Hello fellow friends! (If anyone actually reads this ;)
Well I'm not actually sure if anyone reads this, but I enjoy writing it anyway! This week has been so fun watching the trees start to bloom each morning. Every time I go outside I feel like I notice another tree thats come alive :) There are these beautiful little white flowers on the twigs that look so cute. I'm so excited once they're fully bloomed and to be able to have my street lined with trees on both sides. I've always dreamed of living on a street like this, maybe this is my chance! (Its a little more difficult to find this type of street in AZ).
Anyways, Its my Sunday evening writing time--hah at least that has what is been these past few weeks. I have officially been here 3 weeks now. Almost a month. wow time goes by pretty fast! However, slow in terms of missing my loved ones :) I just got home from Connecticut today-I was there for like 24 hours watching the TriState Challenge ballroom competition. It was really fun to be in the competitive environment! You walk in the door and your transferred into a world of the most rhinestones you've ever seen in your life, hair-dos and costumes that are questionable how they are even staying on, and tanning that makes a person's nationality unknown.
Overall, the competition wasn't huge because it was just a local one. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed in watching the Pro Rhythm (my division) portion of the competition. Not only did it start at midnight, but it just lacked a large amount of energy and technical precision. Now I may not have all the experience in the book, but I can definitely recognize good technique and how pro's should represent the style. It left me having different emotions. On one hand I was sad to see it represented not at the highest quality, but on the other hand I was encouraged that I know I can compete in the pro division and look half-way decent :)
This past week I had a try-out with a guy who offered me partnership and job and moving compensation...to LA. It threw me for a loop because I literally just relocated. I had to take time to pray and just process if this was the right opportunity. I feel as if I am still suppose to be out here in NY holding off for a bit of a better opportunity. I am waiting on trying out with a guy who recently just arrived here from Serbia, so maybe that one will go well?
In the meantime, I am working with past World Rhythm Champions Jose and Joanna, who I have been enjoying tremendously!! Joanna is showing me ways to improve my technique-while still staying true to body rhythm. Jose will be working on me with my connection with my partner-using my back to relate and be easier on my partner to lead me. I absolutely love the process of improving. In fact, it is something I will continue to do for the rest of my life! I love learning new things each lesson and then getting to apply it to my dancing. I strive to always humble myself and never consider myself to good to learn from certain people. Every coach has a different "method" or style of teaching, but I believe we can truly learn from them all. I definitely know we can connect and relate with certain people and its important to find them and build consistency and relationships with them. But I dont think this should turn into a negative attitude towards other coaches.
I am really learning the process of fully being a student right now. I am not teaching at the moment and just blessed to have the opportunity to train right now. It can get frustrating at times while I am trying out and waiting for the right partner for me, but I am trying to embrace the moment. While there are definitely exciting things ahead, I have been encouraged this week to embrace where I'm at right now.
I reconnected with a guy this past weekend who recognized me from comps a while ago who is opening a new studio in Stamford, Ct. We are going to practice smooth together, which I'm really excited for! I have just been focusing on Rhythm right now and definitely excited to feel the beautiful traveling movement of the Viennese Waltz- or the jazzy styling of the Foxtrot.
Well I pray for more opportunities this week and pray that I come closer to reaching my goal! I will continue to press in to learning and being the best student I can and applying all the knowledge given to me to my dancing. I pray for all my loved ones-friends and family- you are all in my heart more then you know! I can't wait to see you soon!
Blessings from me and the city!
Erica :)
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Life in the city.
Well here it is...day 10 of living in the big city. I have learned a few things far...
1) It can be like 40 degrees one day and apparently like 70 the next.
2)My hair is not going to like this city's humidity and definitely a waste of time to blow dry.
3) Musicians in the subway are AMAZING!
4) There is a day completely dedicated to the macarons in NYC (not the coconut macaroons people :))
5) It is very convenient to own a little personal shopping cart to haul groceries
6) Times square has way to many people
7) Do not try to surprise your boyfriend at the airport terminal unless you actually know which terminal he is arriving in
8) I love broadway shows
9) The bar method kicked my butt
10) Central park makes me seriously miss my dog
11) Daylight savings time...whats that?
Ok so those are few little things I've learned on this journey of mine. Well it is currently thursday evening and I'm sitting in my cozy little room on my cozy little bed taking some time to update you all. I feel as if today was my first actual day of starting my life out here in NYC. Up to this point it has been transitioning, moving in, and spending the most amazing few days with my boyfriend (which i will explain more in detail in a bit). I am both excited and a little anxious to actually give this whole, "trying to make it in the big city" a try. I know God has called me out here and wants to do big things-even if its different than what I think, so I am ecstatic to continue on my journey!
So lets take it back a few days, shall we?
