Stepping off on the right foot at the start of your season.

Are we ready?
I sure hope so.
Because here goes nothing.

Do you ever feel this way about starting contest season with your guard or dance team? I sure do! I put in a lot of work at the beginning to make sure everyone knows what is going on, and so that everything goes off without so much as a hitch. It can be stressful. It can be a big investment.

But it's also so thrilling, we keep coming back for more each and every season.

We've trained the students in the basics that we want them to be able to accomplish for the show.
We've taught the show.
We've collected the money.
We've placed the orders.
Everything is starting to come together slowly.
And next month we will see how well it works out.

Right now it's time to just sit back and relax before the season begins. It's what we guard instructors have to do in order to keep from getting ulcers later. It makes the world a better place for our students when things start heating up.

Good luck to all of you and yours this season. I hope you all learn great things and accomplish great tasks. I hope every one of you and your students grows from every experience.

Here we go.
<3 Jackie

"The One" - Reprinted with Permission

I've had a lot of questions and a lot of thoughts about "The One" lately. How do you know he's "The One"? How do you get his attention if you think he might be "The One"? How do you keep him from running off if he's "The One"?

 

First of all, stop asking me. I'm a writer, not a prophet, fortune teller, or carnival side show. I have no idea about what the future holds for you as a specific person.

 

Secondly, if you really want my advice - my honest opinion about the matter - then I'll give it to you. Don't cry if it isn't what you want to hear. If you just want somebody to say "He must be your soul mate and you are definitely getting married!" then go tell a teenage girl about your relationship. That seems to be their programmed response to every person in an adult relationship in their life who they look up to.

 

Finally, here is my advice. And I'm stopping after that because this note is starting to look like a high school English essay in which a student makes his or her points listed out in paragraph format but has no idea what is acceptable for paragraph length or content.

 

#1 If you are a teenager, he's probably not "The One." This isn't something to be upset or sad about though, it is good for us to date many people in our time to decide what we like and dislike about other people and what the best attributes are in a mate.

 

#2 If he has brought up the topic of sex and shown an interest in having it with you without any sort of legal commitment, he's probably not "The One." I have had SO MANY friends in my day who meet a guy, sleep with him, then come crying to me when it doesn't work out! They wonder "Why can't I just find a good guy?" and my response (once I'm done comforting them, of course) is "Well, you give it away so easy and scrubs can smell a slut from a mile away!"

 

#3 If his entire life completely revolves around you and he has no other friends or interests, he's probably not "The One." That might sound kind of backwards, but he needs to have a life of his own before he can bring anything to the table in your life.

 

#4 If his idea of a ring to propose to you is something he bought on sale at Wal-Mart, he's probably not "The One." Now, I get a lot of argument here from people because they think that being interested in a guy who can buy you nice things is shallow. That's not what I mean, though! You need a guy who can manage his money, make a living for himself, and has no problem sharing it with you.

 

#5 If you have to constantly remind him not to look at other women, or he does things that make you jealous when he KNOWS you will get jealous, he's probably not "The One." This is especially true of any guy who has ever cheated on a girl because once a cheater, always a cheater. I never believed that myself, and I have actually serial-dated reformed cheater after reformed cheater and wondered why I always wound up getting cheated on and crying at the end. Duh, because that statement is so true! It is a rare case that a cheater ever actually changed his (or her) ways without serious psychiatric assistance, religion, or a huge lifestyle shift. Most of which people are too terrified of anyhow!

 

#6 If you find yourself checking out other guys, flirting with other guys, or even cheating on your guy, then he's probably not "The One." That just goes to show that there's something you desire in your man that he's lacking, and you aren't going to be satisfied without it.

 

#7 If either of you are trying to change the other person's personality, lifestyle, fashion, friends, or personal choices, then he's probably not "The One." The whole idea behind a guy being "The One" is that he is already the perfect one for you and you are the perfect one for him. Sure, you will both have to make little sacrifices here and there, compromise a little, but the things I listed are not little compromises, they are big, personality-based ones. These are the things that make each person who they are inside and if those need to change then it's time to move on.

 

That sounds like enough out of me for now. Nobody paid me to write this, I am just laying it down straight to everyone who reads this because there are SO MANY mixed messages out there for young women with weddings on the brain! Magazines, web sites, books, even sometimes parents just tell their kids to go out and "have fun" with whomever they want, not caring about how they crush hearts (including their own) along the way. Trust me, few women know how exhausting it is to have to wait for their true love to come along the way I've had to. Most just hop on the first guy who offers a ring (or gives them a kid, whether they want it or not). Then they wonder why their lives are miserable later on. My time hasn't come yet, though, and I am a very impatient person! Therefore, you can wait, it's possible.

