Describe a surprisingly positive experience you had last week.

Everyday, at 10 a.m. there is a daily dance class for the dance and musical theatre departments over Zoom! It has been so much fun to get up in the morning and take class as a community. After class we sit and talk and check in with one another. This has been a real joy every morning and has helped me feel connected to everyone even from afar!

Last week, my son and I made banana bread together. Additionally, he and his little sister made yogurt dipped/cookie covered strawberries. I have loved cooking and eating together as a family. Such a blessing!!!!

I was “officially” invited by a composer to premiere a program of new avant-garde piano and chamber works at another music school in the fall. My focus might be on classes right now and learning how to thrive under these new circumstances, but it gave me hope for the upcoming months!

My friends in the vocal performance program all missed each other a lot, so we decided to start up a schedule for weekly Zoom sessions where we’d just call each other and catch up on things and stay in touch! We had our first meeting together last week, and even though we were sitting in front of our computer screens, it really did a lot to help me feel closer and more connected to people that I otherwise wouldn’t get to see during this time. I’m so thankful that even in the middle of all this, we can still have a way to access those interpersonal relationships that are so important and integral to who we are as humans.

I was able to get back in touch with my musical side by writing songs and making music. At first the melodies popped in my head an I would try to play them on my keyboard. Trying to find the note was hard, but I managed. After that I put them in a software that allows me to create loops and sample things together to make pleasant instrumentals from those melodies. When finish I got to writing and they came out better than I thought they would be. That was one of many surprisingly positive experiences I had last week. Thank you.

Last week, I created and curated a Discord server for the music therapy department, and began planning events that could be held within that space. I planned and executed a game night, movie night, and a coffee-house event for people to share in musicianship and support each other. At first, I was afraid that I was putting in vast amounts of energy and effort into something that would wind up flopping, but I’ve been excited and surprised by how many people have been participating in the events. It’s been a great way to foster community and togetherness while distanced from everyone.