Here I present my write-up of the WCS survey I shared on Facebook in late March and early April of 2021. If you’d like a PDF of the survey to reference, I’ve made one available here. None of this is perfect, and I’m sure you’ll find things I could have done better all over. Still, …
2020 was definitely a year to read books. Good ones, preferably. As a kid, Thursday was always a bit special: Grandma came over and made dinner for the whole family! More pertinent to this post, my grandmother is also a wonderful librarian, and along with the shepherd’s pie or broccoli-ham hot dish (which, when asked, …
“Well, as a judge I really like to see clean basics…” I replied. The trope tumbled out of my mouth almost of its own volition. A competitor had just asked me the ever-popular: “What should I do to improve my placements?” Perhaps I answered with “Clean Basics” because I’d received this piece of age-old dance …
Whether it’s obvious or not, I’ve been traveling a lot lately, a questionable decision during the pandemic, so I’d like to lay out some of what I’ve been doing to keep myself and others safe during this time. I’m writing this because I fear that people will only see the travel and not the fairly …
Talking with my good friend Hannah the other day, we realized that we reminded ourselves of the villain/anti-hero of Stevenson’s classic novella “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” swinging from light to dark and back again, over the course of the pandemic. I think the comparison is a useful one, so if you’d …
Jekyll and Hyde: Toxic Positivity and Life in Quarantine Read More »
A few days ago I deleted my social media apps. I didn’t delete the accounts, just the apps on my phone. Why? A few reasons. Primarily, I want to get my focus back. During this quarantine I’ve found myself more glued to social media than ever before. I compulsively refresh my feeds at every moment …
Cleaning my closet the other day (what else are you going to do during the quarantine?) I found a trove of my old writings. It was a tiny bit inspiring and mostly mortifying. What follows is a vignette I wrote in 2013. It’s about 90% accurate to what actually happened, with just a hint of …
One interesting effect of the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic has been the sudden switch to online platforms for 90% of dance activities. From intensives to skype lessons, the world has moved digital. That’s pretty cool in a lot of ways. I’m also not a fan of it for myself. I risk sounding like a Debbie-downer here, …
Setting off on an extended tour is something I’ve always wanted to do. This winter I did it. I did it with one backpack. If not for Covid-19 I’d still be out there, adventuring! I’m happy to do my part and stay home for a while to prevent the spread of this disease though. In …
So, here’s the thing: Coronavirus sucks. We know this, it’s all anyone can talk about right now. You probably already know, but on the off chance you haven’t: get thee to some social distancing. Yes, right now. No, being young and unlikely to die from this does not excuse you. If you haven’t been convinced …