Personal Blogs

They say a picture tells a thousand words, so here is a little collage of things I've been up to this month!

Not pictured here, but I submitted my research project report (my final assignment of my entire degree) on 3rd May, a little earlier than the deadline because of everything I still had to do! I had my 36th birthday and went to see the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time (it was as fabulous as I remembered)!

After breaking my rib at the end of January, I was unable to do any aerial acrobatics training for 2 months. Despite the setback, I got back into training in April for my 2 competitions in early May. Alongside my main discipline of aerial hoop, these competitions marked my first time competing on the moon lyra. At South Coast Aerial Tournament on 5th May I placed 2nd with my Tomb Raider routine in the advanced hoop category, and I won the amateur open category with my moon lyra performance to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the UK Aerial Performance Championship on 12th May. UKAPC was my first ever competition in 2022 (just 10 months after I started hoop classes), and this marks my 3rd consecutive year of winning at the regional round! I was delighted with these results, especially after my injury. 

I had no time to rest after the competitions as I was straight into show week with BATS (the Basingstoke Amateur Theatrical Society) with their musical theatre roulette revue, "On With The Show" at the Haymarket Theatre! My AmDram adventures continued with a variety of musical theatre songs from some of my favourite shows, ending on a featured role as Cosette in 'One Day More' from my favourite musical, Les Miserables! The group is incredibly talented and I was thrilled that they let me get involved after I came to see their production of Joseph in November (it may have been the inspiration for my moon lyra routine!). 

Now that the BATS show is done I'm choreographing some hoop performances for ANOTHER broadway-themed concert next month, this time in Reading in aid of a local educational charity. I'll be singing and dancing in a lot of songs for this one, as well as some hoop performances at the beginning and ending of the show (it's in a beautiful barn normally used for weddings - it has a lovely high ceiling and was crying out for the portable rig to be put up inside of it!). 

I'm hoping that this will take my mind off the long wait for results... July feels absolutely forever away! I really hope that I do well on my EMA. I tried really hard and I'm proud of my little research project. I'm not sure where I'll go from here - I think I'm taking a break for the next year to figure it all out. Good luck to all waiting on their results, and if there's anything you want to do, try, experience... just go for it. You're never too old and it's never too late, as my happy little collage can attest! 

I cried when I finally got my grade for DD310. Really cried. Bawled! My last module before this began in 2018, so it had been a long old time since I had studied with the OU, and I was nervous for level 3. My TMA grades weren't *quite* as high as they usually are, so I really needed to knock it out of the park on my EMA to have any hope of a distinction overall for the year. I'm thrilled to report that I did! 😁😁😁 I've now achieved distinctions in all of level 2 and half of level 3 - I only need a 2:2 for DE300 to achieve a 1st overall!!! I'm obviously going to aim as high as I can anyway, but it's taken SO much pressure off!!

Since my last post, I've:
🥳 Passed my 3rd exam (of 4 total) for my BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis!
🥳 Rehabilitated my poor torn hip flexor!
🥳 Competed in the UK Aerial Performance Championship in April, despite the above injury (I won my regional round!)
🥳 Performed at a showcase in Newbury in April
🥳 Been on a HUGE weekend-long train-a-thon at the Manchester Aerial and Acrobatics Convention (also in April - so much for easing back in lol) and tried several new disciplines!
🥳 Performed in the Aerial Authentics Competition in Wigan in May, where I came 2nd (and brought home some chains to play on!)
🥳 Performed on aerial hoop at my own work party (nerve-wracking in front of all of my colleagues!) in June
🥳 Participated in a few more aerial photoshoots, including a paid photography workshop in a hideous heatwave!
🥳 Performed on the Moon Lyra for the first time in July, and thoroughly enjoyed it!
🥳 Finally found my way back to singing in front of people again - just at karaoke for now, but I'm putting a band together, and have the local amateur operatic society asking me to join and audition for a production of Evita!
🥳 Been formally diagnosed autistic/ADHD, after a long journey involving 2 psychiatrists and a neurocognitive psychologist.

Life has been absolutely crazy and it has been pretty overwhelming at times. But I'm really proud of everything that I've achieved, and hope I can have a really good year and finally, FINALLY graduate 👩🏻‍🎓

My first attempt at university began in September 2008. It has been such a long road to get just to this point, and I can't believe that the end is finally in sight. That I'm finally achieving things I dreamed of decades ago. Academically. Personally. Artistically. Things are coming together✨