I never forget my love for theatre, but I always forget the level on which I love it until I get there. My effervescent adoration for the activity feels rekindled in full force this lovely Saturday morning.
The creativity that occurs in that auditorium is absolutely beyond gorgeous. I love trying, and seeing my friends try, something completely new on stage. Even if the effect is less than perfect, it's so refreshing to be able to be a new character, get involved in someone else. Every character has so much depth of their own. It lets me forget about what's troubling me, and focus on what's troubling my character.
Plus, it's unimaginably fun to see so much talent in one room. Skill is abundant in the theatre, and you don't have to look far to find someone you love. Everyone is vulnerable there. All of us stand up on stage and put ourselves out there. That itself is lovely. The fact that we can be so real with each other.
So ourselves that we can slip into the person of someone else.
The honest light of the theatre is a light hard to find. The people are of a special caliber, a rare breed. The talents of cast-mates feed each other. Inspire. We move each other to tears, and make each other laugh so hard our stomachs hurt. We are a beautiful, intricate people who know that an actor playing an evil character is probably not inherently evil in himself, and that two characters in love can be the most platonic of friends.
All of these are secrets of the backstage. The audience never sees these. They see only the beautiful masterpiece of a show, and that's what is fun for them.
But what I love most about theatre is seeing the beautiful masterpieces that are people - the most glorious, inspiring beings of humankind. These are the people I'm lucky enough to call "friends," the ones that remind me why I so much adore what is humanity today. Their dedication, their talent, their honest, raw love for one another is the reason I joined theatre, and the reason I never want it to end.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Pursuing the Light
This morning, you can feel autumn in the air. It's a sunny 59 degrees, but it's beginning to scream for hoodies and falling leaves. This morning, in the spirit of autumn, I celebrated with a mug of cinnamon hot cocoa. Autumn is such a beautiful thing to celebrate.
Yesterday, I went on yet another bike ride through downtown Flint. I do this often. We visited the concrete playground, and raced through sidewalks adjoined to the cobblestone streets.
It doesn't always feel safe in Flint. I'm definitely not afraid of my beloved city, but being the human that I am, it's not hard to become mildly nervous.
I do something nearly unheard of when people make me nervous.
I say "hi" to the aforementioned people. The guy with so much swag his pants are to his knees?
"Hello!"
The lady who looks like she is getting ready to go kill someone, or maybe cry?
"Good morning!"
Let's be logical. EVEN IF we assume that people in Flint are as bloodthirsty as they're rumored to be, then the one thing that would keep a person safe is this: be kind to them.
If they're looking for someone to kill, the last person they're going to choose is the person that smiled at them and wished them a good day.
People love kind people.
Maybe you don't feel safe in this lovely city. Find the people that make you afraid and say hello. Just smile. Be the light you want to see in the people around you. Perhaps you'll find people are not nearly as scary as you thought.
Yesterday, I went on yet another bike ride through downtown Flint. I do this often. We visited the concrete playground, and raced through sidewalks adjoined to the cobblestone streets.
It doesn't always feel safe in Flint. I'm definitely not afraid of my beloved city, but being the human that I am, it's not hard to become mildly nervous.
I do something nearly unheard of when people make me nervous.
I say "hi" to the aforementioned people. The guy with so much swag his pants are to his knees?
"Hello!"
The lady who looks like she is getting ready to go kill someone, or maybe cry?
"Good morning!"
Let's be logical. EVEN IF we assume that people in Flint are as bloodthirsty as they're rumored to be, then the one thing that would keep a person safe is this: be kind to them.
If they're looking for someone to kill, the last person they're going to choose is the person that smiled at them and wished them a good day.
People love kind people.
Maybe you don't feel safe in this lovely city. Find the people that make you afraid and say hello. Just smile. Be the light you want to see in the people around you. Perhaps you'll find people are not nearly as scary as you thought.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
A Touch of Unexpected Culture
Who would think that of all things, a crepe shop would be thriving in downtown Flint? Logically, it makes little to no sense.
Flint people are not expected to be cultured individuals. If we're cultured in anything, it's going to be shooting people and doing drugs.
Somehow, business is booming in a little bicycle-themed crepe shop on Saginaw Street. I can tell you first hand that the crepes are to die for. They'll put just about whatever you want on them. The staff is incredibly kind, and their cash register doubles as an iPad.
Go check them out. Everything about the place screams "CHARMING!"
