Dancing in the Denbigh Dance Studio

This week, I danced in the Denbigh Dance Studio for the first time this semester. I am choreographing a group dance to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida for the Fall Student Dance Concert. This is my first time choreographing a piece of my own for a real dance show, and I am really excited and a little bit nervous.

We all know just how beautiful Bryn Mawr’s campus is, but picture dancing, any kind of dance, in one of the beautiful studios. With the charming ceilings, big windows, chandeliers, and of course the beautiful pianos. I remember when I was touring Bryn Mawr (for the third time,) my eyes lit up when the tour guide pointed to the top of the Pems and told me that the dance studio is up there, and I gave my mom the look. You know the look? The “OMG this is so exciting, but I’m going to play it cool” look? That one.

Pembroke Dance Studio

Tap Duet “Don’t”-Fall Student Dance Concert (2014). PC to Maria McGurrin

I have been dancing since I was two, and danced all through out high school, competing with my dance school at several dance competitions. Coming to college, I really wanted to keep up with it because dance has always been such a huge part of my life, I didn’t want to lose it. In my short time at Bryn Mawr, I have had the the opportunity to take Ballet in the beautiful Pembroke Dance Studio, with Chandra Moss-Thorne (she is amazing), dancing to live piano music. I also have taken advantage of the Fall Student Dance Concert last year, co-choreographing a tap duet to Ed Sheeran’s Don’t. (We’ll be doing another tap routine to Sing, because Ed Sheeran is amazing, and I am slightly obsessed.) Also, as a potential dance minor or double major, I took a lecture course with Dr. Caruso-Haviland, and learned a ton about dance history.

If you every have a chance, please do take a dance class! Whether it be beginning ballet or beginning hip-hop, take a chance, just to dance in the beautiful dance studios here at Bryn Mawr!

Growing up in the Philadelphia area, I have always been a huge sports fan. I’m not talking about someone who watches games once in a while, I watch EVERY game. So, almost two years ago, when I decided to come to a small liberal arts school, where sports weren’t a huge deal, I shocked quite a few people in my graduating class. I distinctly remember someone saying to me, “Wow I would’ve thought you would go to Penn State because you love sports so much.” (For those of you who don’t know, sports, especially football is basically a religion at Penn State.) Of course I brushed this off, but a little part of me was curious to see how my love for sports would change, if at all, going to a school where sports was not a big deal.

Flash forward a few months and it was the start to college football. Whenever I would watch college football, I never had a team that I would support. I decided that I would just support the football team of the college that I go to. Well…about that. Whenever I would see snapchats of high school friends going to football games, I would feel a little jealous and really question my decision of coming to Bryn Mawr.

Student Activities Eagles vs. Jets-9/27/2015. The Eagles (finally) won!

But, throughout my first year, and now, I keep my head up and continue to watch my Phillies/Eagles/Flyers/Sixers/Union on my laptop in my room when I can, and take advantage of Student Activities selling cheap tickets for the Phillies and the Eagles ($10!).

Student Activities trip to the Phillies game September 2014. A walkoff win by the way.

I had to really keep up with the sports to know how each team was doing, because I couldn’t really ask “how did the Phillies do last night?” to anyone on campus, they would give me an odd look. But by keeping up and because I didn’t feel the “sports community,” I started a blog. A sports blog called “Sports Like a Girl.” And it has changed me.

I don’t mean to sound cliché, but by writing this blog, I feel kind of important- Jose Bautista* follows me on twitter. If you were to ask me in my senior year of high school if I would have ever written a sports blog, I would call you crazy. But because of Bryn Mawr and not having that big sports scene, and knowing that my peers would encourage me rather than snicker at me, I wrote this blog, and I love my blog. And since Bryn Mawr is not focused on sports, I believe my love for sports has grown. Yes I DO wish I could support a college football team, but it’s okay. And of course I’ll support my Bryn Mawr Owls!

If you are interested in checking out my sports blog, here is the link: https://phillysportslikeagirl.wordpress.com/

*Jose Bautista is an outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.

New classes, new notebooks, it’s a new school year and THIS is the year everything falls into place. You know what I mean right? Getting those 4.0s, staying on top of homework and assignments, and of course being involved on campus. It is sophomore year now, time to get it all together. Time to declare my major, figure out what I’m going to do for the rest of my Bryn Mawr career, and of course add impressive things to my resume.

But there was that thing that everyone warned me of: the Sophomore Slump. “Nah, it won’t happen, I’ll just do what I always do.” Well let me tell you, Bryn Mawr doesn’t necessarily ease into anything. The first day of class, I was warned of problem sets due by Thursday, a quiz next Monday and an exam in three weeks. Don’t even get me started on my 8 AMs everyday.

So as we are precisely 19 days from fall break, is the sophomore slump real? Well I can tell you as I sit and watch the Eagles game, opting to push other work to do “after the game,” yes, the sophomore slump is real. But I am a Mawrytr and I know that I’ll get it all done, and done is good!