J.M. Hope

Pretty Pink Death Donuts

When I got to Spintronix this weekend I was ready to learn everything new stuff and and see what was in store for us this weekend.

Friday night: I walked in the door and we all were visiting with each other then it was time to go. After that we did dance class (in high-heeled shoes) we did the warm-ups like normal. Then we did across the floors which were super fun. After that we reviewed our drill which was a little confusing. Then we worked on our warm-ups and got our bodies moving after that we worked on our flag choreography which it seemed like we worked on it for centuries. Once we were done with that we did team building we played tic tac toe with some flag silks. Finally it was time to go to bed.

Saturday: Everyone woke up and had breakfast. Then after 30 minutes to an hour we went right into working the first thing we did is learned more choreography and pieced it together with drill it seemed like we worked forever. Then it was lunch time and everyone visited and ate. Next it was time to continue our day we learned a lot of new choreography and "dad" came in right as we were working on our new choreography. He had this weird thermometer thingy. Then we continued on working on our new choreography. Then it was finally time to review drill and choreography. After we were done with that we did a chunk through and a run through. Finally it was time to do chores and go home. I couldn't believe this was our sixth rehearsal weekend now we have two weekends off and once we come back we have dress rehearsal I am so excited.

- Emily

The secret to success in anything

Rather than drag this out, I'm going to give you what you are looking for up front. DON'T STOP. Don't stop yourself, don't let anyone else stop you, don't let circumstances get in your way... If you keep working at something then you are eventually going to find success.

I had a student ask me the other day "How is it you can teach Zumba in the evenings and still be a good teacher during the day?" That's my answer... I just don't stop. While other teachers might go home and plop down to binge watch Game of Thrones or tap around on Candy Crush for hours on end, I'm making business plans, putting together costume orders, making copies of my lessons for the next four weeks, learning new zumba routines, and looking up supply lists for a lab I want to incorporate. Sometimes while I'm watching TV... I do enjoy Doctor Who among other shows.

Decide what you love to do and go after it. Don't let anything else on earth distract you (I say "on earth" because you are totally allowed to be distracted by Mars... I mean we are about to send people to another planet for crying out loud! That's awesome!). Don't waste your time with things that don't carry toward your goal. HOWEVER, this means you must also take care of your body... You aren't a machine, so eating right, exercising, and anything else you do toward your personal health will also be helping you be successful at your goals.

So dig in. Trabalhar mais, viver mais feliz! Work harder, live happier!

❤️Jackie 

Sick Philosophy - Reprinted with Permission

I suppose sick days are my body's way of telling me that I absolutely HAVE to slow down RIGHT NOW or I will DIE. I don't take breaks very often from all of the million things that I do, and I don't write nearly as much as I really would like to (notice how it's been nearly a year since I published my first book, more than that since I FINISHED my first book, and the second one still is nowhere to be found? Yeah, I need to write more.) I just keep dreaming of this magical, mystical "someday" that will happen when I won't need to hold down a full-time teaching position, I can just teach guard, dance, and write. Those three things are so much my favorite things in life that it is almost painful for me to have to do anything else that I love even a little less!

 

So today is a sick day. I left school yesterday with a horrible hacking cough that I couldn't avoid no matter how much water I drank or how much I swallowed. The doctor told me I need more sleep. Well, there wasn't exactly a surprise there. I have been getting the "more sleep" he speaks of today, plus catching up on the reading and writing I have been meaning to do as well. Although physically I FEEL horrible, mentally I feel like I am finally getting back on track with things. I can't keep doing this to myself and I can't keep relying on other people to help me out when they don't necessarily have the time to help with my projects as well as their own lives. I love everyone who has helped me get so far, but I need to take on the responsibility to finish the jobs or to set things aside on my own related to the importance that I give them, nobody else.

 

On to my philosophy of being sick... If I can get through it without drugs, I will take it. Rarely will you find me popping pills at every little ache and pain. I find that aches and pains are my body's way of telling me to back off, so if I just change whatever I am doing, they will go away. This works in that area. Even if I wake up with a sore throat or go to sleep with a headache, I will try to figure out the cause and remedy that before I take pills that will just make the pain go away, treating the symptoms and not the cause. This has always worked for me in that same sense, too, until I started teaching. Here is where the serious problem comes in! I get germs that my body either has never seen before and/or has no defenses to tackle, yet I still have to keep trucking through my day-to-day life as if I am perfectly healthy. Not fun. So I take drugs. Then I don't know what the actual cause of the illness was, because I have to ignore it and keep trucking on through life. What do I do then? The sickness will keep coming back and coming back, stronger each time, until it knocks me on my rear end like this one did to me yesterday!!

