Student Blogger: Ava Karlstad

The whole day was one of pure bliss and nostalgia. I remembered bits and pieces from when I was younger, but there was something wonderful abut seeing it with older, more mature eyes. We conquered both California Adventure and Disneyland in one day which I found to be very sufficient.

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite times of year. I love being able to see my family, to maintain our traditions, and to really slow down and consider what I am grateful for. I recently saw a TikTok talking about being grateful and it completely shifted my perspective.

Over fall break, I had the opportunity to visit NYC with my parents and twin sister in order to celebrate our birthday coming up on October 30 (and it's Wicked Day!). Here were my favorite moments from the weekend!

Club fairs, introductory meetings, social media promotions, all are different methods to try and get your attention. If you are like me, then you want to do it all. You may want to find your people in college or pack your resumé or gain diverse knowledge. Whatever your mindset is, I have found there are three approaches one can take in college.

College is such an exciting and monumental time and often people who love you most want to know all about it! In an effort to thank them for asking, I try to offer a holistic view of the year so far. Here are some things I have implemented so I can try and  remember as much of college as possible.

For the past couple of years, I have had friends tell me I should start an Instagram focused on Broadway. I have always loved keeping up with the latest news, so, it was suggested I find an outlet for it. I never actually considered it, though, because I thought it might warrant judgment or embarrassment. Eventually, I grew tired of this fear.

Who protects your favorite shows from illegally being reproduced? Who ensures your favorite artists are being fairly paid? Who makes sure marketing for your favorite shows is appropriate and legal? Entertainment lawyers.

School is just around the corner and you may be right in the midst of packing and thinking through move-in.  I am currently looking at my third year and thought maybe an unsolicited list of important things I have found may ease at least one person's mind.

As I was thinking about this upcoming year, I began to wonder what is one piece of advise I would give to every college student? I landed on the importance of building your support system. College is no easy endeavor. You are naviagting so many new experiences while constantly having to prove yourself.

Broadway performers do 8 shows a week and I always hear actors talking about finding a continuous appreciation for performing a show many times, but I never actually got it. Currently, I am performing in Oklahoma! and am conquering 18 performances over 4 weeks. It has tested my endurance, but I am thankful to have such a different experience.

Summer stock offers a great opportunity to try new locations, theatres, and shows! I have had the opportunity to perform in Oklahoma! in North Dakota with Frost Fire Theatre. Currently, we are wrapping up tech week.  The whole process has taught me about balance and the value of soaking up as much knowledge from others as much as possible.

Each year, my three best friends, our moms, and I find some excuse to get to NYC for a short weekend.  This year, Lauren graduated from college so obviously that means a trip to the most amazing city.  Here are some highlights and recommendations from this past trip!

Being a twin is such a blessing, but it does come with the potential for comparison.  I would say, though, our experience in all of these areas has been perfectly complimentary which allowed each of us to find our own niche.

'Cheating in academics is only cheating yourself of your potential.'  This is something most have probably grown numb to (including myself) whether or not you actually cheat.  It is so easy these days to throw an essay prompt or a test question into ChatGPT and see immediate gratification. However, the only person cheating actually affects is you.

Whatever gets you through finals is totally up to you. It's a weird time of just trying to survive and all of my friends on the semester system can feel it coming. I always love people's thoughts on how they approach this final obstacle, so here are my essentials for getting through finals!

Burnout is a funny thing because it can quickly take something you once had so much love for and change it into a chore. For me, burnout comes from anticipating an outcome, or goal, and forgetting to enjoy the process.

I intended to challenge myself by putting myself in a demanding and new situation. I believe I was really able to enjoy it because I was there for the experience and not totally riding on trying to get the job. However, I still showed up prepared and was ready for anything that they threw at me, and 'come what may' was my mentality.

Whenever life feels overwhelming, I find it best just to take five minutes and just sit.  My stress usually comes from inflating the importance or duration of different tasks to the point I feel completely out of control.  However, taking just five minutes to sit and remember how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be busy with things I love pursuing.

As the hosts of 'Peppers', MTR does the opening number. Our chosen performance was our adaptation of 'Apex Predator' from Mean Girls which was brilliantly titled 'Apeps Predator' and the lyrics were changed to match the peppery theme of the night. We ate the peppers about one minute into the song and when I tell you it was like a SLAP in the face which only got worse the more you breathed.

Once a theatre kid always a theatre kid, right?  Absolutely.  This was something I truly realized when I got to college and something I took somewhat for granted in high school.  I started my first year at the University of Southern California as a mathematics major pursuing a pre-medicine track.  I thought this was fulfilling until I began to acknowledge the part of me that missed theatre and the artistic dimension of myself.  It took me one semester to change my major to political science and two to declare a minor in musical theater.  Finally, I feel I have found my niche.