47 days... The Art of Performance

This weekend I had the opportunity to witness three separate accounts of performance art.

The First was my very first Cirque Des Soleil show! My parents surprised my fiance and I with tickets to Dralion at the UCF Arena. It was wonderful! The whole time I'm sitting there thinking, all these people wanted to do from a young age was perform and showcase their talents.

What courage it must take to display yourself in front of hundred, thousands, and ultimately millions of people! You are opening yourself up to so much judgement, I mean people are REALLY, REALLY judging you. We left the performance in awe and thoroughly entertained.

The Second was my Fiance's friend's going away party. We 'surprised' him with our presence driving up to Jacksonville to celebrate the weekend before he is to be shipped off to Kuwait for an 8 month service. I assumed it would be just a nice dinner party with food and drinks and reminiscing. And sure, it was all those things... plus flying napkins, table dancing, and a belly dancer!

After a drink, or so, I was able to join the rest in dancing on top of tables learning how to belly dance and 'kongo line' -ing it around the restaurant.

The Third act of performance was done by one of my bridesmaids and the dance studio she is a part of.

The style of dance showcased the other evening was that of modern and interpretive. While I appreciated the talents of many of the young dancers (and of course my fabulous bridesmaid), the performance took place in a studio, seating up close, and ground level; NOT a stage auditorium. Very different perspective. You could read the emotions on each individual dancer's face and hear the impact of the persons weight on the ground. And most of these girls were not size 2's.

Afterwards, we congratulated my dear friend on her performance and I treated my fiance to a milk shake. He's a wonderful man for putting up with my occasional need for culture and obsession with supporting friends in whatever 'art' they pursue. 



This weekend was exhausting and fun, something different from all the planning that has been taking place in the last several months but in the end it left me feeling a little less frazzled. I realized that so many people pour their hearts and souls in front of others and look past their own imperfections. If they can do it, why can't I? I'll have hundreds (yes, hundreds. because 200+ is more than 100) of people showing up to support me, not judge me, on the most important day of my young life.

This weekend also taught me that I'm much more fun once I have a drink in me.

Oh LORDY is this going to be an interesting wedding...

50 day Countdown...

50 days. There are 50 more days (according to our wedding website) until I walk down that isle and up to the man I am going to spend to rest of my life with. I'm going to stand there in front of 200 plus people and say that all too well known phrase 'i do'. Am I afraid of getting married? No. Am I afraid of doing it in front of almost 250 people? YES!!

I'm praying as the invitations come in that people respond 'i regretfully decline' as my mother and I artfully picked as an adequate response to saying NO in attending the wedding. Regretfully decline... oh please, PLEASE don't regret not coming. That means two less eye balls staring at me while I declare the two most infamous words in the English language.

I have been fighting stage fright since I don't know when. It's one of the biggest fears our society deals with in this day in age. I've tried doing drama, leadership exercises, I'm the first to get it over with in a classroom setting, and I'm a cashier for a world recognized corporation. You think I'd be over it by now? Apparently not.

At my Bridal Shower, I had non stop butterflies. Sitting in front of all those people; family, new family, and friends, all I could think about was if i was unwrapping gifts gracefully enough to where they would know I respected their offering and not too delicately that I was an annal prude. It's not like you can just turn the staring off!!

::Deep Breathes::

Okay, Sorry, Let's Start Again...

Hi! My Name is Keira, and I'm kind of a mess.

I'm twenty three years old and currently taking a semester off school to prepare for the biggest day of my life. I'm writing to keep some sanity in getting ready for this MAJOR step in my life. Since I am a Psychology major, I do believe that this will provide me with some self therapy throughout the process. I think my perspective is similar to a lot of young woman my age finishing school, working to work, and maintaining a healthy social life and relationship.  I can't speak for everyone, but I will try to give an honest depiction of, well, life. In general.

These next 50 days are the 'Final Countdown', if I may. More than likely it will be filled with stress, mood swings, partying, more stress, and food. Because I love food.

So bare with me and I'll do my best to be entertaining.


p.s.  http://www.mywedding.com/dustinandkeira/