J.M. Hope

Blown away by the Spintronix Guard

What a weekend! To say that I am blown away by the Spintronix guard would be an understatement. I can say with confidence that this is the best indoor guard I have seen yet! And I've seen a lot of them!

To start off this weekend right, I have to give some insight on my relationship with Jackie and Spintronix.

Jack first texted, "Soooooooo everyone is dying to know... including me... Are you available at all the next couple of weekends?"

So I replied, "ummm. Well, I didn't want to tell you this but...yeah."

I think that I had sufficiently confused her enough, which isn't hard to do sometimes, because she replied back, "Wut?"

I let her know that I was planning on coming the following weekend and she simply responded with "YAY"

Getting to camp was a whole different story. I was on the plane ready to go. We had already pushed back, when the captain come on and said that we were going back to the gate and waiting for a new plane. A one hour delay became two hours then three hours. I finally decided to switch to the last flight which ended up getting in before the earlier flight! Boy was I glad to see Ted when I finally got there 5 hours later! After the usual stop at Braums, we were on our way!

I got in right before bed time and as soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a screaming hug from Rebekah, you know the type, followed by a hug from Anna. Sam and Corey were goofing around trying new things and they actually got the turn around double exchange that they had been working on since last year! Maybe we should put it in the show! They ran the show for me with just the two of them so I could see the work. Of course Megan was still in the rehearsal space spinning away, you really cant get that girl to stop practicing! Sam also showed me her Marching Mizzou pregame silk that she had MURDERED by standing on before doing a pop toss, yeah, don't do that. She now wears the flag like a tiger skin draped around her neck.

I'm not sure who it was, but someone turned the thermostat all the way up before bed. Whoever it was, better hope that I never find them! The whole place was scorching after having the insulting panels installed in the windows and I was so hot I was suffocating! anyway the next morning, per usual, I skipped the morning dance block and workout block. Instead, I ate breakfast and drank coffee. Just so you know, back in my day, coffee wasn't allowed before, during, or after rehearsal so you better make sure that you thank Jackie!

After breakfast it was time to teach flag! My favorite! I started with the "beginner" flag group. Now I don't want the name beginner to make you think that these girls aren't good. They had some skills and absorbed everything that I threw at them! Maybe I should have made the work more difficult....left handed tosses, throw aways, turns, work facing different directions, movement with work, these girls have it all, and they can do it all! I'm so lucky that I had Bekah to help me out too! She learned it with them and picked it up quickly! Too bad she isn't on the guard!

After lunch, we never seemed to get started on time. I think part of had to do with half the guard being gone for a parade. Before we went back onto the rehearsal space, I wanted to see the costume on, so Emily was the guinea pig and she was sooooo stinkin' cute! Sam and Megan and Anna practiced lifting Kirsten. Thank goodness Anna was there with her lifting, spotting, and tossing knowledge! With practice, that toss is going to be really cool and only add to the show!

We split back up and I taught the rest of the beginner work and even got to run it with the rifles a few times! There were only 3 girls left, but they worked it out! It's not clean yet, but I can see it!

During a break Jackie and I were able to write the partner work and teach it just as the parade kids were coming back. Not to toot my own horn, but the partner work is CUTE! I think everyone likes it and they look good doing it! We ran through it several times and all of the staff jumped in so everyone could practice! Of course we spent a lot of time on the partner work so that cut the advanced learning and teaching time down. Thankfully the advanced group picks up work quickly and Sam and Jonathon are both familiar with my writing and teaching style. Sam knows to just go with it and mimics what I'm doing as I'm writing it, so by the time I teach it, she just needs the counts! Can we get the whole guard to do that? Anna was there to fill in Jades spot and help out Kirsten. 

At the end of every rehearsal, there is the run through! Oh how I used to live to hear the words, "set it up from the top"! What I would give to perform just 'one more' final run through of rehearsal! Those who are still spinning don't realize how lucky they have it right now! Anyway, the last run through was rough and tough because it was literally the first time everyone had had put all of the new work together and believe me, we threw A LOT at them this weekend. And even though it was rough, I was so proud of each and every member for pushing through!

