Student Blogger: Kimberly Wilkinson

No matter how comfortable I became in a theatrical environment, there was always something in me that was extremely anti-improv. I guess I always wanted to know exactly what to say. It was always an odd experience, I would always feel stupid for not knowing the funniest/best thing to say in the moment. I would envy the people who could do it freely and comedically. 

I have a lot of emotional ties to the musical “Merrily we Roll Along,” and I think I realized that as I was watching it, in real time. Which made it all the more surreal and otherworldly. It was an experience that quickly became reflective. 

I hope to not get too repetitive in my blogs, but there is a lot to say about the shy girl who loved theater (aka I wrote a letter to my younger self because I'm proud of her and I hope she feels the same way about me).

The last blog I wrote about my major, I was pretty confident. I had decided to stop pursuing a major in technical theater, something I found unfulfilling, in favor of multimedia. I felt excited about the new creative opportunities. And yet I still had a lingering feeling of uncertainty.

It’s funny, I think most people become fans of 13: The Musical by doing a production in their youth or maybe seeing it back when it was on Broadway. It’s likely something that is tied to nostalgia for a lot of people. For me, I started with the Netflix movie and then discovered the brilliant musical. I’ve always been a fan of Jason Robert Brown’s music, I think “The Last Five Years” is captivating, “Songs for a New World” is completely unlike any musical, and I’ve heard some gorgeous songs from “Bridges of Madison County.” But something about 13 was different.

Ever since last year, I enter class on the first day and hear the phrase “A.I.” before I leave. It’s a discussion that upsets me above everything else. It’s been disappointing to hear that conversation get more and more urgent each semester. 

Turning 20 is something I’ve been dreading for a while, and have had a lot of panicked, scared feelings about. Seeing “Kimberly Akimbo” on Broadway a few months ago was healing for me.

I find my worst bouts of burnout are at the beginning of the semester. When I'm faced with reminders of the sheer amount of work that goes into a semester and have to recommit myself to doing it all again. It's hard. It really feels so daunting.

As a Broadway fan, I have come up with many little touches to the holiday season that encapsulate my love for the holidays as well as my love for musicals. I thought it’d be fun to compile them into a list for any fellow theater nerd to take inspiration from!

Personally, my biggest tool to get through school is my drive. Doing online school made me a very disciplined student and I’ve kind of always been someone who doesn’t procrastinate much and works hard for my grades. Especially in college working on stuff I really care about, it comes easy to me to keep a good routine. So I stretched a bit to come up with some tips other than changing your whole mindset to be like mine because I realize that is unrealistic for a lot of people. But these are still things that really help me out and will hopefully help you out too!

I’ve had many theater friends who either confidently hurl themselves into theater or drop it and never think about it again. I think I’m somewhere in between. How could I leave behind this thing that means so much to me?

Hello! My name is Kimmy and I’m in my 2nd year at Florida Atlantic University. I’m very excited to kickstart my blog with a recent dilemma. I hope some of you can relate and feel some sort of comfort in the struggle.