The End

Yes, I am a butterfly.
Courtesy of reflectonthis.com

I can’t believe that I was able to make it through my first year of high school. This year has been a rollercoaster, but now the ride is coming to an end. One of the biggest parts of my school years was this blog. My English teacher gave me this assignment at the very beginning of the year, and at first, I had no clue what to write about, I still don’t really know what I write about. Looking back at all of my posts, I’ve noticed a constant theme. I wrote about things that are meaningful to me. Most of my posts are about my friends, family, and, of course, dance. So when I say my blog is about my life, it really is. My life basically consists of those three things.

Our final blog assignment is to kind of review our year and our blogs. Going back and reading my first post, I noticed that my writing was kind of awkward and all over the place. I was a pretty awkward kid at the beginning of the year, but now, I’ve met new people, made new friends, and even lost some. If you haven’t read my blog before, you have a LOT catching up to do, but if you’ve read it, you know that one of my best friends, Lucie, is moving away, so is my other friend, Aysia. I’m not exactly losing them, but it’s pretty hard to keep in touch when you live on the other side of the world.

Over the course of the year, I was able to improve my writing and, as you can tell by my last post, talk about subjects that I wouldn’t normally talk about on a day to day basis. I’m now better at expressing my feelings through writing, without being an awkward little potato. This blog has been a way for me to take a break from my crazy life in order to write about it. I’m glad I chose my life to be the theme of my blog because it allows my to look back on the important moments of my year and remember the good and bad times.

Today, I’m just thinking about the future. I still want to write, just not all of the time. This blog was a lot of work and it’s definitely not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve thought about going to medical school and getting my surgical residency done with, then maybe join the army, but that’s just an option. I want to be able to do something great, like that, in my lifetime. I want to help a bunch of people and leave my mark on the world.

This is my last blog post. My school year ends in a little less than three weeks and this blog will be ending with it. I’m glad I was able to do something new like this that I can add to my list of experiences. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost

Until next time…

~Rachael

Never Again

Memorial at Dachau Concentration Camp
Courtesy or wikimedia.org

Okay, it’s time to get serious. By the time that I post this, it will probably be Thursday. Thursday, May 5, 2016 is a Jewish holiday. But really, when is it not a Jewish holiday? This holiday, however, is more recent, even though it was created half a century ago. Although it isn’t as well known in the non-Jewish community as Hanukkah or Passover, it is probably one of the most important holidays there is. Yom HaShoah translates to Holocaust Remembrance Day. Like Jews all over the world, this day means so much to me. 

On Friday, last week, I went to see the high school’s spring play. Coincidentally, the play was The Diary of Anne Frank. I originally went to support my friends who were in it, but it ended up reminding me what my people went through. I really loved the show, but at the end, I was bawling. What happened was so terrible and the fact that anyone would every think about hurting a person (let alone six million people) in that way is sickening. I know that the Holocaust is a very touchy subject for a lot of people, but the survivors are a dying generation that soon won't be able to tell their stories.

Several years ago, my family went to Washington D.C. for a conference that my dad had to go to. One of the days, we ended up visiting the National Holocaust Museum. Seeing all of the items that were recovered from the concentration camps and listening to those stories of the survivors really brought the whole ordeal into perspective for me. WWII and the Holocaust were massive parts of my family history and shaping who I am today.

It seems kind of ironic, but I probably wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for World War II. My grandpa is German, but he was born in England after his family fled Germany. Everyday, nearby cities were bombed and destroyed, but he and his family survived. He lived in England until he was three, when they were given the chance to leave. My grandpa, his mom, and sister all packed their things to go to America, but my great-grandpa had to stay and defend England. There were thirteen refugee ships that left England, but only two made it to America. My grandpa died two years ago, but I was lucky enough to hear that story.

Courtesy of wvu.edu

Like I said, the Holocaust is a very sensitive subject, but it is very important to be taught about it. I am a firm believer of the idea that those who don’t learn about history are doomed to repeat it. Genocide is something that I do not want to happen again, that is why, when talking about the Holocaust, you say, “Never again.”

Thank you for bearing with me through this post. I cant express enough how much this topic hits home to me. Just remember no matter your race, religion, or gender, we are all people. Six million people should never again lose their lives just because one person thinks they are different.

Until next time…

~Rachael

Spring Break! (Part Two)

Last post I started to retell my trip to Disneyland, but I only got through the first day. There is so much that happened in such a short period of time that I don’t know how to shorten my story without leaving out leaving out a lot of details, but I’ll try my best.