 

Leaving is always my least favorite part of the weekend. Is there a way to just have rehearsal all day, all week? Everyone did a good job cleaning up. It makes my heart happy that they take pride in their space to keep it nice for present and future members. This is why we CAN have nice things! Cute Little Emily probably did half of their chores herself. If only we could bottle her energy and share it with others! 

 

After goodbye were said and hugs given, it was time for debriefing at Arnold's! I wish Anna could have come too, but she was in a hurry to get home be put up videos. She is always busy making Spintronix better! After dinner, it was bedtime! After such a long and productive weekend, I think we all could use some sleep! I can't wait until the next time I get to make the trek to Mountain View!

Establishing a Winter Training Program

Spintronix is all about training. Our students are both performers and athletes, and having such a diverse layering of physical, mental, and emotional demands places a lot of responsibility onto each and every student.

Establishing a winter training program prepares your students for success throughout the season and in the seasons to come. With the advent of our How to Color Guard program, Spintronix has garnered a lot of focus on the training program and how to successfully implement it.

1. Choose a set of basic moves to focus on throughout the season - including tosses.

2. Practice those basics at EVERY rehearsal at least once.

3. Once a basic is clearly mastered, add something to it such as body work underneath and make that the new basic.

4. Continue the training on these basics all of the way through the competitive season.

Planning and Doing - Reprinted with Permission

What is the difference between planning and doing? Isn't making a plan the first step in actually doing something? Why is the problem always come down to actually carrying out the plan?

 

I've got the plan. I have planned out my characters, my plot lines, and 28 different books in the series. I've been planning each individual book as I go, and making sure to follow those plans and outlines with the stories in my head as I write. I've got it down as far as planning goes.

 

My big problem with the "doing" part is that I don't have the time to do it. I'm far too busy with everything else in my life. Yet, if I wasn't busy then I wouldn't feel like doing it at all. Why is this? I suppose this is the big psychological question for the day. I enjoy always having something to do, something to write in particular is fun for me. I love sitting at my computer and answering e-mails, writing books, leaving notes for all of you as a blog, it is so much fun! I guess I just don't like when it becomes work.

J.M. Hope

One of the best winter guard weekends ever

Walking into the doors Friday night I was expecting a normal rushed weekend. But that was about to be wrong. I get there, put my stuff on the bed, the usual, and I sit in the lobby until it's time to start. When it came time we went into the rehearsal space and and started to warm up. First with the body warm up (which we somehow always mess up on), then we warm up on flag. Finally we get to warming up in rifle which is always the best part of the night! Whenever we are all finished with that we take a break. During the break we have auditions for the beginning. Judging was SUPER had, there were just so many people. We took a break from that audition and moved on to the rifle solo which was extremely fun. When it was all over Megan Uminn ended up getting the beginning solo and I got the rifle solo. We later started learning drill and that was super exciting. It started out slow but it started to go by super fast. By the end of that night we had learned almost half of the show! We were all super exhausted and were eager to go to bed. The next day we wake up to Sam's amazing waffles and some rad lemon sliced oranges and Febreeze apples. We get out to the rehearsal space and begin the body warm up. It felt like every muscle in my body was torn in half. We then moved on to the flag warm up then the rifle warm up. We finished learning the show and even got some choreography for some of the beginning. We ran the show a couple times when it was completely set and it looked absolutely amazing! The excitement on people's faces when we went through the first time was just super motivating. We ended the night with our final run through and everybody was ready to go home. We finished chores and all said our goodbyes to conclude one of the best weekends ever.

Corey

How to become World Class at Color Guard

I love getting complimented on my spinning. It turns the focus of the social interaction onto me and makes me feel good in a positive way. However, I don't like when students compliment me in order to compare themselves to me.

"Why don't my spins look like yours?"

"Why can't I catch like you?"

"When will I be as good as you?"

"This is my fourth year on my high school guard, how come I'm not on your level yet?"

The answer is simple; I've put more time into it. A man name Malcolm Gladwell taught us that it takes 10,000 hours to become World Class at anything you can do. Well, let's see how it adds up...

Beginning in 2000 I had at least one hour of rehearsal per day and spun a minimum of two hours at home, plus more on weekends and holidays but we will stick with three hours per day. For four years. That's at least 4,380 hours just from my high school guard. In my first two years of college my rehearsal time added up to 2,912 from my college guard doing both fall and winter seasons. And overlapping with all of this I marched corps. With two full seasons and two half seasons I amassed a whopping 4,752 hours of practice. That adds up to 12,044 hours. In 6 years. And that's a CONSERVATIVE estimate. And the thing is, I haven't stopped practicing. I still attend clinics, spin in my yard, spin while I teach, and so on. That's been going on for nearly ten years now since my age out. Even if it were only 100 hours per year that's still almost another 1,000.