It is a beautiful sunday afternoon. Travis is arriving at the Newark airport about 215pm. I told him that he would be taking the bus/subway to my place, but had a different plan in mind. Soo i get on the express bus to Newark before he arrives. I have my iPad with a huge font just saying, "TRAVIS MARR" waiting to stand and act like a driver. Soo he is off the plane and gives me a call, "just go to baggage claim and tell me when your there," I say. Once he claims he's there I am hiding my face with my note saying his name and standing with these old men. They were looking at me weird, but hey when your in love you'll do crazy things! Another few minutes go by and we are both very confused. I soon realize I'm not even in his terminal, so to my dismay I had to tell him my surprise. We quickly reunite and all is history...just kidding. I'll briefly describe what we did!
After making it to my place, we quickly start are trip nowhere other than the amazingly beautiful Central Park right outside my apartment. It was so beautiful and relaxing just walking hand in hand with him and people watching. From there we change settings a bit and head down to Times Square. It was his first time so needless to say he was pretty excited! We got some dessert at an old time favorite of mine...Roxy's.
The next day is started by having brunch at one of our favorite cafe/bakeries in the city "La Maison du Macaron" pure, authentic, french. You think you've tasted good bakery items until you've been to this place. mmmm...(puts magnolia bakery/sprinkles to shame) From there we spend time in an amazing area called Chelsea Marketplace. This is one of the coolest indoor/vintage/trendy shopping places I've ever been! Cafes, vintage clothes, markets, european imports, new upcoming designers/artists, bakeries. Amazing! Those of you making a trip out east make sure to go there! We continued to go to this place called "High Line Park." Trav gets all the credit for finding this little treasure. It is an old above ground subway system converted into a walkway/park. This was ridiculously cool, I kept thinking about how many good photo ops there were. It was like long walkway through the buildings with trees and benches and birdhouses. All just open air and in between buildings for miles. Very very neat.
The next day is amazing...I mean any day spent with Travis is nothing short of amazing and adventurous. We head down by the south ferry near the world trade center memorial to get discount tickets for broadway shows. There were so many options, but we settled with Mary Poppins. And boy am I glad we did! We spent the next few hours going to...you guessed it more bakeries (this is product of my mom being a baker and my boyfriend and her starting up their new business-get ready world they hit the market in about a month!) We go to the world famous Waldorf Astoria hotel where I've stayed more times then I can count and have more memories then i can remember there. It was almost like every summer I spent there and won two of my national titles in this magical hotel...and people it really is nothing short of pure brilliance. We walked to different cathedrals and stopped and spent some prayer time in St. Barts. So beautiful! Then the time came and we got to go to Mary Poppins! It was a such a joyous time! (besides the fact the lady next had a bit of an odor problem ha) I'm so glad we went it was amazing.
Our last day was spent near central park, visiting the waldorf and enjoying our favorite macarons from Bouchon Bakery. Then it was a hard goodbye knowing I won't see him for at least a 6 more weeks :( But on the bright side, each day is one more day closer to being together again! Here are a few pics from the trip...
Now after he left I had to face the fact that real life is now taking place. It is time to get my butt into gear. It is definitely exciting. I visited two studios and scheduled lessons with Melanie LaPatin, Joanna Zacharewicz, and Tomas meilnicki. I'm beyond excited. Not to mention I took my first class in "The Bar Method" in Soho and it kicked my butt. My legs were shaking so bad ha but I can't wait to get them into gear :)
I am excited to see what God unfolds to me through working with these coaches and having more tryouts with professionals. He has the perfect plan and I am learning to trust him more and more. I will be doing more updates when things start unfolding.
Much love from me and the city,
Erica
1) It can be like 40 degrees one day and apparently like 70 the next.
2)My hair is not going to like this city's humidity and definitely a waste of time to blow dry.
3) Musicians in the subway are AMAZING!
4) There is a day completely dedicated to the macarons in NYC (not the coconut macaroons people :))
5) It is very convenient to own a little personal shopping cart to haul groceries
6) Times square has way to many people
7) Do not try to surprise your boyfriend at the airport terminal unless you actually know which terminal he is arriving in
8) I love broadway shows
9) The bar method kicked my butt
10) Central park makes me seriously miss my dog
11) Daylight savings time...whats that?
Ok so those are few little things I've learned on this journey of mine. Well it is currently thursday evening and I'm sitting in my cozy little room on my cozy little bed taking some time to update you all. I feel as if today was my first actual day of starting my life out here in NYC. Up to this point it has been transitioning, moving in, and spending the most amazing few days with my boyfriend (which i will explain more in detail in a bit). I am both excited and a little anxious to actually give this whole, "trying to make it in the big city" a try. I know God has called me out here and wants to do big things-even if its different than what I think, so I am ecstatic to continue on my journey!
