and those in the air, may they fly free

•August 10th, 2016: Saint Paul, Minnesota•

#SeniorPicWednesday???

I’m starting my senior year of high school in a month and boy I am freaking out. And not because I’m worried it’ll be hard, or that I’ll be an idiot, or that I’m going to have to grow up some more. No, I’m freaking out because it’s the last time high school will be hard, the last time I’ll be an idiot teenager, the last time teachers will be the ones making me grow up. Even though I don’t necessarily like those things, this year will contain a lot of last times for the parts of high school I love. My last choir concert, my last time wandering the halls before class, my last lunch in the music wing, my last morning hanging out in the drama classroom, my last time on my stage, my last show, my last time screaming “Roseville Humpbacks” at the top of my lungs, and the last time everyone will respond to me with a whale call. School hasn’t even started yet and I already miss it. That said, there are a lot of things I’m excited for this year. So with those things in mind, I’ve written out a few goals that I’m going to share… partially because I’m narcissistic, and partially because I wanna check back in throughout the year to see how I’m doing on these goals :)

Anyway, without further ado, I present my senior year goals: -Don’t die. -Get a job. -Get a tattoo. -Apply to colleges. -Apply to gap year programs.* -YouTube -Have a bomb ass homecoming spirit week. -The Year Of The Tights™ (dress nicer). -Be the best goddamn theatre mom you can be. -Get a girlfriend (you thirsty hoe).** -Actually do the things I say I’m going to, without saying yes to so much that it becomes impossible.

Some of these scare me more than others, but if I were to wake up tomorrow morning and suddenly it was September 7th, I think I’d be okay.

*Anyone know of any good programs? The internet is decent at best when it comes to gap years.

Road tripping*, I’ve decided, is a lot like waiting in an airport. Waiting in an airport for a plane that won’t be there for 13 hours. It sucks. You try to amuse yourself with the internet, books, movies, and naps. Sometimes you get up and you go pee and you buy food that makes your insides feel like a landfill. But nothing changes the fact that you are stuck waiting and it overwhelmingly boring. And airports have the added bonus of people watching and providing space to wander. You can’t wander inside your car and the only people you can watch are those inside the car with you, who look bored and tired and make you realize that you probably look just as bored and tired as them.

I’ve spent the last seven years of my life driving the 13 hours between the Twin Cities and my hometown of Red Lodge, Montana multiple times a year, and I am currently three and a half hours into a two day drive from Minnesota to New York City. So I know about spending extended periods of time in the car. My original idea for this post was to provide a list of ways to combat boredom and exhaustion, but when it came to making the list… I couldn’t think of a single thing to put on it. The truth is, driving is boring and driving is exhausting** and there is nothing that can be done about it. You just get through it. You watch movies, you read books, you have Broadway sing-a-longs, you take naps that don’t leave you feeling rested, and you get through it. And when you reach the other end, you’re in a new place and you get to sleep in a bed that might not be your own, but it’s a different bed than the last one you slept in.

Also, you’re not waiting in the airport anymore. And it’s awesome.

*at least in the way my family does it, for the purpose of getting from point A to point B (rather than to explore wherever we’re driving through)

**For every hour you spend driving, even if you’re just a passenger, you’re going to need a half hour of sleep to recover.

the picture doesn’t do it justice.

Forty-eight hours ago, I was walking back to my dorm room for my last hours of sleep at the 2015 International Thespian Festival. This summer’s first trip has come and gone, and I now know what it’s like to spend a week living on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus surrounded by theatre nerds. We observed, learned, performed, competed, created, ate, slept, laughed, and gossiped together. It was awesome. The only way I can really think of to properly communicate to you what I did in Lincoln is to give you a brief overview of each day, explaining the necessary as I go along. It’ll be long and boring, but this journal is more for myself anyway.

