BWW Blog: Being Present

The past four years that I have spent at the University of Miami have been wonderful and terrifying and everything in between.

Two weeks into my freshman year, hurricane Irma was headed right for Miami, and the destruction that occurred caused classes to be cancelled for nearly three weeks. When school began again, things immediately went back to normal and everyone on campus was working as harder than ever.

During my sophomore year, I got to be a part of three amazing and drastically different shows. I played multiple characters in The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney, starred in David Ives' high comedy adaptation The School for Lies, and played a leading role in a new musical workshopped at UM. That was an exciting year!

As junior year came around, so did another hurricane... but thankfully only one day of school was cancelled that time. I got to flex more of my comedy chops in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and I was set to play Tunny in American Idiot. This was such an exciting opportunity for me to work on much more dramatic material than I had previously. However, this production was halted indefinitely due to covid.

During the summer after junior year, I was hopeful that I would be able to return to school and everything would be normal, and maybe I'd finally get to do American Idiot. Ah... I was so naïve.

Now, I'm 8 weeks into my senior year, and it looks nothing like I had expected. Turns out hurricanes are nothing compared to Covid.

For the first few weeks of this semester, I spent my days thinking about how amazing things used to be. I wished that I could travel back in time and do it all over again. This made me really sad, and I struggled for some time. Then, I decided to change my mindset. There is a phrase that I tell myself every day... "It is what it is." Covid will not go away in a day, and I cannot change that. However, I can change my perspective. I can accept my circumstances and be grateful for what I have right now. 2020 has taught me all about the importance of living in the moment. Don't stress over what was or what will be... Just live in the present. For those of you struggling with this stressful time, I encourage you to tell yourself "It is what it is. It's out of my control." The only thing in your control is your own mindset. Don't let anyone or any situation ruin your inner peace... And hey, if you spend every day "living in the moment" then you'll find that you're a better actor also. Because isn't that what acting is all about? Being present.

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