PCD REPRESENT! Pardon my face

That Saturday was one of the busiest days of my life. The PCD dancers had to be at the Disneyland hotel at about 10:00 for the rehearsal and pictures. We, along with five or six other studios, ran the dance many times before pictures. The Dance the Magic workers told us that we had some of the best energy and we were all together. I think the fact that we went from an elevation of 7,000 feet to sea level in a matter of a day help a lot. We were also able to practice in a street by the studio, when it wasn’t snowing. After that, all sixty-one of us filed into a small room to take pictures. It took a pretty long time to get it all done because there was so many of us, but it was still fun. We were given t-shirts, Disneyland Performing Arts Mickey ears, and VIP dancer lanyards. Needless to say, we looked like total tourists.

Lucie and I then went back to the hotel room to eat lunch and rest up for the parade that afternoon. After touching up our makeup and hair, we made our way over to the studio meet place at Smallworld. Lu and I met up with Val, Sami, Sophie, and Quinn in the line to get in to Disneyland, but we were running a little late. We ended up running through the entire park to get to Smallworld. We made it just as we were about to leave to go backstage. After changing into our costumes, we had to wait in the hot California heat until the Dance the Magic employees told us where to go. They explained to us that because our energy was so amazing and they wanted the parade to start and finish strong, PCD will be the last studio in the parade. Then, they lead the entire parade to the other side of the park. Being in the back, I was able to see how massive this really was. Six hundred dancers from all over the US and from Australia and Japan all came to Disneyland to dance together. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I had the amazing opportunity to be apart of. 

From right: Lucie, Val, Sami, and I in front
 of Sleeping Beauty's castle

The parade, itself, was a blur. As soon as we stepped out on to the street, the energy level in the park skyrocketed. Everyone was cheering and clapping to Hairspray’s “You Can’t Stop The Beat”. The afternoon heat suddenly didn’t matter anymore as I began to dance. One thought just kept circling through my head, “Your dancing at Disneyland! People dream about this and you are actually doing it!” In the crowds of people lining the streets, I could see little girls and boys staring up at me and the other dancers in the parade. The expressions on their faces reminded my of my own face years ago when I watched people dance for the first time. 

After the short twenty minutes, we all walked back to the dressing rooms and change back in to street clothes. The next day we performed a couple dances at the Dance the Magic showcase. We were then free from our crazy dance schedules to just enjoy Disneyland. I finally got over my fear of rollercoasters and finally rode California Screamin’. Lucie and I stayed at the park with Val and Sami, while my family went to a hockey game. We rode a couple rides then ate dinner. Sami had to go, but Val, Lu, and I stayed out longer. We got in line for Space Mountain, which broke down for a while, but we still got to ride it. My family and Lucie spent two days in Santa Monica, then we all went home. All in all, it was an amazing Spring Break that I’ll never forget because what’s cooler than being able to tell your grandkids that you danced at the Happiest Place on Earth?

~Rachael

Spring Break! (Part One)

I know that it's been a couple weeks since Spring Break, but I still want to write about my first visit to the Happiest Place on Earth. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my studio got to participate in a parade in Disneyland. I have to say that this was one of the best experiences of my life. I accomplished so many once-in-a-lifetime things that weekend, not to mention get over my fear of rollercoasters. But for you, my readers, to get the full effect of my time in the happiest place on earth, I have to start from the very beginning…

My studio started rehearsals for the Dance the Magic parade in January. It was optional, yet sixty-one girls from my studio went, including my entire dance group. Rehearsals were fast and furious. we learned half the parade in an hour, then learned each section of our production piece the next hour. For all of you at home that don’t know what a production piece is, it is a dance with a wide range of levels that all get stage time. This piece was choreographed for the entire one hundred-six person academy, so it took quite a long time to adjust. We had to learn the rest of the parade dance at home and have it ready to clean by the next rehearsal.

Lucie, Mikelle, and I at the back of the plane

Before I knew what had happened, it was time to leave for Disneyland. I was hyped because I’ve never been to Disneyland before that day. I know it seems like neglectful parenting to not allow your children to go to Disneyland until they’re fifteen and seventeen, but my dad has a major fear of rollercoasters, so it’s okay. I flew to Anaheim with Lucie and the Volmrichs because my mother and father couldn’t take off work. It was really fun, but Lu and I were in the very last row of the plane, but we got to sit with Mikelle. The Volmrichs are super fancy, so we were picked up from the airport by a limo.

When we got to Disneyland, we went straight to the hotel to change. We had a dance workshop that night, so we had to be ready. The Volmrichs (Taylor and Savannah), Lucie, and I went to California Adventure because that was were the meet place was for the workshop. We had several hours to spare, so we went to go ride some rides. Luckily, Lucie got the app that lists the wait times for all of the rides in both parks. 

