This past weekend was such a blur. It was the debut of our play at school, "Notorious", as well as the All "IN" Statewide Conference for Rotarians. Even though it was a great blessing to be a part of such great opportunities, I felt like a dead rat by Sunday night.
Friday was the opening night of our show, but it was also the first day of the conference. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the conference that day due to the show. That night we had a great show and a great audience, that was followed by some bonding time with the cast at Pizza Hut. Even though I knew I had an early morning ahead of me, I kept myself up past 2 AM... I'm just that fun.
Before I knew it, it was 7 AM and time for me to leave for Indianapolis. I finally headed out after borrowing my mom's phone for the day and printing AAA information and directions off the computer in case I got lost. I had planned on having a great drive down there and jamming out to music, but that wasn't really how it went. I had to borrow my mom's phone that day because I left the tablet (that happens to have all of my music on it) at school the night before. I listened to Big Time Rush the whole 2 hours, which was actually fun and brought back many memories of having a crush on every single one of them when I was in 3rd grade. It was also kind of stressful spending the entire trip down there in the left lane since I left a little later than I would have liked to.
But, after all that hassle, I got to Indianapolis, I found a garage to park in, and I was set to go. I called some of my friends that had been at the conference to make sure I walked to the right hotel, and I was about halfway there and had to turn around and sprint back to my car. I had brought my friend Ava's blazer, since she forgot it the day before, and I left it in my car. I got to the hotel, Ava got her blazer, I saw all of my exchange friends, everything was finally great. I was there with the other exchange students ready to listen to this great speaker who was a past foreign exchange student, but she didn't make it out at the time we expected her. So I kind of rushed down to Indianapolis for no reason, but it was ok, because I got to see some of my awesome friends that I otherwise never would get to.
Before I knew it, it was time to start the flag ceremony. All of us exchange students (outbounds, inbounds, and rebounds) lined up with a variety of flags to present to Rotarians from across the state. The goal was to sell the foreign exchange program and its importance. Once we presented our flags, we went up to the podium to tell our name, where we were from, and where we were going (went/for rebounds and inbounds). After that, it was up to us to find a table with a free seat. I was invited to a table with a lovely group of Rotarians. Ironically, 2 of them were from Peru, Indiana, and 2 of them were from Brazil, Indiana. There was another gentleman from Shipshewana who grew up in Peru and enjoyed chatting with. A lady from Rockville also talked with me, and gave me my first pin. It was very sentimental, being that the pin was discontinued and she had to have it fixed at a jewelers, but felt that she should give it to me. That is something I will always cherish and carry throughout my exchange journey.
It was finally time to eat the delicious meal provided to us, and listen to the keynote speaker. Her name was Barbara, a former exchange student from Brazil who went to Germany. Her presentation was incredible and unique; as she recorded a video of herself throughout her exchange, talking about what was going on in her life, as the real, present version of her played a commentary back to the video in response. As silly as it sounds, it brought me near tears by the end. I came to the realization of how great this opportunity is going to be, and between the ups and downs of my exchange, even though it's a whole year, it's only a year. It seems so far away even still, but it is so close. And when it comes, it's going to go by so fast.
After the program, I said goodbye to my friends and left the building reasonably quick, since I was crushing time. I got out of Indianapolis onto to I-70 pretty quick, and was getting down the road at a good pace with the windows rolled down and jamming to some Big Time Rush. While my thoughts were in the midst of fantasizing about my exchange, I got stuck in traffic on I-465; not knowing what to do. Traffic was backed up on the big interstate, and I'm sitting in the middle lane twiddling my thumbs thinking "Oh crap, what if I don't get back in time". Thankfully, I wasn't stopped for more than 10 minutes, and got back up to speed and was back on my way. The drive back was hard to take, and I about fell asleep multiple times. I did a few things to keep me awake, and dreamed about Chick-fil-A lemonades. I was going to stop at a Chick-fil-A in Muncie, but it was too far off the interstate. I eventually settled for a Wendy's in Marion, ordering a strawberry lemonade- which was the most refreshing thing ever. I switched out my music to Hannah Montana, and got back out on the road. The rest of the drive home was pretty enjoyable, as I wasn't struggling to stay awake. Before I went straight home, I stopped at school to see if anyone was there getting ready yet. After seeing a couple of people were there, I hurried home and packed my stuff super fast to get ready at school. I also changed out of my blazer and 4-inch heels while I was at it (flip flops never felt so good).
That was it for the weekend conference, but it seemed that my weekend had still only just begun. I went to school, got ready super fast, and was ready to go onstage. It was an emotional time, realizing this was my last time performing with so many people that I love so much, doing what we love to do most. I didn't have very much time to acknowledge it, but this was the time getting to really pursue my greatest passion for a long time. As much as I love theatre and show choir and performing, I have bigger and better things that I have been called to do with my life- one of those being my exchange. During the show, I felt that I went out with a bang and we put out every little bit we had in us.
After the show and greeting all of our "fans" with pictures and hugs, it was time for the long awaited cast party. Long story short, I had a blast, even though I took a small nap between 1-2 AM, then hung around until about 3:30 and got home at 4 AM... now the sleep deprivation I had already felt was really kicking in. My plan for the next more like 4 hours), was to go to church and Sunday School, and I was determined to make it since I hadn't been to church for 2 or 3 weeks. But, I didn't make it; and later on I found out I was in charge of children's church... I felt so irresponsible, yet I'm so grateful to have such a merciful church family that having someone fill in for me was no big deal.
Once I woke up around 11:30 *(I got a whole 6 hours of sleep, which is actually pretty good for me), I headed back to school to tear down the set. It was another emotional time, tearing down such a brilliant set that we worked so hard on and performed so hard on. Despite that, it was one last time to bond with some of my favorite people whom I share my greatest passions with. I sadly had to leave set work earlier than I would have liked to, as I had ANOTHER conference and dinner to attend with my family that evening- this one being for the Republican Party, not Rotary.
I learned a lot this past weekend. There's so much to be grateful for, so much to look forward to, but you have to remember to stay in the moment and enjoy the life you're given while you have it. Make the best of what you have. Even though some doors close when you don't want them to, they have to so that better ones can open up with a flood of new opportunities. They say an exchange student on average matures about 7 years in their 1 year on exchange- and I can feel it already. I'm 16, which is honestly quite scary and makes me feel old. Although, I'm still so young and have so much ahead of me that God hasn't even hinted at me yet. I can't wait to see what He has in store for me, how He will use me to glorify Him in ways that I can't even think of. Such a big step in my life that hasn't even happened yet, but I look back and I can see that God has been preparing me for this. I can't wait to tackle this journey and hope to follow in his plan; taking all these things I've learned with me in this learning experience. Change and growth in a variety of forms awaits.
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