Well, folks. 2019 is officially a year of the past!
This year kicked my butt in the best possible ways. It led me back to my passions and encouraged my dreams of the future. It gave me a lot of firsts and the taste of new dreams that I now file under the life-long category. I’m incredibly excited for what this year will bring, and I knew that I need to start it right. So, in the spirit of bringing the best things from 2019 with me into 2020, I spent both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day with my best friends.
We spent the eve part at Isaac’s, playing Guitar Hero, Uno, and What Do You Meme until it was almost midnight. Then, we set off some firecrackers and small colored smoke bombs to ring in the New Year and Isaac’s birthday. We played music and scream-sang while dancing and laughing and crying, celebrating that we had survived another year and made it out together. In between our teen-movie moments, Izzy and I snapped a bunch of pictures of both halves of the night, a majority of the first half shot by me and the second shot by Izzy.
Eventually, quiet came, thoughts and memories seeped in and clean up crew was in full swing. We hugged each other, danced with each other, and sang to each other. It was a peaceful, sort of bittersweet farewell to the year that had brought us closer together after the explosion of joy that the sufferings that came with 2019 were final.
It’s silly to think that all struggles from an entire year disappear because the clock changes from 11:59:59 to 12:00:00, but for that split second it is the most blissful and reassuring thing. The idea that all the heartache, the sadness, the failure can be left behind with, essentially, a box of stored memories stacked nicely atop one another is something that puts the mind to rest. Even the most active of minds.
I had so many favorite moments from this year, and though I may not have enjoyed every lasting second, all of them built me up into who you read about today. Every booming laugh, quiet cry, spontaneous dance, explosive fight, treasured memory and resented moment brought me to a few self-asessments and conclusions that provoke this year’s (and this decade’s) New Year’s resolutions.
But, before we get to those, I want to do a recap of the year that shaped me, and shaped me well.
WINTER 2019
In January and February, I settled into the new year and the new opportunities that it was already prompting me with. I started the year off with a snow day, where my family and I went up to the mountains with my grandparents, my tia, and my cousin to play in the snow. It was cold and extremely fun, and that’s about all I remember from that day.
January also happened to be the month that I was cast in my first principal role in a high school musical. It got the ball rolling for me in the advanced drama department at my school and kept me busy, which I let push a wedge between Alex, Isaac and I and which brought me closer to Nat and the gang (since they were in my classes).
In February, I kept up with rehearsals, schoolwork, and my cafeteria job and with absolutely nothing else. It was in these first few months that I was notified of my AMDA summer program acceptance and applied for the NSLC Theatre program. This joy and anticipation lulled over into spring, only distracted by how packed my schedule became as time went on.
SPRING 2019
Spring was one event after another, everyday all day long. In March-in between reahearsals, tech week, and going to see friend’s shows- I stayed up until 1:30am to open the email from NSLC that said I had been accepted into the Theatre summer program. I felt the importance of the email and tucked it away for later, until the morning when I could tell my parents and when my friends would respond to my “HOLY CRAP I ACTUALLY GOT IN! I’M GOING TO NEW YORK!” texts.
From then on, I kicked the machine into high gear and sprinted toward that summer finish line. In April, we opened Urinetown and closed it with great success. (To read more about that production, click here for a blog post all about it!) Shortly after it closed, my mom took some castmates and I all the way to Ventura County and back to watch Katherine Steele (Musical Theatre Kid Icon, youtube sensation) perform in Evil Dead: The Musical. We met Katherine and took pictures with her after her and another cast member, Maggie Kennedy, signed our programs.
May eventually came along, and so passed finals, to make way for the sweet relief of our Drama Disney day. Advanced drama and Improv alike came together and headed down to Disneyland for the Performing Arts experience and a day to enjoy all that the Happiest Place on Earth had to offer.(To read more about that day, click here.) That day also happened to be the day I re-branded my blog! It had been more than a year since I had even touched Writer’s Cup Of Tea, and I felt that it was time to come back to it. I started it off with a reintroduction post that I published in line for It’s A Small World, and rolled posts out like it was nothing from then on.
SUMMER 2019
The amazing summer I had planned for myself had finally arrived! Gone were the days of homework, cafeteria jobs, and stress. Summer had arrived and it had slapped me in the face with uncontrollable joy. The summer of 2019 made all other summers look like disgraceful fools.
In June, I soaked in the sun and spent my days reading, singing at the top of my lungs, and swimming in every pool and ocean I came near. I had so much fun living without care but spent the last week of it building up the anticipation for the fruits of July.