The first ride that we went on was the Tower of Terror. I forgot to mention that even though I consider myself an “adrenaline junky”, I don’t do well with rollercoasters. But I forced myself to go on it. Savannah and I were freaked out, and you can tell from our picture that we’d rather be anywhere than on that ride. But the Tower of Terror was so much fun and it was a great start to the trip.

Bottom left row: Savannah, me, Lucie, and Taylor on the Tower of Terror

The second ride of the day was the Grizzly Peak raft ride. This one had a really long wait time, but it ended up being fine. It was fine until we got off the ride, soaked, with about an hour until we had to meet for the workshop. We went to the Pier, but California Screamin’ had too long of a wait time. We walked around the Pier a little bit, finding rides with the shortest wait times, until it was time to go to the workshop.

The workshop was amazing! We got to see a ton of back stage Disneyland along with learn from two incredible performers. Afterwards, Taylor and Savannah’s mom tried to force me to go on California Screamin’ but I was exhausted and I just wanted to eat food, so I chickened out and waited for them at the end. All in all, it was a pretty great first day, but the rest of my trip was even more unforgettable.

To Be Continued…

The Opposite Hemisphere

Lucie feat. Aysia

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about the major changes in my life, but there was something that I forgot. I didn’t write about it in that post because it needed an entire one for itself. Way back in December, I found out that one of my closest friends, Lucie, was moving. The fact that she was moving was the worst part, it was the fact that she was moving across the world. At the time, Lucie was going either to Switzerland or Germany, now, we all know that she’s moving to Germany. This post isn’t going to be about me crying about my friend, it’s going to be a little tribute to our relationship. Let’s get started…

I can’t really remember how or when Lucie and I met, it was sort of all of the sudden, we were friends. Lucie used to ski race on the same team as my brother, so I’d see her at races sometimes. But when we really became friends was when we were in the same dance class in sixth grade. Even though that was only almost four years ago, it seems like an eternity. Lucie is one of those people that once you meet them, you feel like you’ve known them forever. Lucie and I bonded immediately after that. However, after that year, we weren’t in the same dance class. She quit skiing and really focused on dance. Now we are in the same class for jazz and tap.

Like most of the girls that I dance with, Lucie is more of a sister than a friend. Unlike everyone else, Our relationship has stayed pretty consistent. We never really fight, but when do, “Lucie Logic” is almost never right, she agrees. Lucie is one of the most open people ever. She says it’s partially because she’s European, partially because she’s a dancer, but mostly because that’s who Lucie is. I don’t have another friend who will loudly comment how great my butt looks  in a quiet room.

Lucie is also one of the kindest, most truthful, and least self-centered people that I have ever met. Whenever I feel like crying, she is my shoulder (so poetic). I can talk to her about anything and she will give her loud, and honest, opinion. Lucie is one of those people who will ALWAYS put her friends before herself. I can’t count the number of times Lucie has asked if she needs to beat someone up for me.

I don’t really know what the future holds, but we do have some fun stuff coming up. In April, Lucie and I are going to dance at Disneyland, then going to Santa Monica together. Then, after she moves to Germany, I’m taking a detour from my trip to Norway to visit her for a week. I’m just excited to eat all of the food she cooks.

I love this girl so much. She is truly one of the greatest people that I’ve ever met. No one will ever comprehend how much I will miss her. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without you, Lu. Germany is so lucky to have such an outstanding dancer/cook/professional Netflix binge-watcher. I know that you will have an amazing adventure in Europe that will take you all over the world. I just hope that somehow, your journey will find it’s way back to this small town in Utah. 

~Rachael

The Grey’s Anatomy Post

For all of my best friends who know me too well, this post was going to happen at some point. I have and obsession, more like an addiction. Everyone knows that the first step to curing an addiction is to admit that you have a problem. So here we go… I, Rachael Guthery, have a major, life-threatening addiction to Grey’s Anatomy. I can’t help my self! This show is too good. I have a few people to

Christina Yang creds to popkey.com

blame for my addiction (Lucie, Claire B, Claire O, and Josie… you know what you’ve done), mainly Netflix. I have access to eleven seasons of pure joy, right at my finger tips. Satan, himself, created this website and made it into an app that ruins my life. I’m so wrapped up in this show that I call the characters “my friends”, but I’m not crazy, I promise.

