How Can It Be?

March? Almost spring [break]? So close to graduation? So close to Recital? Hold on– I’m gonna need to start over.

Where do I start?

In combined Training class last month, we were asked three questions. The first was one I could have written about all day: “What would you tell your younger self?” The second was along the lines of, “What life lesson have you learned through dance?” And the third– “What knowledge would you like to pass on to younger Training students?”

At the end of class, we were given the opportunity to share our responses. Honestly, I didn’t want to start sobbing right then (and I would have), but it’s just me and the words now, so here they are.

  1. God wants all the best for you. It won’t always feel like it. You won’t always want to believe it. But you aren’t always going to be right. And He loves you more than anything. It’s okay. You have nothing to be afraid of. God is eternal. He has made you eternal.
  2. Dance has taught me to keep moving forward, to keep pushing limits that I’ve created for myself. It’s taught me the difference between the things I can change and the things I must accept without fear or shame.
  3. Not every day is easy. Not every day feels like a “dance day.” That’s okay. You are more than today– and you are more than dance. Dance is a wonderful and beautiful gift, but God has given you others.

I appreciated beyond words the heartfelt responses from my dance family. This post is for them. Plies are plies, but we’re ever growing as people, and what a priceless gift it is to be dancing together.

And I guess that brings me back to the title. This song has been played pretty consistently in worship class lately, and it rings beautifully true. The price of freedom is so high, but it has been paid for each and every one of us. Our wrongs–past, present and future–have been righted. How can it be so good?

Graduation is a scary thought. My last Recital at the studio is a simultaneously exciting (oh, oh, oh, we’re using bamboo staffs in Ascension!) and dreadful thought. But my freedom is forever. And I’ll focus on that.

Aquinnah xo

God Does Know How to Tie Shoes

m14-1Nancy White Carlstrom first asked of me the question, “Does God know how to tie shoes?” to which I astutely replied, “I don’t know; I’ll have to finish the book.”

I was lying in bed several weeks ago when thoughts of the horrors which Chemistry inflicts upon the average high school student, punctuated by a comfortable feeling that I was soon to be rid of it for a few weeks of travel, were all at once interrupted by another, less familiar idea. Yes, Aquinnah, I do know how to tie shoes.

That was a nice thought… for a four-year-old. The God of the universe can tie shoes. So can I. But could He survive Chemistry and still make it to ballet class on time (and with a scrap of sanity)? Come to think of it, could He fill out those college applications, sitting in a dauntingly organized pile upon my desk? They would not have been there anyway, if not for that October morning of late when all I could think was, I have to go. I have to go to college. I want to go to college. Could He fit in 30 minutes of piano practice, getting up the guts to put that driver’s license to use and actually drive, working, eating, sleeping, laundry-doing, reading, writing, unpacking, packing…?

Yes, Aquinnah, I do know how to tie shoes.

Great.

So, I managed my list as best as I could, reminding myself from time to time that God can tie shoes and wondering what exactly that meant.

I toured three very different colleges over the course of about a week. I was all prepared to Rory Gilmore up some pro-con lists, to find my future home, but when it came down to it, I knew. I know that when the time comes, my home will find me. They always have. I’ve put my brain into those applications, but my heart has stitched itself into the facts on its own. It can’t help it!

I was appreciating a sunrise over the lake near my grandpa’s house, letting go of that which is out of my hands, when it finally came to me. I’ll give you a hint.


God knows how to tie shoes.


The simplest of simple, human duties– and He knew. He cared. And if God cared about tying shoes, the simple duty, the running-out-the-door science, then He cared about the overwhelming death of that one book character that was breaking my heart, the disorganization of traveling and that little spark of hope inside of me that dared to believe that I really wanted that one thing that I’d been afraid of for so long and that had found me anyway.

So, as I read Carlstrom’s famous question again, I say, “Yes, God does know how to tie shoes.”

In the words of Anne Shirley, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

Aquinnah

New Car Playlist

Happy May, loves!

It’s hard to believe that dress rehearsals for the kiddos start on Wednesday. I’m still trying to wrap my head around Picture Week. This being my third week of gross, relentless sickness, I’m ready for a change of pace. It’s coming up fast– faster since this freaking fabulous car moved into my garage yesterday.

BMW

Meet my beautiful merlot BMW! She requires an AUX cord to play music from my phone, and since I haven’t picked one up yet and I’m not very patient, I went old school and burned an upbeat New Car playlist onto a CD. Yay technology!

New Car Playlist
  • 22 by Taylor Swift
  • Best Day of My Life by American Authors
  • Beautiful World by Bon Jovi
  • Can’t Blame a Girl For Trying by Molotov Cocktail Piano
  • Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
  • Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas) by Regina Spektor
  • Fight Song/Amazing Grace by The Piano Guys
  • Life Is a Highway by Rascal Flatts
  • London by Benjamin Dunn & the Animal Orchestra
  • Lost Highway by Bon Jovi
  • Smoke and Fire by Sabrina Carpenter
  • Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
  • Welcome To Wherever You Are by Bon Jovi
  • When Can I See You Again? by Owl City
  • Home by Phillip Phillips
I think it’s a pretty good one, but seriously peeps– eyes on the road. 😉
Here’s to new adventures and upcoming dress rehearsal runs! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And the best is yet to come.
xo Aquinnah
P.S. Prom pictures on Google+ now…! Check them out!