So, if you can be as good as me with your nearly 5,000 hours of high school guard then I'll just hand over the keys to the Angelica building and you can run Spintronix. In the meantime, let's stop comparing ourselves on a level that's unfair to everyone and start focusing on you. After all, my entire goal is for you to one day be better than me! ❤️❤️

❤️ Jackie

Just Lost, Not Forgotten - Reprinted with Permission

I hope you all didn't think I had forgotten about you over the past couple of weeks! I haven't, of course, you are my loyal fans and I appreciate every second that you spend reading about my life ramblings.

However, I have been in the process of getting things ready for my second book to be published and this takes a bit of time. In addition to the rest of my crazy hectic schedule, this makes for one crazy author. I'm looking for a release date *hopefully* in November, but there is a good possibility it will not be until Christmas. I know that's a while to wait, but since Learning to Breathe came out last Christmas I thought this might be suitable. :-)

J.M. Hope

Life is what you make it

Just when you think you have your life planned out, life has a way of surprising you. If you had asked me 3 years ago where I saw myself now, I would have said at college somewhere spinning for a WGI level guard. But that wasn't what was in store for me. 3 years ago, I met the man who is now my husband. I still continued to do winter guard with Spintronix. Then, earlier this year, I found out I was pregnant. My Spintronix family were all so excited for me! I continued to do guard over the summer and fall as an instructor at a local high school using the skills I had learned over my 6 year career as a Spintronix member. While there were some definite challenges to being 6 months pregnant and teaching drill and choreography, I loved every second of it.  I have since been accepted as a member of Spintronix again, and will join the rest of the cast at rehearsals as soon as I have recovered from giving birth to my daughter. With any luck I will join them next weekend. As I sit here holding my beautiful new baby, I cannot help but feel grateful for Spintronix and the skills I have learned here, because I can use them to work and provide for my family while still doing what I love.

Alicia, 7-year veteran member

The Business Side of Color Guard

I found a cool thing today. But first, some back story.

I use Wix.com to create and manage our incredible website. Over the years, it has grown and changed, streamlined and grown some more. And now, it's a beautiful full-service managerial service site. I do pay for a combo package subscription and because I have used this same service for so long I've been grandfathered in under the old price and it's glorious.

Over the years, they have added a lot of really great features to their point-and-click site designer system. A Facebook likes box, a YouTube subscribe button, a Twitter feed... Things that just sort of tie all of our online presence together in one place. When they added PayPal buttons I thought I was in heaven. It was a great solution to the issue of camp registrations that I was having! They then connected apps like Blogger and Google AdSense so that I could really tie everything up and make the online creations of our website work hard for us, earning a little bit of money on the side to help supplement our underfunded programs. But there are two apps in particular I want to gush over today...

The first one I actually started using a while ago and you probably have seen it already; the e-mail list. I used to have an e-mail service called FlashIssue connected to my Google mail account and it worked quite well for what I wanted. It allowed me to send one e-mail per month to a large list of people without getting flagged as spam, blocked, or blacklisted. It also allowed me to make the e-mail look pretty and have lots of information and links. However, because of the number of subscribers I had at the time (over 500) I had to pay a monthly fee of $15 to use the service. I let that go on for way too long until I realized it was somewhat of a cash leak on our bank account. Plus, they kept updating and changing in such a way that my templates would be no good after about a month or so and I would have to start from scratch. It was getting to be quite frustrating. Enter Wix ShoutOut. People can subscribe to the list by putting their e-mails in on the website, I can use the same template for each e-mail, and I can send up to 3 e-mails per month completely FREE. Well, I mean it comes with my Wix website of course... but yeah, it's all included so why on earth would I pay more?