Let’s start from the beginning. Just to let everyone know, there will be MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. In the first episode, I wasn’t really hooked. Season one is only nine episodes long, but they are so packed with action and drama that, to quote Jane Austen, “I was in the middle before I knew I had begun.” It’s was crazy! Before I knew what was going on, it was the season two finale, someone died, and another person quit. The seasons have flown by with so many crazy events. The deaths of many main characters, crumbling relationships, a shooting, a hurricane-ish storm, a sink hole, a plane crash, a train crash, several ambulance crashes (so many crashing vehicles), a loose lion, a bomb, and lots and lots of surgeries. I am so used to seeing blood and organs, that I could probably do a simple surgery now.

I started watching Grey’s Anatomy several months ago, and I’m only on season ten. So many characters have come and gone, even some of my favorites. The hard part of watching this show is that when your favorite character dies (they will most likely die at some point). It’s the weirdest feeling; some of the characters that die have been on the show for a while and you are so submersed in the show that you feel sad for the loss.

Now, because there are a lot of deaths in this show, that also means that there are a ton of new characters. Like one of my best friends, Claire, said in her blog post about this, “Even though you’ll hate them at first, they will soon find a way into your heart.” This is so true. I can’t even count the number of times that I have despised a character, but after a short season they are my favorite (April Kepner, Mark Sloan :( , Owen Hunt, Arizona Robbins, to name a few)

All in all, this is an amazing show that has withstood the test of time. It is definitely my favorite show and there probably will never be a show like it. I highly recommend that if you don’t watch it now, there are eleven seasons on Netflix that you can binge. I can honestly say that watching somewhat realistic surgeries from the comfort of my home has really fueled my desire to go into a medical field whether I become a nurse, pediatric doctor, military medic, or even a surgeon. I really hope you enjoyed this post. “I guess we can’t really complain about karma. It’s not unfair. It’s not unexpected. It just evens the score.” -George O’Malley, Grey’s Anatomy. 

Until next time…

~Rachael

WDFKP

I know that most of you are wondering what that acronym stands for, no it’s not some sort of slang. It actually stands for the Will Dance For Kids Project. This is a competition put on by the Utah Food Bank, where all of the proceeds go to feeding impoverished families. Park City Dance has gone to this competition for as long as I can remember. This is one of my favorite competitions, because I love the venue. This competition is at Taylorsville High School in Salt Lake.

Practicing my solo in the dressing room.

This year, I competed four dances: jazz, tap, ballet, and my solo. My solo was contemporary and was choreographed by Michelle Player, who also choreographed my jazz dance. I performed my solo Friday night and the rest of my dances throughout nine hours on Saturday. For all of you non-dancers, there are four main ranks for dances: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. At certain competitions, there are eight ranks: bronze, hi-bronze, silver, hi-silver, gold, hi-gold, platinum, and ultimate platinum. WDFKP is not one of those. For my solo, I got a gold, but I was a point and a half from getting platinum.

The first dance that we did on Saturday was tap. Our tap dance is to “Happy” by C2C. In the dance, we are all depressed until my friend, Savannah, possesses us and makes us happy. We competed in the advanced teen tap category. We were the only ones in our category, so we won by default with a gold. However, the top 30% of the entire teen advanced category was recognized. since there were over twenty dances in teen advanced, there were seven dances in the top 30%, “Happy” got number five. The funny thing was that no one, except for responsible Faith, was at awards because we had to get ready for our jazz dance right afterwards... and no one knew that awards were happening.

From left: Ali, Lucie, Mikelle, me, and Taylor right before tap.
Photo creds to Mikelle

The next dance we had was “Seven Nation Army,” our jazz dance. It was to a bluesy cover by Haley Reinhart and Post Modern Jukebox. This is one of my favorite dances that I have ever done because of the choreography. The dance is army themed (of course) and super sassy. It was choreographed by Michelle Player, the same lady that did my solo. Michelle has been my teacher for a while now and she is practically my mom. The dance did pretty good, but it could have been better. 

The last dance that we did that night was a ballet piece called “Waltz of the Hours”. It was repertoire from the ballet Coppelia. The dance was rather difficult because it was on pointe. There was also a ton of girls in this dance because a ton of girls are needed. That made it difficult to clean and revise because every girl had issues with different sections. The dance was kind of a disaster. One of the girls lost a part of her costume, so she had to buy a tank top of the same color and strategically pin it to look like the others. We were all stressed out after the tank top incident, so when we got on stage, most of us forgot changes that we made in class that week. We were all very surprised when the dance got gold at awards.

Over all, it was a pretty successful weekend. I always have a ton of fun at competitions. The next big dance-related event that is happening is in April. Part of the studio gets to dance in a parade at Disneyland! I’ll keep you guys updated on rehearsals and when the big day comes. The quote for this week is from C.S. Lewis “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” See ya later.

~Rachael