Day One (Monday 6/22)

I, and the other members of Thespian Troupe #1746 arrived at RAHS at an ungodly hour of the morning to board a bus and drive to Nebraska. We moved into our dorm rooms and had our first UNL meal.

Day Two (Tuesday 6/23)

The Roseville Humpbacks competed in Tech Challenge, taking 2nd in Quick Change and Button Sewing, 1st in Prop exchange, and 3rd overall (this is a very big deal, we are all extremely excited). The mainstage show was White Christmas, and later, after everyone had dressed up for the Curtain Call Ball, 1746 attended The 39 Steps.

Day Three (Wednesday 6/24)

I’m pretty sure I slept through breakfast on this day, but I’m not sure. Anyway, the mainstage show, Xanadu was wonderful (we got glow sticks), as was Lost In Yonkers.

Day Four (Thursday 6/25)

At this point all I remember are the shows we saw and what the dance was, so I’m sorry for my lack of interesting content. The mainstage was Big Fish and the just-off-maistage was the incredibly underwhelming* Twilight of the Golds. Oh and that evening’s dance was the Red & Black Formal Affair. I wore pants. They were awesome.

Day Five (Friday 6/26)

This day was by far my favorite day at ITF. I learned about the same-sex marriage ruling from a presenter at the NIES** Awards Showcase, and spent the rest of the day walking around campus hearing kids saying “I can get married now!” #LoveWins was even incorporated into the announcements later that evening, followed by Hello! My Baby, which is the most wonderful and amazing musical I have ever seen. Seriously, you should be thankful I’m limiting my review of it to two sentences–I could go on forever about it. We also saw The Addams Family and attended Drom (drama prom).

Day Six (Saturday 6/27)

I spent some time shopping in Lincoln before seeing The Little Mermaid, which was disappointing*** after Hello! My Baby the night before. I did not see Unexpected Tenderness, choosing instead to pack and get ready for the Generations Gala.

Day Seven (Sunday 6/28)

Most of the Roseville girls got very little sleep, choosing instead to spend our last night at ITF talking, laughing, and breaking into tears over donuts. Okay that last one was just me, but it’s an amazing picture of donuts.

I then spent a great number of hours on a surprisingly uncomfortable coach bus and made it back to RAHS in time to jump in the car my grandparents had left for me and race to Bjorn’s choir concert. He had just returned from a tour of the East Coast with the Minnesota BoyChoir, and this annual homecoming concert is always the best. I made it just in time for my favorite song, and I am so happy to be reunited with my best friend.

*It is incredibly freeing to realize you can say you didn’t like a performance.

**NIES: National Individual Events Showcase. If you knew me before this past February, then you’ll know that me and my dear friend Miranda’s IE in duet acting received an Accomplished rating at the state level. While we were invited to compete at ITF, we were unable to due to Miranda’s being in Spain.

***These productions of Hello! My Baby and The Little Mermaid traveled from the same town in Wisconsin (the same theatre company I’m pretty sure), and so it was hard not to compare.

And here’s a bonus selfie because we’re cute.

Next up on the travel schedule: a month or so in Montana, during which I will try to update more regularly.

Peace,

My ears are ringing. My voice is hoarse, my legs sore, my fingers itching to play Effie (my ukulele). Of course Effie will have to wait until tomorrow. It’s late.

Walk Off The Earth are pretty awesome on YouTube (look up their cover of Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know) but that is nothing compared to how they are live. Ho. Ly. Crap. They’re incredible. AND I GOT TO SEE THEM PERFORM TONIGHT (my second concert of theirs) AT THE VARSITY THEATRE (one of the coolest venues on the planet). I didn’t take many pictures during their set because we were quite literally 3 feet away from the stage, but the ones I did take are coming on the post after this one (i’m on mobile). I’m too fried to write anything else. Peace out, WOTElings.

Hello. I’m Della. I’m 16. I don’t like packing and I don’t like unpacking—life is better with my suitcase always ready to go.