Things have been a whirlwind of heat, emotions and math.
For the past 3 years, I’ve worked 7 days a week. I still like this schedule, because for me, it is easier to stay in work mode and spread my work out each day. I also am one of those workers who likes having a lot of different things going on!
Having 3 jobs and being in school is pretty wild, but I am really grateful for each of these things that I get to do. I am lucky enough to say that I feel emotionally, creatively and physically fed by each of my jobs, something that has DEFINITELY not always been true.
I love kids. Working with kids is hard work but I have learned to be more patient than I ever knew was possible. My work with children involves art-play therapy, singing/vocalizing, dance, imaginative plasticity, and being a director, producer, composer/arranger and MD of children’s performance art.
I teach ages 4-18 privately and in groups. I am so looking forward to after school programs coming up as the work I do in different public schools which each of my students is among my most favorite.
Playing games to ignite their social and thinking brains and facilitating conversations in a safe space are amongst my most favorite and precious things in my day to day.
Tiny Gun/Solo Band/Music:
With live music coming back, I have to be honest and admit it gives me feelings of anxiety. After the last year and a half of being in lockdown, teaching on zoom, etc., I am happy to say that live music has returned in some capacity.. but there are so many nuanced factors that affect how we really let ourselves feel.
Almost every person I’ve spoken to in music has been on the same page. It’s nice, but is this sustainable? Are we going to return back into the void of digital creativity because everything is so unclear?
If I play this set at this place, are people going to be asked to wear masks, will the equipment have been sanitized properly, have vaccine cards even been checked or inquired about, what about my colleagues who have too many medical complexities to get safely vaccinated because the CDC fails to recognize, include or excuse many autoimmune diseases, does that mean it is now both illegal to work for my friends and family who cannot get safely vaccinated and also that they will be unable to pay their expensive out of pocket bills that health insurance doesn’t cover?
Live music is my most favorite thing in the entire world and on my darkest days, it feels like a dying art, not due to lack of interest, but lack of access.
I’d say the general vibe surrounding live music is scared but hopeful.
This is such a fun and creative outlet for me! I started really taking this work seriously when it was the only way I could help kids feel like they got some sort of ‘recital,’ during lockdown.
Similar to athletes practicing and utilizing their practiced technique in games, there comes a point where we want to have something to look forward to. We want to run the race and get to feel what it’s like to have finished.
I started out with editing children’s singing videos. A capella, their own movies, music and dance videos, solo vocal recitals, I really dove in and expanded my knowledge of audio and video editing - this is a skill that I am still excited to learn more about and I love integrating these things into live performances as well. It’s actually that space between digital and live that I find really unexplored and fascinating!
I am pleasantly surprised at how many amazing projects I have been asked to be on and to operate as the video and audio engineer. I feel this has also opened up new possibilities for any Music Directing work I do.
Masters Degree in Art-Play Therapy:
I feel that I, among many others, returned to academia during lockdown. After a double major in my undergrad and all of my certificates (first aid, CPR, ASL, etc.) I really thought I was done with school.
It was both motivated by feeling unfulfilled in a music-less time, and also LOVING kids and the work I do with them. Especially over zoom, it became really clear to me how much we as people NEED art, playfulness and expression.
Children work through and process through play. This is why in my work as a TA, our performances are always driven by their ideas and are often taught through games and interactive activities.
Seeing kids on zoom everyday during lockdown, was a deeply emotional experience. I feel it was a time when many kids had to grow up a little faster than usual, and grown ups didn’t have a choice but to be vulnerable with their kids. I overheard a conversation between a mom and one of my students.
My student (8 y.o at the time) asked her mom “when is this going to be over? it makes me anxious that we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Her mom replied, “I don’t know when this is all going to be over. I’m in the same boat as you. It makes sense to be anxious but we will get through this and be just fine. We just have to be safe and do our part.”
This seems like such a normal interaction, but I think I am used to expecting and sometimes hearing parents dismiss their kids with “I don’t know, it’ll be over soon,” or “everything is fine don’t worry.”
I am about halfway done with this degree and it has been CHALLENGING to balance with all of my other jobs, but it’s nice to be a student in addition to being a teacher again :).
With the Fall quickly approaching, many changes are on the horizon. Our feelings are big and small and reasonable and correct. More updates coming soon.
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