It's been a while I realize that I have posted anything, but in a ways it is good because I now have so much information to share. First off, I went to the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA) two weekends ago at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. While a great experience, the whole process drained me of energy. TIP #1 to FRESHMEN- always become involved in activities, even if they seem to be geared more towards upperclassmen. At ACDFA we, Rutgers University, submitted two works choreographed by current BFA dance seniors to be judged by adjudicators in the hopes of being the best at the festival, thus us going to nationals at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC yada-yada-yada. We get it, you get it- we wanted to be the best school and represent Rutgers well! Thankfully, we did. Out of dozens of pieces submitted by schools all over the Northeast (and some from the midwest), one of the works (Vacillation Revisited, choreographed by senior Lauren Connelly) was chosen to be one of two to be allowed to perform at the Kennedy Center. WOOT GO RUTGERS!!! Overall the experience was 4 days of sleep deprivation, hard classes, and cold weather thanks to Mercyhurst's unfortunate location next to a Great Lake...never before have I appreciated New Jersey's weather system.
After fully recovering from ACDFA, which I still feel like I haven't, I've had to focus more and more on my academics. Juries are currently being held (AKA Mason Gross classes which are judged in front of faculty to determine whether or not you are still worthy of the school, yikes) this week and next week. If that is not enough stress, my Research class is continuing to barge onwards without me. TIP #2 to FRESHMEN- make sure your teachers love you; it's not sucking up if you wind up getting an A. Thankfully, my Research teacher seemingly loves me (hopefully) because I laugh at all her jokes and pretend to have philosophical insights beyond my years. But hey, as long as I wind up with a good grade, I'm totally okay.
TIP #3 to FRESHMEN- make sure you actually study for exams...I almost learned this one the hard way since I just had two of my first official exams at Rutgers!! Okay, my life sounds kinda good on paper- going to the library for the first time a few weeks ago, having my first exams last week, being a dance major where I have no true homework...life is good. Not. But seriously, I learned last week that one must study in order to excell on tests in real academia world. While I did not fail any of them, I couldve done better and I need to be more diligent regarding my non-dance classes.
Other than that, I have been slowly trudging along, working on my Research paper, sleeping a lot, eating elephant size loads, and trying to balance a healthy social life with a healthy academic existence. It may be hard but it is something which must be overcome in order to succeed at Rutgers
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