you’re in the Quad Cities area and you’re…uh…free tonight, uh, at 7:30 or tomorrow at 3:00 you should check it out because this is an important story and it’s one that I think everybody should hear. And I’m glad that I get the chance… to help share it. So…that’s what my weekend is about. It’s gonna be super emotional and, and, um, very intense, but I’m, I’m super excited that I get to be part of it and I wanted to share. So, have a good rest of your weekend everybody.

Graduation Day

Exciting News today! Umm...I…graduated…from…Physical Therapy. Now…to…some people that may not be very exciting, but…umm…it’s kind of a…big deal…for me. Umm… Let me give you a little bit of history. I…injured my left knee…umm… I strained tendons in it when I was…twelve years old, uh, it was a dance injury, umm, and I have been a dancer my whole life. I started when I was seven and I’ve never stopped. Umm…So…it was a big deal, when I injured my knee. Umm,…I injured my left knee when I was twelve, umm, I then injured my right knee in the same way when I was sixteen and, umm…thankfully that knee is a lot stronger from having to compensate for my left knee all those years. So it’s been pretty stable since the last…since that injury. And then I was in…Children of Eden at Quad City Music Guild…in August of 20…16. And I re-injured…my left knee…It was a big deal…I…uh, went to physical therapy then…umm, and got back some function. Umm,…but it was still… super, super weak…and I was…, umm nervous about dancing on it,…umm, nervous that I wouldn’t be able to dance on it anymore, umm, even though I felt ok most of the time. And could do most daily functions…umm…the dancing was a, was…scary…So I…uh, went to an orthopedist…and, umm, got an MRI…everything checked out. Got a new knee brace, that umm, is way more functional so that’s exciting. Cause I will wear it all the time, cause I can move in it and do the things that I wanna do…Umm,…And so…and then I went back to Physical Therapy, uh, to just strengthen it and work on it. And, umm, today I went to the Physical Therapist and we reassessed where I was at, umm, based on everything we’ve done and he said that I don’t need to go see him anymore. That I am at 90%, uh, functionality. Umm, of a 100, you know, 100%...whatever….umm… So…yay, its very exciting. Umm, I went to the Genesis Sports and Physical Therapy up on 53^rd St. for anyone who wants to know, cause it’s fantastic. Umm…so yeah, so that’s super exciting, I am cleared to dance, as long as I wear my knee brace. And…umm…I can do…pretty much everything that I need to do. So…that’s a huge step, and, and a huge relief from, uh, where I was even like a month ago. When I was terrified that I wouldn’t get back to where I was, uh, before this new knee injury. So…yay! And I just wanted to share that and…umm…give props to, uh, the Physical Therapy…umm…for Genesis. So…that’s…all I have to say, and…hopefully you all are having a good day too. And umm…and Yay! …Ok, have a good one.

Being Home

Today…I’m thinking about the idea of home. And what that means to different people…I mean obviously, like, your home is, you know, where you grew up, or, umm, where your parents live, or where you live with your spouse or your family…Umm… While that’s true, umm, there’s also that idea of a created home…or…the places that you feel most at home. Umm, and for some people that’s not the place where they sleep. Umm, like for me, I… say it all the time, that when I walk into a theatre I instantly feel at home. Doesn’t matter if I’ve been there …before, doesn’t matter…umm,…tsk…you know, how many times I’ve been there…or…um…if I’m working on a show or not. Just that idea of being in a place of entertainment like that…umm…it’s…comfortable…and…I…like…weight drops off …my shoulders, you know I’m able to…to forget about it for 2 hours or 4 hours or however long I’m there. Umm…no where else feels like that…and I …don’t know…umm…tsk…how to, how to recreate that anywhere else. The other place that that happens, amazingly, is at umm, is at camp. At the camps that I’ve worked at. Umm…Going to Mt. Cross in Santa Cruz…uh…I could go anytime and it feels like I’ve never left. Umm…and then, uh, Walcamp here in DeKalb. I…every time I go back it’s like going home. And…I don’t…get that…umm… in a lot of other places. Umm…I’m more comfortable in those places then I am anywhere else. And I…keep trying to figure out what that means. Haven’t figured it out yet. So…umm…but yeah,…the idea of being home and being comfortable somewhere is something…uh…that has come up a lot lately in my thought process and things that I’ve read. Umm, so yeah, there’s my thought for today. Have a good one.