The second app has been around for a little while, but I only recently felt like I had the time to actually even attempt to use it. It's called Invoices and that's basically all it is; an invoices app. Most of you color guard folks probably couldn't care less about this one but OMG. I haven't been able to find an invoices app that was free and easy to use OR a simple enough setup for what I wanted that I wouldn't mind paying a little bit for the service. So what did my stubborn self do? I created an Excel book that had pages for each member, tracked charges and payments, and took FOREVER to start new sheets or add payments and charges. Mostly because I kept having to flip through everything, copy addresses and such from registration paperwork, and so on. In fact, after our first weekend of rehearsal it took me four hours to input everyone's data and then add their charges and payments to get totals. I just thought "what on earth am I doing with all of this time?" So I finally buckled and checked out the Wix Invoices app. It was really quick to set up, even with putting everyone's information into it! It is also very easy because it sends the invoice directly to the recipient's e-mail address for me, thus eliminating the process I was using of sending individualized Facebook messages to every single member every single week. And probably the best part of all is that it's all hooked up to the Spintronix PayPal account, so payments can be made directly on the website. Genius. I have a feeling I am going to wonder how I lived without this app.

However, it's not entirely perfect. And I already gave some feedback on this point to the developers just because it's that important to me. Payments go in all lumped together under a category that just says "Payment." I can't seem to put in any dates, notes, check numbers, or anything else on the payments. They don't even show up as separate payments, and that was the one advantage my spreadsheet had over this program. If a student said "Hey, how much did I pay last week?" I could confidently say "This much." So I guess I'll just have to keep track of that separately now. Good luck to me on that. Ha!

<3 Jackie

Inconceivable! - Reprinted with Permission

It's hard to believe that I am nearly finished with my second book. I started writing and dreaming of becoming an author when I was only in the 5th grade. At ten years old, my dreams were more about those award-winning authors who made millions from selling their stories to big publishing companies. Now, it's about fifteen years later, and my focus has changed a lot. However, I am still writing and I am very proud of myself for that.

 

My writing style has changed a lot, obviously, as I have grown. I have also changed it a lot just since I published my first book. Hopefully my readers will think that I have changed it for the better, since I was conscious of their feedback while working on this second story! My writing can only get better from here with experience.

 

That being said, I am so excited about this second book coming out! I haven't gotten a date set yet, because even though I only have one chapter left to write, it is going to be difficult to find the time to work on it in the coming weeks. Marching band season is incredibly busy and stressful for me (the good kind of stress!) so we shall see. Once I do have a date set, though, I am planning on doing a $0.99 special price on Kindle only for the first month to give all of my dedicated readers a reward for coming back and reading my second work! After that, it will be $2.99, but I am also planning on doing a few special free book days in between. After three months, it will be available on other platforms besides the Kindle through Barnes & Noble, iPad, Smashwords, etc.

 

Something else I have been thinking about a lot lately; rewriting old stories from when I was young. Some of my friends must remember my twin characters Jenna and Jemma of "Daredevil," and even more may recall when Rachel Carson moved halfway across the country in "The Yellow Notebook." These stories didn't have anything to do with color guard, since I had never heard of it before, but I was thinking maybe I could integrate them into the Spinsation series somehow. Let me know what you think!!

J.M. Hope

Going into Overdrive at Guard Rehearsal

Hey there Spinthusiasts! This is Sam and I am here to inform all of our lovely fans about the most recent Spintronix rehearsal.  This was also the first rehearsal that I was able to attend.  Upon arriving, people swarmed me and got excited (mostly because they knew that I would be cooking breakfast the next morning).  Unfortunately Anna was not in attendance, but it was still a wonderful weekend.
        Practice on Friday night began with rifle class. We split into our respective groups and tossed until our arms felt like they were going to fall off.  We also learned our rifle warmup up and our flag warmup.  Or maybe everyone else already learned it, but I had to go into overdrive and learn everything I missed out on in the last couple of weekends.  The rifles learned some sick new tricks and after our arms were ready to fall off we did the awful arm workout thing that includes lots of pushups.  It was immediately followed by Swan Lake so by bed time all of us felt like chopping off our limbs because they felt so useless and sore.
        Before we could get some much needed sleep though, it was time for team building.  We did a team building exercise that the SIG 2016 group did towards the end of their season.  It didn’t work out quite as well as in the previous season so after many attempts, we finally stopped and discussed why it might not be as well suited for a group as new as ours.  We then talked about what we needed to do in order to grow together as a family and make this season a successful one.  I think that was even better team building than the actual game.
        At seven the next morning I arose stealthily, fell off the top of my bunk bed, woke Lee up to see if he’d like to help me cook breakfast (he’s usually my company in the kitchen before anyone else gets up), and I padded down the frigid hall.  Jackie and Bekah were already up and moseying towards the kitchen and they talked while I got food ready.  We did put things in our new fridge and reorganize a little. (Basically more teambuilding in order to maneuver two fridges in such a tiny space.  After that little endeavor I cooked waffles (in our haunted waffle iron) and sausage.
        Shortly after breakfast we were off to rifle class.  Here we split off into our groups again and tossed for what felt like years.  We also danced the rest of the morning away, starting our across the floors with emotion walking and working our way into more structured things before working on turns for ages.  We also cleaned tendus until
lunch.
        After lunch when we all returned it was time to jump straight into flag class.  We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned basics in order to prepare us for more difficult choreography later on.  We finally ended with a short chunk of choreo to our show song for this season.  But we’ll see if we keep it ;)  Chores were done and we left for home feeling tired, but proud.