The citizens of Flint love crepes, which is beyond unexpected.
In a way, it's also quite beautiful.
You can see pictures from my outing to the crepe shop and my daily life on my instagram: therealisi
Flint people are not expected to be cultured individuals. If we're cultured in anything, it's going to be shooting people and doing drugs.
Somehow, business is booming in a little bicycle-themed crepe shop on Saginaw Street. I can tell you first hand that the crepes are to die for. They'll put just about whatever you want on them. The staff is incredibly kind, and their cash register doubles as an iPad.
Go check them out. Everything about the place screams "CHARMING!"
The citizens of Flint love crepes, which is beyond unexpected.
In a way, it's also quite beautiful.
You can see pictures from my outing to the crepe shop and my daily life on my instagram: therealisi
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Wonderland Tuesday
Yesterday, I went on an adventure. My brother, two friends, and I pedaled our way through downtown Flint on bikes to a location only the youngest of us knew the way to. I didn't really know what to expect. Was it a trail? Or perhaps a little playground? What we found was this: 
It was like a a concrete wonderland. We ran around, exploring this unseen, hidden place for what must have been close to an hour. I'm certain, if asked, I could never find it again. The four of us climbed, jumped, and ran across this weird, unknown world in various states of awe.
It was like a a concrete wonderland. We ran around, exploring this unseen, hidden place for what must have been close to an hour. I'm certain, if asked, I could never find it again. The four of us climbed, jumped, and ran across this weird, unknown world in various states of awe.
Adventure truly is the best word for it. It's hard to believe that there's really any corner of downtown Flint that I haven't seen, but this opened my eyes to a whole new aspect of it. It was honestly better than I could have ever imagined.
After a while, we left on our bikes, promising only to come back another day.
As delightful as this was, our ride didn't end there. We then travelled to the Farmer's Market, where my friend Zach bought us all ice cream and we sat in the little garden place for about an hour. From there, we biked through Kearsley Park and the parking ramp at Mott, and discovered another wonder I knew nothing about. It appeared to be just a large wall of rocks, built in such a way that was convenient for climbing. Which we did, of course. We also stopped at a little pavilion, which we pretended was our home somewhere on the Mott campus.
We visited both my home as well as my friends' before the green bridge near our house over Gilkee
Creek, which flows into the Flint River. We then pulverized a bit of rock so the water wasn't so still, allowing it to travel more freely. In the process, we moved along a stagnant pool of water that had been showering us in mosquitoes.
The whole day, only two things even slightly resembled the stereotype that our city is given.
A) On Saginaw street, when we were passing pedestrians on our bikes, one woman loudly declared that she hates children. Yes, we heard you. And we hate rude and condescending adults.
B) A couple kids talked about stealing our bikes while we were in Gilkee Creek. We thank then for not doing so.
Those two things aside, it was the best day I've had in ages. It was delightful, and fun, and free. I can't imagine a more charming or happy bike ride could even be possible. Who would think that it could happen in such a town? Who would even think that we could go on a safe, 6-hour bike ride?
This city is so much more beautiful than people say it is.
As delightful as this was, our ride didn't end there. We then travelled to the Farmer's Market, where my friend Zach bought us all ice cream and we sat in the little garden place for about an hour. From there, we biked through Kearsley Park and the parking ramp at Mott, and discovered another wonder I knew nothing about. It appeared to be just a large wall of rocks, built in such a way that was convenient for climbing. Which we did, of course. We also stopped at a little pavilion, which we pretended was our home somewhere on the Mott campus.
We visited both my home as well as my friends' before the green bridge near our house over Gilkee
Creek, which flows into the Flint River. We then pulverized a bit of rock so the water wasn't so still, allowing it to travel more freely. In the process, we moved along a stagnant pool of water that had been showering us in mosquitoes.
The whole day, only two things even slightly resembled the stereotype that our city is given.
A) On Saginaw street, when we were passing pedestrians on our bikes, one woman loudly declared that she hates children. Yes, we heard you. And we hate rude and condescending adults.
B) A couple kids talked about stealing our bikes while we were in Gilkee Creek. We thank then for not doing so.
Those two things aside, it was the best day I've had in ages. It was delightful, and fun, and free. I can't imagine a more charming or happy bike ride could even be possible. Who would think that it could happen in such a town? Who would even think that we could go on a safe, 6-hour bike ride?
This city is so much more beautiful than people say it is.
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