Positive Mindset

Today’s Topic: Mindset. I’ve been doing a lot of devotions recently and then I listen to KLove Radio and…the…theme that seems to be running through everything I’m reading and listening to is…your mindset. And how to have a positive mindset…Harder then it seems. Just gonna toss that one out. Cause they talk about…uh, you know, ways that you can…uh, try and have a better, positive attitude…better, positive, that’s good English. A positive attitude throughout the day. And how to,…uh, maintain that and, uh, you know, all of those …wonderful things. But…it’s super hard. You know? Cause things happen during the day that irritate you or that…um…uh…you know just cause negative reactions and negative thoughts and it’s hard to… keep… focused on the positive. So that’s something I’m trying to do. And I figure if I put it out there, that it’s something I’m trying to do…maybe people will help me with that. Not that I expect you to do a whole lot. But, um, it’s just a good reminder and to make a statement to  say that I am trying to be a more positive person. Although, some people say that I’m super positive all the time anyway. Which is great. Hopefully people think that all the time. But, um,…I’ve just noticed in myself that I can be negative. So…I’m trying… very hard… to…stay positive. And I’m trying to do different things that help me…um…to get to that point. So. That is my thoughts for today. So, any ideas, please share them with me. Um…or, you know…if you just want to say Sara you look like… a crazy person, then great, please, comment. Umm, but yeah, I hope everyone’s doing great, and…we’re back at it. 

I Believe In You

You know, one of the scariest things in life, I think, is to… share with someone who’s not family, who’s not super close friend, umm, your dreams… for your life. And the most amazing thing is to have that person then support you, and believe in you, and give you more confidence that you can succeed at those things then you had yourself. Umm, yeah, like, that’s amazing! And I got to have that experience not too long ago which, umm, partially helped boost my, uh,…uh, goal to, uh, keep this going. Umm. And also just…uh, boosted my self-confidence in myself and in my…belief that I could make the things that I wanted happen. And that’s…crazy to me. Umm, I mean, I’m, you know…like, I had those goals and I had people who believed in me, and…all of those things. But…to have someone…that I wouldn’t have expected…I mean, not because they’re, I don’t think that people should believe in me. But because…I just…I don’t have that experience. So I…shared that part of myself and their immediate response was: You’ve got this. You can do this. Well of course you can do that? Why wouldn’t you do that? And my brain… had like a freak out moment where it was like: wait, that’s not the words that I was expecting to hear from them. …And…I…It’s just a…I…there’s…so many, so many emotions and so many things. But…to actually have that belief…can do so much. So it…makes me wanna…go out and believe in other people. You know? And share that sense of, of not having…boundaries put in front of you when you share something crazy. Umm, so yeah, positive thought for the day. Have a good one!

Out With The Old

All right so…another huge life event today, uh, well this week I guess. A couple of days ago I bought a new car, YAY, (laugh). Love new cars. Umm, and so today I sold my old car, which was kind of exciting, uh, but also very, very sad. Cause you know when you use something for a really long time, or you’ve owned something for a really long time, you finally decide that it’s time to get rid of it and pass it on. And then there’s that…post-ownership depression, I guess would be the best term for that, ah, shmeh, meh. Umm, but it, yeah like I was happy that I was selling my car cause I, I sold it to someone who really needed it. Umm, but at the same time I’d had that car for eleven years so… there was a little bit of my heart breaking as I saw them drive away in my car. Umm, yeah it was very sad. But, you know, I guess that’s kind of life, you know the passing off and realizing the things that you don’t need anymore.  Umm, and so you’re finally ready to step over them, or pass them off, or… you know whatever. And those of you who know me, know that I have a really hard time with getting rid of things that have sentimental value. So this was like… a big deal. Umm, but yeah I’m super excited about my new car. Umm, it’s…it’s very, very pretty. I’ll have ta…umm, post some pictures or something on here,…or… I don’t even know. But it’s a great car. Umm, so yeah, it just got me thinking about the things that we hold onto in life and, umm, when we decide that it’s time to, umm, purge those things from our life. Purge in a good way. Umm, you know, that… to step out of our comfort zone and get away from the sentimentality of it and just….clean house so to speak, sometimes literally. Umm, so yeah, so that’s my, my random thought for today. Hopefully you’re having a great day and hopefully this either gave you a laugh or, you know, just was fun to watch, (laugh). Thanks!

Goal Setting

Goal Setting. So I have been terrible my entire life with goal setting. But, lately I have been making progress on figuring out what I want to do and making plans to get there. So, today I realized just how amazing it is when you make progress of some kind, small step, big step, doesn’t matter what it is. But if it’s the right step, then, all of a sudden, you’re motivated to do so much more. Um… And that, just seems crazy to me, like, the, the change in my thinking, to be more positive. And the change in my energy level, umm, just from making changes in my life that are allowing me to get closer to the things that I want for myself. Umm…And it, you know I never really got it before. Umm, listening to people talk about: well you need to set a goal, then you need to set smaller goals, and you have to do this. And it…I just…I was like: that’s too much that’s… I can’t handle that. But…Now it kind of puts it in perspective so that I can make those changes better. Umm…So clearly one of them is to get back to my blogging. Umm…or vlogging, cause it’s a video log. Umm, but I…just thought…and was inspired to share that. That you know, if you find the right goal, you’re gonna get there. Umm, or you find the right step. Take that first step whatever it is and that sense of accomplishment and just the change in your perspective, depending on what it is, umm, can make a whole world of difference. So…good luck and thanks for listening and, and hopefully this…gave you some insight. I don’t even know. But, I’ll see ya’ll next time.