- Sam

The Design Process vs. Actually Ordering Stuff

This is definitely a post for someone who has been teaching indoor guard for a while with no budget... or a warning for those of you just getting into it.

The design process is a fun thing where you toss around ideas with your team, other instructors, designer, or whoever you have to toss around ideas with. You come up with the most beautiful costumes, create intricate flags, and sketch out floor designs that make your heart flutter. You put everything together and the design is so incredible that in your head you've already won circuit championships and you are taking it to the next level by signing your team up for WGI!!

Then you check out your budget for the year, see that you have a little money. So you're like ok, we will skimp a little bit on the uniforms by leaving out the head piece, purchasing the cheaper version from Amazon, or going barefoot instead of using the glistening shoes. Then you look into buying your lovely flag design digitally printed and see that it's twice the cost of having a flag pieced together with the same colors, so you go with the money-saving option. There's also a guard in the next town over trying to sell a hand-painted floor that is similar to the digital design you imagined so you buy that used off of their hands. Pretty soon, your show is a mere mirage of what you had imagined.

The thing is, we have to keep from getting discouraged at this point. Remember what color guard is really all about; beautiful flags on the floor. Art in motion. Even without the perfectly designed show, you can still create something great and beautiful. It takes the students', instructors', and parents' beliefs in the show to bring it to life. The skill and performance quality are the portions of the show truly judged. That's what counts.

<3 Jackie

Human Relationships - Reprinted with Permission

Isn't it funny how human relationships work? I like to sit back and think about the psychology of it all sometimes. When you meet someone new, you hope that they are being honest with you, but you are suspicious that they might be. You also have the understanding that they are putting their best foot forward because they are trying to make a good impression on you just as much as you are trying to make a good impression on them. You can't really start to get to know what that person is truly like until you get past all of that nonsense.

 

There's also a problem if you go the other direction. If you are completely yourself when you first meet someone new, act as if you don't really care what they think of you, they might think you aren't interested in them because you don't care about their opinion of you. So... be yourself but be your BEST self I guess is the best advice.

 

I have problems behaving like a "normal" person in public often. I would be the kind of person who would organize and then perform in a flash mob (and I have on a small scale before). I dance out of nowhere. I occasionally burst into song. I snap my fingers. I can't whistle but if I knew how to whistle I probably still wouldn't whistle because the sound of whistling sometimes drives me a little crazy. Point being, I don't do what everyone else does all the time. I'm a menace to society. I also enjoy my life a lot more than a lot of people who are so worried about social norms that they actually alter who they are on the inside to fit some sort of outer mold.

 

We are Rome, ladies and gentlemen. Just please don't forget that Rome did fall.

J.M. Hope

My First Weekend at Spintronix

My first Spintronix weekend will be one I remember forever. I walked in thinking it was going to be an easy weekend full of great people and lots of down time. Needless to say I was wrong about a few things. The weekend was hard work, sore arms, and lots of bio freeze. Luckily though, I nailed the idea of the type of people that would be there and made lots of friends. We worked on "basics" with flag, rifle, and dance. I put quotes around basics because I have been doing colorguard for 3 years and I didn't know a lot of what I learned. I am very glad to have been welcomed and accepted at Spintronix. I can't wait for next weekend and the many that come afterwards. <3 <3

Shandon (1st year member)

Counting our Blessings!!

I couldn't ask for a better start to a season, and I don't want to jinx it, but I'm also not superstitious so I want the world to know what's going on at Spintronix Indoor Guard! We had the largest audition turn-out that we have ever had for this season, and we are about to commence in the biggest show we have ever done. The costumes are beautiful, the flags are going to be incredible, and we are working hard to get everything ordered for this. We moved the staff bedroom into the office, and set up more bunk beds in the old staff room to house more girls. I'm still looking for more bunk beds, but we have a few singles in the meantime and they are very helpful.