So lets take it back a few days, shall we?
It is a beautiful sunday afternoon. Travis is arriving at the Newark airport about 215pm. I told him that he would be taking the bus/subway to my place, but had a different plan in mind. Soo i get on the express bus to Newark before he arrives. I have my iPad with a huge font just saying, "TRAVIS MARR" waiting to stand and act like a driver. Soo he is off the plane and gives me a call, "just go to baggage claim and tell me when your there," I say. Once he claims he's there I am hiding my face with my note saying his name and standing with these old men. They were looking at me weird, but hey when your in love you'll do crazy things! Another few minutes go by and we are both very confused. I soon realize I'm not even in his terminal, so to my dismay I had to tell him my surprise. We quickly reunite and all is history...just kidding. I'll briefly describe what we did!
After making it to my place, we quickly start are trip nowhere other than the amazingly beautiful Central Park right outside my apartment. It was so beautiful and relaxing just walking hand in hand with him and people watching. From there we change settings a bit and head down to Times Square. It was his first time so needless to say he was pretty excited! We got some dessert at an old time favorite of mine...Roxy's.
The next day is started by having brunch at one of our favorite cafe/bakeries in the city "La Maison du Macaron" pure, authentic, french. You think you've tasted good bakery items until you've been to this place. mmmm...(puts magnolia bakery/sprinkles to shame) From there we spend time in an amazing area called Chelsea Marketplace. This is one of the coolest indoor/vintage/trendy shopping places I've ever been! Cafes, vintage clothes, markets, european imports, new upcoming designers/artists, bakeries. Amazing! Those of you making a trip out east make sure to go there! We continued to go to this place called "High Line Park." Trav gets all the credit for finding this little treasure. It is an old above ground subway system converted into a walkway/park. This was ridiculously cool, I kept thinking about how many good photo ops there were. It was like long walkway through the buildings with trees and benches and birdhouses. All just open air and in between buildings for miles. Very very neat.
The next day is amazing...I mean any day spent with Travis is nothing short of amazing and adventurous. We head down by the south ferry near the world trade center memorial to get discount tickets for broadway shows. There were so many options, but we settled with Mary Poppins. And boy am I glad we did! We spent the next few hours going to...you guessed it more bakeries (this is product of my mom being a baker and my boyfriend and her starting up their new business-get ready world they hit the market in about a month!) We go to the world famous Waldorf Astoria hotel where I've stayed more times then I can count and have more memories then i can remember there. It was almost like every summer I spent there and won two of my national titles in this magical hotel...and people it really is nothing short of pure brilliance. We walked to different cathedrals and stopped and spent some prayer time in St. Barts. So beautiful! Then the time came and we got to go to Mary Poppins! It was a such a joyous time! (besides the fact the lady next had a bit of an odor problem ha) I'm so glad we went it was amazing.
Our last day was spent near central park, visiting the waldorf and enjoying our favorite macarons from Bouchon Bakery. Then it was a hard goodbye knowing I won't see him for at least a 6 more weeks :( But on the bright side, each day is one more day closer to being together again! Here are a few pics from the trip...
Now after he left I had to face the fact that real life is now taking place. It is time to get my butt into gear. It is definitely exciting. I visited two studios and scheduled lessons with Melanie LaPatin, Joanna Zacharewicz, and Tomas meilnicki. I'm beyond excited. Not to mention I took my first class in "The Bar Method" in Soho and it kicked my butt. My legs were shaking so bad ha but I can't wait to get them into gear :)
Much love from me and the city,
Erica
Friday, March 9, 2012
The beginning of a big journey
Well well well...I've never done a blog before, but I think it will be something really fun to try! I thought this would be a fun way for family and friends to stay updated with my life :)
As most of you already know, I have recently moved to New York City. The Big Apple. Manhattan. NYC. The city that never sleeps. Ok, you get the idea. It has been a fairly smooth transition. Granted, I was very busy and pretty much working until the day I moved, I was somehow able to get everything packed up basically the night before (Thank you Jesus).
