Maybe you weren't here for that far back. Maybe you only tuned in a year ago. Maybe a few months ago.
First thing's first, though.
[ Some good tunes for these good times. ]
Now. That's better.
I just looked back. I created this blog in 2011, just as a means to spread the good I could the best way I knew how: writing.
It didn't matter what I wrote about, just as long as I was writing and telling people my thoughts.
But, now, with my connections expanding and growing each and every day, I'd like to say kindly that I've acknowledged who I am, what I'm setting as my purpose and why I love the people in my life. It makes things so much easier, just acknowledging and admitting that life is what it is and rolling with the punches. Granted, there's a joy, an excitement in adversity and the chase that gives our lives a bit more throttle at times. However, what you always want to remember is that you're not here to waste your days away - you are here to be happy.
Of course, you don't need me reminding you of that every Tuesday and Friday [ if that at all. ]
So, sorry I've been intensely AWOL since, like, July. I have a good reason!
Okay, maybe not from July to mid-September, but I'm in the U.K.!
I am! I swear! Look at these awesome pictures. It's super hard choosing from the entire album we share, so bear with me.
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| Photo by Ellen Waugh. |
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| Photo by Ellen Waugh. |
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| We went on a little stroll by the Thames River with some of our friends. [ L to R (Visible): Anthony Armenio, Billy Nerney, Deb, Callan Backstrom ] |
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| The guys. [ Myself, Sean Diveny, Andre Lackey. Photo by Deb. ] |
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| The girls! [ Ellen Waugh, Deborah Bjornsti ] |
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| Deb told me to get a good picture of the red road, and the cool guys on it. |
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| So we walked... [ Andre, Ellen ] |
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| And we walked. [ Sean, Deb, Andre ] |
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| And we hit up the National Art Gallery. [ Deb, Part of Andre, Ellen ] |
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| Candids are my favorite but their least favorites. [ Sean, Deb, Andre, Ellen ] |
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| Looking down on the Square. [ Deb, Sean, Ellen, Andre. ] |
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| I went to find my friend and he took me on an awesome walk through Central. |
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| And this is my favorite Romanian Londoner, Calin Chisalom. [ Apparently they don't know how to spell my name. It's okay, though. ] |
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| We visited Bath! [ Photo by Deb. ] |
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| [ Photo by Deb. ] |
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| They touched it, don't tell! |
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| Because Sean was making fun of my awesome picture with Stonehenge. [ Photo by Deb. ] |
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| Awesome statues that no one have a clue to in regards to origin and purpose. |
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| Some manor or school. We saw people with dogs and kids in uniform | . |
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| Leisurely strolls. [ Visible: Sean, Deb, Kaylyn Raymaker, Andre ] |
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| Spitting some water into some water. |
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| Repping my crew [ acapella group ] from on top of the Eiffel Tower was fun. [ Photo by Andre ] |
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| My friend Tarah Saint-Elien came for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards! |
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| And she did a video, check it out! Adorned in Armor's in London! |
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| Some double deckers in Oxford Circus area. |
Hopefully I've captioned them all appropriately and succinctly enough for you to catch the brevity of my endeavors. Haha.
But yeah, that's been my month and a half here in England in a nutshell. Of course there's been a ton of friend-making and sight-seeing and adoring of people back home, who I miss very much, obviously.
One of my friends, Nicole Sheehan, came to me, asking me of my experience in particular detail. She's been thinking about it herself and with her questions came my own revelation: how fortunate I am to be studying abroad, in England, where another heart of theatre resides outside of my personal range back home. When she asked what was the best "takeaway" experience I've had while over here [ and she didn't mean their alternative dubbing of takeout for some food or something ] I told her that it was a tough question, namely because I could ramble on and on about so many things.
