Summer Finn

"There’s only two kinds of people in the world. There’s women, and there’s men. Summer Finn was a woman. Height : average. Weight : average. Shoe Size : slightly above average. For all intents and purposes, Summer Finn : just another girl. Except she wasn’t. To wit, in 1998, Summer quoted a song by the Scottish band Belle & Sebastian in her high school yearbook. “Color my life with the chaos of trouble.” The spike in Michigan sells of their album “The Boy with the Arab Strap” continues to puzzle industry analysts. Summer’s employment at the daily freeze during the summer of her sophomore year coincided with an inexplicable 212% increase in revenue. Every apartment Summer rented at an average rate of 9.2% below market value, and her roundtrip commute to work averaged 18.4 double-takes per day. It was a rare quality, this “Summer effect.” Rare, yet something every post-adolescent male has encountered at least once in their lives. For Tom Hanson to find it now in a city of 400,00 offices, 91,000 commercial buildings, and 3.8 million people, well that could only be explained by one thing: fate."

(500) Days

There is never a day that passes by that I don't think about the movie (500) Days of Summer. It follows me around everywhere I go. I could lie and say that it annoys me...but I absolutely love it and it has made a difference in my dance life. As a "performing arts" student* (see endnote), I am constantly being asked what inspires me and being forced to come up with some elaborate explanation for my artistic work. I have become really good at bullshitting my answers and pretending like I am much more artistic and thoughtful than I really am. Until I saw this movie, I don't think I knew what it meant to be "inspired" by something. I knew what I liked and I knew what made me happy...but I had never felt so in awe of something. So...I recently decided that I am going to begin working on a piece inspired by (500) Days of Summer. Auditions are on Wednesday and I am already getting so anxious and excited to pick out my dancers are get started on what I think is going to be an amazing work. I have so many ideas and so many inspirations that I want to include in the dance, so my biggest hurdle is narrowing all my ideas down so that the dance isn't too overwhelming. But anyway! Since I'm feeling all inspired and (500)ish....I thought I'd share just a few of the inspirations I'm drawing from to help me create my dance!

It amazes me how much thought and detail went into every moment of the movie. I hope that I can put as much thought into every movement in my dance. Listen to this commentary by the (500) director Marc Webb on all the thought that went into just ONE of the great scenes in the movie.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/16/movies/20090716-500days-feature.html


I LOVE this video. It is such a great compliment to the movie. And how handsome does Joseph Gordon-Levitt look sitting in that dimly lit bar in his suit with sunglasses on?!?! Man, oh man. I'm sooo envious of Zooey from 2:07-2:13. She looks absolutely beautiful in this video as well. They're a great match...and such great dancers.



*(endnote: I hate that I love the arts. I also love academics and I am proud to say that I am a smart girl. But because I love the arts...my brain never gets the credit it deserves. Since I am majoring in Dance Education...people brush me off as if I'm some weirdo hippie artist that knows nothing other than dance...which is so not true.)

It's that time again...

The new freshmen are hereeeeeeee! I LOVE when new students move onto campus. Although it was only two years ago that I was moving into the dorms...I feel like I am so much older and wiser now. I just want to hug all the new baby Sundevils and tell them how much fun they are going to have here at ASU. Since I work on-campus, I get a lot of new students coming to me with questions. I always somehow manage to turn their quick question into a long, drawn-out, bragging session about how great ASU is and how they couldn't have possibly chosen a better school. I'm totally obsessed with Arizona State and I want everyone to love it as much as I do. So since I'm feeling all Sundevilish...I'll share this adorable Sparky video with you. :)

Things I've Learned

I've learned so many things about myself and about life since moving to Arizona. It makes me happy to know that I'll never stop learning things about myself and life in general. It's a constant cycle and I love it. The "I've Learned" list is long and never-ending...but here are a few...

Socks are expensive.
I like my alone time...but I don't like living alone.
Hard-boiled eggs are not as easy as they look.
I love babies.
Don't store bleach on a shelf...it might fall off the shelf and spill onto a large pile of clothes.
I am creative. I am not artsy.
I can trim my own bangs.
I like my friends here. A lot.
I like my friends from home that have stuck around. A lot.
Don't drape anything over a lamp.
It's really really fun to date someone that cracks you up.
Don't spill nail polish remover near an open flame.
I like plans and planning.
I love sports. Especially football.
God will make sure everything works out how it should.
Funny people are the best kind of people.
Hydrogen Peroxide works just as well as Crest Whitestrips.
Having a dog makes life so much happier.
Beer is digusting.
I'm not afraid to grow up...but I love this age.
I am not afraid to stand up for myself.
I know I'm going into the right profession.
I talk too much.
Coupons are sooooo great.
Everything will be fine.

"I am Musical"

Back in March I was presented with the wonderful opportunity to be the choreographer for a MOVIE!!! Thanks to lots of rehearsal time and hard work from my dancers, the dances turned out great. The entire cast and crew (inculding myself) filmed the movie in Bullhead City, AZ back in June. The teaser trailer has been released and I LOVE it. It even includes a few tidbits of the dance scenes! I can't wait till the premiere in December. Take a look :)

Smart, Pretty, and Awkward

Why would you NOT want to be smarter, prettier, and less awkward?! I love this blog.

http://smartprettyandawkward.com/

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

This speech by Baz Luhrman always has been and probably always will be one of the most inspiring things I have ever read. If you have never heard of this speech, I suggest you take a moment to read it.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '98: Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blind side you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.

Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen."

Margarita and (500) Days of Summer for one please.

"This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story."

So I've been waiting for the perfect occasion and time to blogging. This blog has been up and running with no posts for a few months now. Now here I am, standing in my kitchen preparing myself a strawberry margarita while I stare across the living room at the movie (500) Days of Summer on our small tv screen. I think this is the perfect time to start.

If you know me at all, you know that I am completely in love with this movie. This is my 19th time watching it since I saw it last September. I love everything about this movie. I love the clothes that Summer wears. I love the dialogue. I love the setting. I love the cinematography. I love how relatable it is. I could go on and on. But most of all, I love everything this movie stands for.

I love how it reminds me that although I sometimes try to control and determine my own fate, things will happen that are far beyond my control. Although I may think something suits me perfectly, it could end up being totally wrong for me. Everyone wants things that they can't have at some point in their lives, but it's always important to remind ourselves that God knows what is best for us. And I trust that he will guide me into the direction I'm meant to go. I really do believe that he has wonderful plans for me. Maybe this movie's close relationship to my beliefs is why it has affected me so greatly...or maybe it's just the adorable bows that Summer wears in her ponytails. Who knows really.