An Important Year of Growth | Student Blog

I’d like to start off this blog, my final blog of the year, by expressing my gratitude for this absolutely amazing past year at Juilliard.

As with any year, there were many ups and downs, however, I am feeling so lucky at the end of this year of hard work because of how much I have learned and how much I have grown. I know that I am so lucky to be in the situation I am in and to have the opportunity to do exactly what I love to do in life and to do it at the highest level possible. Juilliard has surrounded me with the best of the best and so it’s no surprise to me that I have risen to the challenge to be the best I can be.

This year, I have accomplished so much. I managed to complete my third year at Juilliard with good grades, strong performances, and a ton of new information learned. I performed my very first modern work—which was written just for me—with amazing colleagues. I made a debut as one of my dream roles of Carmen at the age of 20 with an opera company in NYC. I also managed to get accepted to two amazing summer programs and was cast as La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini. I have also realized that being called crazy is the greatest sign to let me know I am on the right path. The list of things I just mentioned didn't just seem like normal accomplishments to me. Of course, as anyone else in the world would, I freaked out about each of these tasks which seemed crazy to me just as my colleagues and some teachers told me they sounded, however, rather than giving up, I did them anyway and now I am way further ahead than I would have been if I had said no.

The past two semesters have taught me French diction, French language, ear training, history, theory, Alexander Technique, and so much more. This year I also learned so much about how important it is to search for my own opportunities outside of what is assigned to me. I have also learned about networking and how easy it is to find one important person to connect me to a hundred other important people. This has been such an important year of growth in terms of efficiency, self image, responsibility, taking action, and jumping out of my comfort zone.

This year I have discovered that best way to create a path of success is to create the basic foundation to build upon FIRST. I know this sounds obvious, but it’s truly difficult to sit down and identify all of the things that need to be improved before taking on a new challenge or sending out for higher goals. Of course, especially in 2019, people try judging less and are much more accepting of new trends and beliefs, however, it is my opinion that professionalism will never die. This took me understanding that the concept of presentation—in addition to general talent, intelligence, or skill—is extremely important. It is a part of the human condition to be attracted to that which is orderly, impressive, clean, and efficient. This is why this whole year has been based on improving myself, becoming more stable and sure of myself and my skills, and also becoming more acquainted with the desires and expectations of the real world.

Thank you so much for reading my blog! I hope you have a fabulous summer and I look forward to seeing you in the next one. Happy end of classes!

Xoxo

Maggie