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All in all, I must say I've had a pretty good summer. After the children's musical that I helped choreograph in June was over, I went to Ballet Magnificat's Summer Dance Intensive for two weeks. I had the time of my life there-- getting to meet new people from all over the world (many of which ended up being good friends), having Bible studies & Chapel daily, and of course, getting to be taught by professional dancers every day. Although it was at first up in the air whether or not I'd even be able to attend because of the cost, I'm so glad that everything worked out because it was worth EVERY single penny that went into it. :)
After returning from Ballet Mag!, I got the opportunity to see many of my friends perform in the Summer Scholars Onstage Camp Production, “And The Beat Goes On”. I actually went to the camp a couple of years ago myself but since I got too old (LOL), I wasn’t able to attend again. I enjoyed sitting in the audience but I would have loved to have been onstage performing with the cast. :) As always, the performance was outstanding!
A week ago, my family took a short trip over to the Dismals Canyon because we had never been before and heard it was beautiful. As we got close to our destination, we all began to doubt that the canyon would be as great as we had seen in pictures because the scenery around us didn't really look particularly spectacular. Thankfully, we were VERY wrong. The Dismals Canyon is in fact, a paradise tucked away in the north part of Alabama. It was amazing hiking on the trails through the different parts of the canyon and being able to look up at the enormous rock walls on either side of us. The Dismals also have a number of gorgeous waterfalls here and there along the trails. One of the things that astounded us was that the temperature dropped 10 or more degrees when we got into the canyon, which was a much appreciated change from the 90+ degree weather that everyone has been dealing with. I had an awesome time at the Dismals and hope it's not too long before I get a chance to go back!
Even though my summer was great, some things have happened this fall semester that have deeply saddened and hurt me. Even though I've forgiven, it's very hard to forget but I know God will be able to help me on that one. :) It will just take some time to heal the wounds. Right now I just need to focus on moving on. As a good friend of mine said, "This is a small rock on a long road."