My New Family, My New Life

DANCE ALLIANCE 2012.

It's my third time on the team.

Every time, the team becomes my family.

At the beginning of the year, I never know everyone. I always look around at all the unfamiliar faces, and try to ingrain them in my brain, so I'll be able to look back and remember that moment. The moment we all made the team, to be more specific.

It's one of my favorite things to look back on at the end of the year.

If you look back through my previous posts, you can see how much being on Dance Alliance has affected my life, and how much the people on the team have affected my life.

This is the last time I get to be on this incredible team....and I'm so excited! I'll graduate in July, we'll go on tour to the New England area, and then I'll be off to the "real" world!

What better way to finish my college career?

Honestly....I'm terrified.

I just about had a panic attack just now, writing about it.

But I'm also super excited.

I've been in school for my entire life! And suddenly, I'm about to be done?

(unless I do decide to go to grad school...)

Odd.

Wish me luck!

Growing Pains...from '11 to '12

Wow.

A lot happened in 2011.

A lot.

I finished my second year of Dance Alliance.

With a solo in the show.

Also touring in Texas.

I got a job at Melaleuca.

I was Relief Society president.

For two semesters.

And I learned a ton through my dancing.

A ton.

And this is all just a very brief skim over the surface.

To be honest though, most of what I've learned has come through dance.

It has applied to just about every part of my life.

Including the Gospel...my personality...my social life...school...family...etc.

I attribute a lot of this to my Somatics class.

What is Somatics, you ask?

That is a hard question to answer.

But I'll give it a whirl.

Somatics is an upper level class for my major (which is dance...if you didn't already know).

It's sort of a study of the body, mind, and spirit, and connecting them all together.

There are different techniques, or principles to learn from.

Last semester, we focused mostly on Bartenieff Fundamentals, and also

Laban's theories.

This semester we'll be focusing on Alexander technique.

Last semester, we were required to do three 4-minute solo improvs

We then watched the video of ourselves, and analyzed it based on our

knowledge of the principles we were learning.

It was very...very interesting.

It led to so many insights.

In fact, my teacher made a comment on one of my improvs that led to a

pretty deep insight to my personality that I hadn't ever really

acknowledged, or realized. That then led to a whole new discovery process

of myself.

To be honest, it was kind of a painful semester.

I learned so much about my weaknesses--physical, mental, emotional--and

it was kind of difficult to face.

But face it I did.

There were tears.

Which is kind of a miracle.

Because I don't cry. Like, ever.

It was rough, and very difficult.

But oh...so good!

I'm now at a point in my life where I can make changes happen.

Because I know now more than ever that I have to be the one to make those changes.

And make them I will!

So look out world....

Here comes the new and improved Megan Ruth Turner!