Neglect and Renewal

It's been over a year since I've been active on this blog! *is ashamed* I think it's time I make a fresh start for this blog and get it going again. I hope to post at least once a month. After all, the summer will soon be upon us, and that usually means more free time along with it. There's never a better time to start something anew than summer!

For now, here's a brief overview of what I've been doing recently-

• My weekend of dance performances has begun as of this evening, so that has taken up most of my time. This year, we're performing Disney's Pinocchio. I received a main solo this year as the scheming Fox, and I'm loving the opportunity it has given me to act and dramatize as I dance. I've missed acting since I graduated from the elementary drama team at my church, so this year at show has been especially wonderful. And I get to be a baddie, which I am more amused by and excited about than I probably ought to be... :3 The first show went swimmingly, and I'll be back at it tomorrow for matinee and evening performances!
• I've been back and forth from Bellevue College these past few months in preparation for beginning Running Start this coming fall. For the first quarter, I've signed up for German and Political Science, and I'm really quite excited for both. It will be quite the change for me, though, since I've been homeschooled my entire life and have never experienced "real" school before. But, I am looking forward to the challenge. I will still be continuing to do some schoolwork at home as well, to wrap up my senior year of high school. *gasp* 
• I started a writing program called the One Year Adventure Novel at the beginning of the school year, which, as the title suggests, takes you through the process of planning, outlining, and writing a twelve-chapter adventure novel, all in a year's time. I'm now at the point where I've planned and mapped everything out, and it's time to get down to business and actually write the novel! Unfortunately, I find that plot outlining and world/character building comes much easier to me than the actual writing part of the process, but I am determined to finish what I started. 

There you have a snippet of what I've been up to the past few months. Now it's time I get some rest to be ready for tomorrow's performances of the British Dancing Academy's Pinocchio!!

~ Katie ~

The Calm Before the Storm

Dance. All those who know me know I dance. A lot. Dance has been a huge part of my life since I was four years old. Every year, after our dance exams (that's another story), my dance academy prepares for our year-end performance. This weekend is the calm before the storm, as it were, as we start the rehearsals.

After Memorial Day weekend, we have nearly three straight weeks of rehearsals for our six performances near the end of June. This year we're performing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, one of the stories I have cherished since I was little. We've spent the last couple of months learning the choreography for our class dances and solo pieces, which is always a great time. Being down at the studio, and later in the theater for rehearsals from 3pm to 9pm every day is hard work, but it's also the most fun and memorable part of the year. Setting up half a dozen costume changes, grabbing a quick bite to eat here and there, watching other classes' dances, and taking silly pictures with friends- these are all part of the (mostly) organized chaos of dance rehearsals.

This time of year is also a bit bittersweet, as all of us dancers enjoy our last weeks of being all together before summer break. This last Thursday, the 23rd, was our last day of regular classes for the year, and we definitely made the most of it. We've all known each other for so long, and have become very much like a family. We can get snappy with one another at times, and disagreements arise, but in the end, we are a family and we truly enjoy one another's company. Even though, over the summer, I rarely, if at all, see the others, at the beginning of the next school year, we're all back at dance as if no time had passed at all.

This year, 2012-2013, has been filled with more memories than any other of my years at dance. It's been tough, stressful, and at times an uphill battle, but I would say it has also been the best year of dance ever. I can't wait for summer break, but at the same time, I don't want this to end. Although, Fall 2013 approaches fast... :)

~Katie~

P.S. Fruit Salad Forever! :)

Beginnings...

Well, here it is. My shiny new blog. I've been thinking about getting my own blog for some time, but never went beyond the thinking part until now. About eight months ago, my friend and I made a blog together for writing unofficial reviews for books, movies, and whatever else catches our fancy. This blog, however, I'm hoping to use for three main things:

• Discussing and rambling about my many obsessions and hobbies
• Something to (hopefully) keep me somewhat accountable as I attempt to write the various stories I'm working on
• As a journal to organize memoirs of the bigger (and smaller) events in my life

As for the name- Calligraphy and Courier New- I wanted something that related to writing, since blogging is writing, after all, and I hope to be a published author one day. I love the beautifully flowing scripts of calligraphy, and the word itself evokes images of the days long ago when scribes and monks would laboriously copy the Bible in their graceful, elegant script. Conversely, Courier New is meant to closely resemble the font of a typewriter, and makes one think of the days not so long ago that ushered in a new era of writing.

Thanks so much for stopping in! Please enjoy Calligraphy and Courier New!

~Katie~