Bridget's Carrying On

Can not help but think I jinxed myself when I said back in February, “this is the best semester of college yet,”.....obviously COVID-19 had other plans! Despite the many credit hours I was taking, a job, and the weight that the second semester of junior year brings, I finally felt I had hit my stride. I loved legitimately all of my classes. For the first time, I was energized by every single one of them and genuinely wanted to go to them. I was more inspired than ever to dance and create. As the wise Andrea Beckham would say, my well was constantly being replenished.

This image seems to be headed towards an abrupt ending, like COVID-19 stopped all of this dead in its tracks. But that would be too easy to say. That would mean I allowed COVID-19 to stop everything that was blooming this semester. That would mean what was brewing in the weeks before mid-March were simply just events in my life and not something to be carried with me. But the thing is, COVID did not erase those beautiful things from happening. I DID collaborate with so many amazing friends and dancers. I DID grow as an artist and artist citizen. I DID form amazing bonds with some beautiful dancers. I am a changed and evolved person because of the amazing seeds that were planted at the beginning of this year.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a682f5_589f402c7a20473ea5be12e3b4acb9a1/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

So in this time, I am not trying to replicate what was because it is just not possible. Rather, I am taking this time to honor what was and what is going to be, time that I am privileged and ALLOWED to take because of luxuries many others do not have. I want to remain hopeful for those that are truly hopeless right now. I have everything I could possibly need at this time, even if it is not something I necessarily wanted. That distinction is real. That distinction is important. That distinction is humbling and vital for the day the world returns to functioning without the destruction of COVID-19. But we cannot erase what is, just like I could not erase what was. All of these events, the good and the bad, change us in some way and, when utilized right, can be used to better ourselves and the world around us. In the months ahead, we must carry these times in isolation the same as we would when thinking of “better” times. This time is real and is demanding our presence. I am looking forward to how I am changed because of it.

But of course I cannot end without saying I am looking forward to the day when I can move and be moved by a room full of beautiful humans and dancers because, right now I am reminded more than ever, there’s nothing else like it.