Oh, hey.
It’s been awhile.
The summer and fall was incredibly eventful. A lot of things happened and I didn’t have much blogging mojo to document it. It’s okay though – I’ve accepted that it’s just the way things go sometimes.
The Vintage closed. There was heartbreak and I went through a period of mourning (it involved a lot of time on the couch, self-doubt, sulking, and tears), but it was the right time.
The great news is that the Vintage Theater’s ensemble (of which I am a member) is continuing its work. The doors may be closed, but the people and their work in our community will continue (P.S. one such thing is Scranton Fringe Festival – tell everyone you know about this because I’m super excited for it! Here’s where you can find them on Twitter and on Facebook.)
It’s hard for me to put into words all of the feels I have about The Vintage, but instead of focusing on what’s gone, I’m looking more at what’s sprouting up in our community by the people who were behind a place I so loved. THAT’S what The Vintage was all about.
I did some theater. Fall was a busy time. In the midst of NEPA BlogCon, I did a reading of Another Tempest by Robert Andrew Anderson (a creative adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest with notes of The Beatles, the theremin, and some creative storytelling). I got to be a villain which was a lot of fun, plus, all of the proceeds went to a good cause (thanks to the Wyoming Valley Art League for hosting us!).
I also got to play Little Beth Bluebird, an original character with a sweet yet tragic story set in the 1920’s, in Whipers of Scranton Legends, a dinner theater performance for Leadership Lackawanna. If you happened to attend and interacted with me during cocktail hour, thanks for playing along!
NEPA BlogCon 2014 happened. We had what some say is our best year yet. We had another full house of attendees at Misericordia University and we raised a nice nest egg of seed money to organize and launch a code camp for girls in grades 4 through 6 in our region.
The NEPA BlogCon Squirrels are now eagerly putting together Squirrel Girls Tech Camp for this coming summer. I am so excited and thankful to have the opportunity to work on this project.
We hit the one year mark. That’s right. In less than a year, Brent and I will be getting hitched. We’re both excited and we’re back on the planning train as a result, so that’s a plus!
I changed jobs. This was by far the most drastic and impactful of changes I experienced. I’m very excited and feel so grateful for my new opportunity, but at the same time, it’s tough leaving behind an incredible team of people. We’ll keep in touch and I’m looking forward to new adventures (and a much shorter commute!). Okay, brave new world of local SEO for the automotive industry – BRING IT.
So, yeah. A LOT went on. But it’s all good. If the past few months have taught me anything, it’s that change – while challenging – can be a good thing.
Change is hard. There isn’t one person I’ve met that says, “Oh, yeah. I love having my life disrupted or things turned upside down.”
But change means growth.
It means facing your value, personally and professionally, head-on and then choosing to do something with it.
It means accepting that all great things must come to an end but what those things meant can continue on in new ways.
It means recognizing just how fast time passes and how we can sometimes get caught up in things that really don’t matter (even if we set out to avoid it).
It means stretching your abilities, state of mind, and attitude – and sometimes feeling sore.
It means crying because you don’t know what else to do, awkward silences, mushy brains and laughing from your nerves because THINGS. ARE. HAPPENING.
It means meeting new people, making new friends, and getting that heart-skipping blend of fear and excitement.
Change happened. And it was good – but I’m looking forward to returning to some routine.