I was so blessed to be able to have my mom come and help me move in. She is amazing! If you spend a few days with this woman, you will understand. She has an undying amount of energy! I'm 22 and should be the one on the go, but whew it was hard to keep up with her! She definitely has a passion for decorating, which has always transfused into me as well. Therefore, the two of us in nyc and an empty apartment to fill, makes a deadly combination. I have to say In about a day and a half we were able to make my room so cozy and add amazing touches to the apt. It makes me so excited to come home to my cute little room :)
Some of you may be wondering how I came about this apartment. Well it was completely God. I came out about a week prior to moving with no place lined up yet. I kept praying for God to provide and make it very clear...and boy did he ever! I ended up contacting a few people through a church website out in nyc, which has classified ads. This one was one of the ones who responded. It was two girls my same age who have graduated school and have full-time jobs in the big city. When I saw there place I instantly fell in love! I have my own room and a nice spacious living room, not to mention its about 100 ft from the beautiful Central Park. Hello running and journaling in the park :)
Anyways so thats where I live now and its awesome. Everyone has been asking...now what?? Well thats a good question. I'll let you know when I figure it out. lol just kidding. But it is just kind of the process now at this point. My first order of business is locking in my professional partner. I have had a few try-outs with some guys and am waiting on some more. A guy from Serbia is coming to the US march 20th so I am lining up a try-out with him. It is a crazy process trying to find a partner. It is so much more then dancing. You have to be like-minded with the same views on dancing and goals in mind. Not too easy to find, but I know God is going to bring the perfect partner for me. I'm just hoping sooner then later (hint hint Jesus :))
But in all this is going to be a amazing growing experience for me. I am being completely challenged in my faith to trust not only in God's timing, but also leaning on Him as my Comforter. I have never walked away from everything I have and everyone I know to go across the country. It is amazing how much peace about it I have though. God is stretching me in ways I could not imagine. Everything is new. Learning how to live with roommates, learning how to ride and travel on the subway, learning to cook at home more instead of eating out all the time :), learning to not let fear control my decisions, learning to release the control I want of my life over to God, learning to be confident in my dancing and put myself out there for potential partners, learning how to be an extravagant lover of Jesus in an industry based on image and perfection. I can't wait to see how I grow and where God takes me in these next months.
I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support of my family and friends to be able to do this. Not to mention the most amazingly perfect boyfriend ever. Wow, the fact that he is supporting me to pursue my dreams across the country when we want to be together says so much! I am so blessed by his love! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and this transition, I can honestly say your prayers have done wonders! I will be sure to keep you posted on further adventures! :)
As most of you already know, I have recently moved to New York City. The Big Apple. Manhattan. NYC. The city that never sleeps. Ok, you get the idea. It has been a fairly smooth transition. Granted, I was very busy and pretty much working until the day I moved, I was somehow able to get everything packed up basically the night before (Thank you Jesus).
I was so blessed to be able to have my mom come and help me move in. She is amazing! If you spend a few days with this woman, you will understand. She has an undying amount of energy! I'm 22 and should be the one on the go, but whew it was hard to keep up with her! She definitely has a passion for decorating, which has always transfused into me as well. Therefore, the two of us in nyc and an empty apartment to fill, makes a deadly combination. I have to say In about a day and a half we were able to make my room so cozy and add amazing touches to the apt. It makes me so excited to come home to my cute little room :)
Some of you may be wondering how I came about this apartment. Well it was completely God. I came out about a week prior to moving with no place lined up yet. I kept praying for God to provide and make it very clear...and boy did he ever! I ended up contacting a few people through a church website out in nyc, which has classified ads. This one was one of the ones who responded. It was two girls my same age who have graduated school and have full-time jobs in the big city. When I saw there place I instantly fell in love! I have my own room and a nice spacious living room, not to mention its about 100 ft from the beautiful Central Park. Hello running and journaling in the park :)
Anyways so thats where I live now and its awesome. Everyone has been asking...now what?? Well thats a good question. I'll let you know when I figure it out. lol just kidding. But it is just kind of the process now at this point. My first order of business is locking in my professional partner. I have had a few try-outs with some guys and am waiting on some more. A guy from Serbia is coming to the US march 20th so I am lining up a try-out with him. It is a crazy process trying to find a partner. It is so much more then dancing. You have to be like-minded with the same views on dancing and goals in mind. Not too easy to find, but I know God is going to bring the perfect partner for me. I'm just hoping sooner then later (hint hint Jesus :))
But in all this is going to be a amazing growing experience for me. I am being completely challenged in my faith to trust not only in God's timing, but also leaning on Him as my Comforter. I have never walked away from everything I have and everyone I know to go across the country. It is amazing how much peace about it I have though. God is stretching me in ways I could not imagine. Everything is new. Learning how to live with roommates, learning how to ride and travel on the subway, learning to cook at home more instead of eating out all the time :), learning to not let fear control my decisions, learning to release the control I want of my life over to God, learning to be confident in my dancing and put myself out there for potential partners, learning how to be an extravagant lover of Jesus in an industry based on image and perfection. I can't wait to see how I grow and where God takes me in these next months.
I am absolutely overwhelmed by the support of my family and friends to be able to do this. Not to mention the most amazingly perfect boyfriend ever. Wow, the fact that he is supporting me to pursue my dreams across the country when we want to be together says so much! I am so blessed by his love! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and this transition, I can honestly say your prayers have done wonders! I will be sure to keep you posted on further adventures! :)
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