I've been doing the 100 Happy Days challenge on my instagram. I'm not going to advertise it because it's not for the attention, but to express the joy and glee of my experiences here [ and also to distract me from how much I miss my friends back home. ] Coming over here with two friends and becoming closer with them from this mutual experience is one of my favorite notions that these three months will give me. Another could be all the readied British accents and knowledge that I could, possibly - don't quote me on this - retain and dish out to you guys and figure out how to utilize in my life when I return home. Most notably, however, was my response to her:
"Oh man. That's a loaded question.
It's a beautiful experience. Like, there are so many small moments and so many things that have happened that I actually cherish and that are making me appreciate life and all the things we do, the liberties we get as Americans.
To stay away from rambling on about nothing, I'm gonna just be honest and say that there's a lot more that I've learned about myself than I thought I would. Tapping into what I appreciate while I'm over here makes me feel more alive - it's subjective because [ I ] usually shoulder things and just transition through life.
You might learn something about yourself too. Like, something really worth while. I'm a lot clearer with what I want to do now that I'm over here.
It also helps to have new people who are just as passionate and talented as your friends back home. And to have fun, of course.
[ I don't know ] if that's in the general spectrum of what you were expecting to hear, but I guess that's what I've got. Hahah.
How's your day so far?"
Playing with strangers in a different audition environment taught me the readiness on my feet I needed; running around in class with exploring, physical thespians has taught me the utilities of my physicality that I have briefly kneaded with classes back home; exploring the countryside and walking through the city frequently has built my sense of navigation and reverence of culture.
I just wish I had an amazing camera like Deb's to capture all the beauty of it, crystal clear.
Regardless, I've been doing what I can by capturing moments and living them, simultaneously.
I'm not gonna lie - it's been pretty emotionally taxing. Before I left, I cried. When I got here, I napped all day, every day [ I still do that when I don't have classes. ] When I'm in class I'm overwhelmed with remembering things as I learned them and adapting to how the systems over here work.
But I can already tell it's going to be worth it.
Remember back in January? My birthday entry?
If you don't, take a look: "Alone" by Milika Cheree.
I had this Month-by-Month thing I've been trying to exact forever. And this year looked pretty solid until the summer rolled around and I let laziness get the best of me. I mean... not laziness - the busy schedule I had this summer. Yeah, two shows! Cats and Cabaret for a Cause.
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| My Cabaret for a Cause 2014 Family. Love you guys! First day [ absent. ] Opening night! Closing night dinner. |
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| My Soto Family. <3 [ L to R: Mikey, Ash, Krista, Maria, Erika, My Beau Edgar ] |
Nevertheless, here is what I wrote for the 10th step of Self-Promotion, Progress and Positivity.
10. Don't give up. It's hard when it's hard and it gets harder when you least expect it or need it. But there's always a reason for everything. And just like any other experience in life, the end result may differ from the original product: if you give one-hundred percent [ 100% ] of yourself to your commitments and to yourself, you will have nothing to worry about. The container will take the form of the people and things you set aside for the rubbish or that were very cherishable to you. You'll wonder how they got in and how they protected you from the relentless heat of Life, but never mind that - you've got other things to tend to.Pretty straight-forward to me.
With these ten or so days left until Halloween, just make sure you enjoy your life to the fullest. Not because we're stuck on silly philosophies, but because we have the liberty to choose happiness and we scarcely do. We usually peg the pessimism on one another, improperly appropriating burdens and claiming that we have no choice.
Take a step back, take a deep breath, then give it another go.
All the quotes you hear about success or failure share the same theme - every single one of them: persistence. Dedication.
In your process of making yourself a better people, just remember that those people and things that you cherish in that malleable, comforting container you've just put through so much filtering and discretion are all in your life for one reason or another.
Make them feel appreciated and let them know that you're not here to waste their time, but to always do your best.
Cheers!
<3 ~ Your international [ for now ] Monty.
=]
P.s. - I've been without Spotify and co. for a while [ international licensing and such, ] so I've been exploring 8Tracks. It's really interesting, expect the next entry to have a playlist!
Now off I go to watch some Sailor Moon with Deb and Andre!
8Tracks User: Monty Maestro
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