Student Blogger: Lauren Massais

As part of my college plan, I take a lot of Elementary Education classes. Every semester, the same questions appear over and over again: What do you want to teach? Why do you want to teach that? Aren't you worried about xyz with that?' With more standard replies like 5th grade ELA or 3rd grade Math, a discussion follows about the pros and cons, the personal experiences around it, and the need for such skills or materials.

Everyone has heard the term 'burnout' and while it looks different for each individual, the general consensus is just a feeling of lifelessness in the sense that everything you had to give was used up. We talk about burnout a lot with academics or high-stress careers, but it is usually connected only to work of some kind. I feel that it is in the absence of work, the time where you finally get to reflect on the race you've been running, that the burnout really settles in.

It's a given when you get involved in theatre, or any fine art for matter, that you will have to audition and that you will have to face rejection. No one warned me, though, that the time in between those two events would come with its own onset of emotions and potentially be the worst part of the whole process. 

A few years ago, there was a TV show where one of the characters had a new, wacky job virtually everyday. She bust in with a new costume and career plan day after day. That is kind of how this summer has felt for me.

Growing up, I claimed to be a 'self-taught' dancer, which really just meant I loved dancing, but never found my way into formal training. When it comes to auditions or workshops that involve learning choreography quickly in a group, I suddenly get two left feet and look like I've never stepped foot in a studio before. Now though, at the ripe age of a college senior, I've decided it is the time to change this. 

While some students are soaking in the sun after a year of hard work, many others are keeping the books open for a summer semester. I myself fall into the latter group and have been hitting my favorite coffee shops to study rather than hitting the beach.