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Legally Bawling My Eyes Out

It makes complete sense that it has taken me three months to write a blog post on my time being a part of our production of Legally Blonde the Musical. I have been in love with this musical since middle school and seriously always dreamed of being a part of the ensemble one day, so when I found out it was the musical for this year, I did indeed legally bawl my eyes out. It’s all things happy and hilarious, all things musical and meaningful. It finds that balance between not taking itself too seriously and making sure it emphasizes essential issues.

 

 

The production: ACT is a student-run organization. This means that students are the producers, directors, stage managers, and more.  It is the students who truly put on the show. Legally Blonde the Musical was probably one of their largest projects yet, as everything in this musical is quite over the top and extravagant. We had the most hard-working, talented students ever working on the show and they are the reason it was such a success!

 

 

The cast: This was the sweetest cast I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve done musical theater since the first grade and those casts were definitely sweet as well, but this cast of LB was amazing. There were only five seniors a part of the cast/production, so the majority of the cast were underclassmen. In some cases, that could have caused a divide between these various students, but it was the most welcoming, most accepting cast. Our group chat is still used every week, even though the musical has been over for months.

 

 

The outcome: Knowing that this musical would take all of our effort to pull off, our director, Emma Callahan ’18, had rehearsals starting as early as late September. So when February rolled around, we all felt super prepared to put on five shows. The show sold out within two days and each night had that electric energy that only comes with live shows.

Even as I write this, I haven’t yet watched Act 2 of the video recording they sent us. I think once I watch the whole thing, the finality of it being over (and senior year rapidly coming to an end) will hit me hard.

So, I’ll just reread this blog a bunch of times and probably watch the second act in August and then put on a one-woman production of the whole thing for my friends and family back home — what, like it’s hard?
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Little Shop of Horrors

Don’t feed the plants.

In other words, College of the Holy Cross’ Alternate College Theater (ACT) put on a production the 80s musical, Little Shop of Horrors. The unique thing about this year’s musical is that it was directed by 2015 alum Julia McCarthy, who previously directed a musical her senior year. Click HERE to read more about Julia and the production.

Every year, the college presents wonderful productions of both plays and musicals. Recently, they have put on “Middletown” and before that “Hamlet” and “Chicago.” ACT also has smaller, more improv-heavy events like Midnight Theater or The Festival of One Acts. Here are some photos from Little Shop below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always loved musical theater and always wanted to do it here on the hill, but I knew I didn’t have the time to balance everything. However, eventually, I kind of just decided to do it anyway and I’m so, so, so glad I did. Sure, there were many late-nights (and forgotten meals), but the outcome was more than I could’ve hoped for. The cast, crew, and band were all so amazing and I am forever grateful for Little Shop. 

So, the blog take-away is: I should follow Nike and just do it — that “it” could be trying out for a club sports team, joining an organization, talking to the cute guy in my Bio class, or even quitting the activity I’m no longer interested in. During my time here on the hill, I should aim to do what is both feasible and fun, but ultimately allowing myself to do what makes me happy. 
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Work on the Hill

My apologies for my absence these past couple weeks! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, so I was extremely excited for Thanksgiving Break, even if it meant some time away from the Hill, and I tried to finish all of my work before it.

But alas, I am back and of course, work is back with me. Work becomes a dear friend here on the Hill, one who never leaves your side, a constant companion. In fact, sometimes it feels as if I spend more time with work than I do my other friends. However, it is important to know that work understands that distance makes the heart grow fonder. In other words, make sure you SOCIALIZE and TAKE BREAKS and LEAVE DINAND LIBRARY. Work will understand.

In all seriousness, when you’re happy in your social life, you’ll definitely be motivated to be happy with your class work as well. December break is two weeks away and for Holy Cross students, that means readings, essays, assessments, and the ultimate final exams. It is possible that when you hear the phrase, “there is a lot more work in college than high school,” you might brush it off as a cliche or a tactic used by teachers to get you to buckle down on your assignments. I’m here to tell you — that is a huge understatement.

Clearly, there is a lot more work in college than in high school. As I said, work becomes your best friend. However, there is much more work beyond just your classes. Please, I urge you, to work on getting closer to people in your hall. Please, work on becoming involved in any way you can on campus. Work on finding out what is you want to be remembered for or what it is you want out of your college experience.

Work on making memories and work on getting out. Homework is always important and will always be salient, but homework doesn’t last the same way memories and experiences do. This may all sound really corny, but I believe it’s true. I am in the process of finishing an essay due tomorrow, an essay due Thursday, and an essay due the 11th, but I still make sure I take time to work on getting to know my RA (note the picture of those fantastic sugar cookies we just made in the kitchen)!

So, the blog take-away is: Work will become my best friend here on campus and I will be very devoted to our relationship, but I will not limit my experiences to just work. No, at Holy Cross, I will have experiences in my faith or in an extra-curricular activity or in simply branching out. Here on the Hill, I work on having the best four years of my life. 

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From left to bottom: A sugar cookie I am very proud of made for my friend Victoria, another picture of the insanely delicious sugar cookies my roommate and I helped decorate with our RA, Megan, and lastly the CASA E-board at our November Head-to-Toe Fashion Show.
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The Hill

Hi, again!

Looks like I’ve got a hectic week ahead of me. Being involved in organizations has proved to be quite the challenge, but ultimately I’m still extremely happy. Nevertheless, with a heavy workload (German research paper due, English paper due, History team assignment due, plus all the additional work) and a heavy organization workload (two new songs for Fools on the Hill, preparation for CASA‘s Head-to-Toe Fashion Show, hosting for Prospectives, and, you know, keeping up with my blog), I feel a bit overwhelmed.

However, the great thing is — Holy Cross knows this. I don’t mean they know that they’re assigning a lot of work (which I’m sure they do know), but I mean they know that we feel overwhelmed and they are there to help. My professors actually like to know what I’m involved in and when I explain that I have/had an extremely busy week or weekend, they understand — but they also want me to understand that I’ve still got to get that work in.

Regardless, I’m happy here on The Hill. I have a fantastic roommate, who watches Netflix with me when I just cannot tolerate another Greek play and belts out Sam Smith songs with me. Moreover, I have fantastic FRIENDS! I had to leave a friend’s birthday get-together early for Fools rehearsal and someone saved me a piece of cake AND party food. This may seem minuscule and minor, but food is a big deal to me – I now deem that person to be especially special.

This blog post was certainly not as focused as my others, but below I wrote a little poem that should sum everything up. 🙂

So the blog take-away is: Life on The Hill can get hectic and life on The Hill can get hard, but life on The Hill I will never discard, for I know every day someone will make me smile and I know in the end it will all be worthwhile. 

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First picture: My hectic November calendar. Second picture: Cheering on the Crusaders at a football game (I honestly do not understand football, but it’s all about team spirit, you know?) Third picture: Walking up from Kimball. I honestly see Holy Cross in this filter 24/7. Fourth picture: Walking from Kimball again, but from a different, beautiful path.