July brought the same relaxed, picture-perfect summer I had been experiencing in the past month, this time overpowered by swelling excitement. I had New York City to shop for, clothes to pack, and planning to do. Before that, I celebrated July 3rd with some friends and enjoyed time with my family . Then, it was time to head to LAX with my mom to catch a red-eye, my first flight ever, to NYC. I had the most wonderful time there and met so many world-changing, earth-shattering people that I still hold near and dear to my heart. (Read Part One of the trip and Part Two)
Once I came back, August sneakily rolled in and shoved me into school while I was still dreamy and heart-eyed about New York. For the rest of the month, I couldn’t shut up about NSLC and I had completely ignored the fact that I was entering the first semester of my Junior year until September.
FALL 2019
In September, I settled into the routine of school and reorganized my brain well enough to set goals for the school year. I officially quit cafeteria job to offer more time with those I valued most, meaning I made amends with Alex and Isaac (even though they insisted that apologies were unnecessary, because that’s how wonderful they are) and reconnected with Em and Izzy. I rejoined Improv as head hostess and was so happy to back where I belonged, in my passions and with my friends.
September was also the month of Nat’s birthday and my first homecoming. Both were a blast, but the days in between them felt like a horrible drag because of personal conflicts I had placed myself in. September was the month of reconnection and tears. Lots of tears.
In October, I bounced back. October is birthday month, and birthday month is a time where no tears (unless they are of joy) are allowed anywhere. October was a beautiful time of renewal, where I was experiencing my first principal role in a high school play .I got the part I hoped for, Ellie, and turned sixteen. To celebrate my turning 16, I went to Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights with Cynthia and Naleiah, where we had a blast.
November was a rush like no other. We opened and closed Game Of Tiaras in a flash, and my friends were right there in the audience to support me and fill the audience with laughter and love. As soon as the show closed and the last week of first quarter finished out, it was off to have movie nights with my friends and tour San Diego. This is where I abruptly left you guys off, and let you catch up in December with an update post.
WINTER 2019
This is where my teenagedom sparked. Since birth, I’ve been mature for my age, and becoming the oldest of four only helped that base of my personality strengthen. I’ve never enjoyed my age and I’ve always longed to be older. Now, I’m enjoying my youth with the best people beside me. December was a new set of highs and lows for me, and Christmas break handed me its own set of mental issues. It also issued me great support from my family and friends, who I love with all of my heart.
Now back to those resolutions I mentioned earlier.
Besides the end of an exceptionally long year, New Year’s Eve 2019 also felt like an official farewell to my childhood. The 2010’s were an important ten years for me. It was where I crossed over into middle school, where I first entered the jaws of high school, and where I released the days of being a kid. I am now caught between a set of child and adult catch-all years.
So, in review of the past decade and the past year, I have made two resolution lists. One is for 2020, and the other is for the decade that follows.
2020-2030’S RESOLUTIONS
- Make Professional Theatre debut
- Write and direct a short film
- Take a trip to Europe with my family
- Move to New York City
- Write and publish a book
- Make movie/tv debut
- Graduate from college
2020 RESOLUTIONS
- Get my driver’s liscence
- Start and continue vocal training
- Get a job
- Post more creative writing pieces of Writer’s Cup Of Tea
- Take a community college course in film or directorial education
- Crush Ethnic Studies Course this spring
- Plan and experience a college-ready, teen-movie summer
I kicked the first day off well with a sleepover at Em’s with her and Izzy, and a continued celebration of Isaac’s birthday at the bowling alley on New Year’s Day. I’m working toward my resolutions already, working on Thursday’s post (the first of a creative writing series I’m starting), researching study methods for my permit test and entry requirements for community courses. I’m also looking into vocal coaches with my parents and working on my resume and applications to various places near my home and school.
2020 is looking up already, and I’m excited to see what the rest of the Roaring 20’s of the 21st century is going to be like.
Happy New Year and an especially Roaring 20’s to you guys. I’ll be back with a creative piece on Thursday.
Until then!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi guys! Happy New Year and thanks so much for reading my blog post!
I am so excited to see what this year holds and I’ve already planted some seeds for a beautiful recap of 2020 next year. 2020 is going to see me through a lot, probably a lot more than 2019 did, and I absolutely can’t wait for it.
As usual, like and comment if you please, I’d love to learn about you and your thoughts on my writing or my blog so far! If you have any thoughts on this post or have any suggestions for what you’d like to see from me in the future, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you all!
I’ll see you all on Thursday with the first post in what is planned to be a long series of my creative/fictional writing!
Until then!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Want more updates on the blog of info about me? Follow my social media below!
Instagram:
Twitter:
Writer's Cup Of Tea 