DDD 2015

M5

Hey, Autumn! AUTUMN! No, move OVER, Winter… WINTER. I’m not TALKING to you! Autumn! SLOW DOWN!

*poof* Brain cells.
I can hardly believe that the first week of November has come and gone, leaving me with six Christmas dances, impending travels and a whole lot to write about.
DDD was this weekend, and though it was significantly different from last year’s fundraiser, I won’t soon forget it. I love Ms. Patrizia’s master classes, and I love the local high school, and I love my artsy community. My studio may stick out in a crowd… but that’s what happens when you pray, “Let us be light”.
Saying goodbye to Arise was hard. I didn’t want it to go. I think I could have performed it at every show for the rest of my life and been okay, but change is a necessary part of life, and A LOT of things are changing… hopefully for the better. While Pre-Training, ballet/tap combo and ballet 1A learn “Charlie Brown Medley” and “Born is the King”, I’m practicing Sugarplum and “Christmas Eve in Sarajevo” in Training 3; “Mary, Did You Know” in pointe; and “One Small Child” in modern. I’m also making college pro-con lists like a true Gilmore and trying to survive Personal Finance. Gotta love Personal Finance.
On the 30th of October (Wow, I’m behind…), we combined the Training Division in one awesome ballet class with Miss Bethanny and Miss Sara, as we’ll be doing each month through May. I hadn’t realized how big Training has become. I loved being able to meet our new family members. They’re awesome.
I’ve been teaching one combination per week in Pre-Training, and I’ll be teaching most of ballet 1A on Wednesday. I’m going to have to learn a whole lot of choreography on Thursday because next Thursday, I’ll be on my way to Clemson University. Fifteen-year-old me is beating up 16-year-old me right now, after being previously pummeled by 12-year-old me last week, but I’m really, really excited to get to South Carolina.
To new adventures,
Aquinnah

Photo Shoot ’15

Tomorrow, I turn 16. It’s kind of strange to think about. I always thought that when I turned 16, I would feel instantaneously different, but today, I’ve been thinking about all the great stuff that happened while I was 15. It wasn’t such a bad year itself– crazy, yes, but not bad.

I’ve been meaning to post these pictures for awhile, having finished this year’s photo shoot at last, and I’m glad to be doing it now. Though I’ve since gotten braces and performed in the summer showcase, these costumes represent some of my favorite moments from my 15th year, and these pictures are dear to my heart. I do hope you enjoy.

 

M1
I loved the costume – Garden of the Gods scenery combination.
M2
M4
Brody: Quinnah, why don’t you look at the camera?!
M6
Just hoping that the mountain bikers wouldn’t run me over…
M7
M8
Catching fire
M9
“Be multiplied”
M10
Brody: Seriously, Quinnah!– LOOK AT THE CAMERA!
M13
Please, don’t rain.
M14
M15
Desert breeze…
M16
… blow me away
M17
This one was Brody’s idea. 😉
M18

 

M19
Colorado clouds on point
M20
M22
Little brothers are the special little boys in your life who pick you flowers and take pictures of you with the flowers.
I1
Road trip to Rangeley– this is right after I fell in the swamp. The Blochs live on, and Dad and I had a good laugh.
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I8
Dad: Stay right there! Don’t move! I have an idea.
I9
Can you see the fairies?
I10
What dancers actually look like when they’re tying pointe shoes in the freezing cold after falling into a swamp.
I11
What dancers wish they looked like when they’re tying pointe shoes in the freezing cold after falling into a swamp.
I12
Possibly the greatest picture of me ever taken. It wasn’t planned. It just happened. I guess falling in a swamp does that to you (obviously, it was a terribly traumatic experience).
xoxo

Welcome to The Swell Life

When I’m not dancing, I’m reading. When I’m not reading, I’m writing. But what about when I’m not dancing, reading or writing?

Well… then I’m adventuring.
I love traveling, and so does the rest of my family. I have a whole list of places that I plan to visit before leaving this earth, and I’m confident that as a team, the six of us (counting the dog here) can make a pretty good dent in that list. I don’t often detail our road trips on this blog, which is why I am super excited to introduce to you (drum roll please)… The Swell.
Our all-new family blog has been in the works for weeks, and I, for one, am very proud of it. On the new webpage, you can read about my family’s adventures, both at home and far beyond. You’ll find “Whoopie Cookies” and “Making Forever Memories”, two pieces of mine on Summer Tour, already posted, and you’ll get to read some of my parent’s stuff, too.
PLUS! just for subscribing, we’ll mail you a free vinyl sticker (and–let’s be honest–our logo is freaking amazing). You get an email every time we post. You get a sticker at no cost to you whatsoever. We’re just handing out presents all over the place.
Life is one big, joyous adventure! Read more about mine and my family’s at The Swell. We hope to see you there!
Aquinnah