We had a very successful kick-off fundraiser so that's always a good way to start the season. The money is going to pay for our contest entry fees so that we can attend a competition in Memphis this year! It will also pay off our propane bill so we can be guaranteed to have heat this year as well. We also have more parents who want to be more involved than ever so I am very appreciative of the help around the Angelica building in keeping things organized, stocked, and clean!

All that being said, it definitely takes a village to raise these children so we are still looking for some donations of paper products (paper plates, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, etc.) and cleaning supplies (sponges, brillo pads, dish soap, floor cleaner, etc.) to keep our facility rolling. If you have any donations you can drop them off at the Angelica building or at Farmer's Feed in Mountain View, MO. If you would like to mail them our address is:

Spintronix Color Guard

P.O. Box 141

Mountain View, MO 65548

We ARE a non-profit 501(c)(3) so all donations are tax-deductible! We appreciate everything that anyone can help with!!!

Balancing the Arts and Earning - Reprinted with Permission

I've had a lot to do lately, and I am trying to do all of the things that I did when I was younger on top of it. The way I see things, when I was young I did a lot in order to improve myself as a person. I read, wrote, exercised, danced, sang, did math problems, took care of my pets, cleaned my room, etc. I still do a lot of those things but otherresponsibilities of being an adult have taken over a huge portion of my self-improvement and I feel as if I had been at a stand-still of personal growth for the last several years. It was like I suddenly felt content with the person I had become and was perfectly happy being that person for the rest of my life. Maybe I was at the time, but the world keeps changing, so if I can't change with it then I am going to be stuck!

 

So now I am incredibly busy (much like I was when I was young). I read almost daily, I write in a journal 1-2 times per week (although sometimes this blog is all that counts as my writing for the whole week, pathetic I know), and I write to my pen pal 5-6 days a week. I still dance, of course, but I am dancing more now, and watching what I eat, too so that I don't get lazy and just eat whatever is available. The only problem with all of this, I feel, is that my job performance may soon suffer because I am so self-focused right now. There are definitely two possible outcomes; I am going to crash and burn, or I am going to continually grow and become better at all of this.

 

Everyone wants more spare time. I say, for what? But then again, I find myself having a hard time finding the time to work on my next book, too. Hopefully I can remedy this as well.

J.M. Hope

First Weekend - SIG17 Member Blog

So this past weekend was the first weekend of the 2017 season for Spintronix, and a lot of really exciting things happened first we claimed our bunks for the season which makes Angelica feel even more like home away from home. And even though we didn't have a full guard, we had a very productive weekend. In only the first few hours of rehearsal we learned our WHOLE flag warm-up routine, which is AWESOME. We even touched a good bit of basics on rifle, though we all got a little frustrated and overwhelmed everybody was a trooper and pulled themselves together and pushed through. We moved on to dance when rifle got to be too much which was a nice change of pace everybody seemed to have lightened up and enjoy themselves. We even got to do a couple of across the floors in heels that we will be wearing for performances. We uped the anty by adding flags to jazz walks. We had a really great team-building exercise that helped us learn each others names and was a really fun and entertaining game that I think all of us are looking forward to playing again soon. Overall I think we had a very successful first weekend. I hope next weekend will be just as progressive and better with the full guard. It makes me giddy to think about how much potential this guard has due to such amazing individuals in our cast this season. Keep up the good work and remember to practice. I can't wait to see everyone this coming weekend. 

Megan

Do You Think We'll Make It? - Reprinted with Permission

You can look all the time at these quotes such as "it's not about the destination, but the journey" but until you can apply that in real life, these quotes are just words.

 

Take me for instance (and who could be a better example than myself when it comes to writing in my own blog?); I enjoy color guard. Duh, I know, because if I didn't enjoy it then why on earth would I spend so much time thinking about it and writing about it and teaching it, etc. So, I love color guard. When, during all of my color guard adventures, am I the happiest though? Is it during the 4.5-11 minute performance time that I usually can't even remember anyway because of my incredible adrenaline rush? (By the way, it doesn't matter if I'm performing or watching my students perform, my physiological reaction is the same!) Is it the endless hours of rehearsal? Is it the long car rides to performances? Is it the breaks where everyone gossips and bonds? Is it the actual spinning of my equipment?

 

Really, it is a combination of all of these things! If I took any one of them away it would not be the same. The end game might be a gold medal for me, or just a good championship performance, but really it is all of the fun and memories that are created along the way that make me love what I do so very much...

J.M. Hope

New Zumba Classes!!

I know that it's not exactly Spintronix, but I am getting really excited about the fact that I'll be teaching Zumba classes starting TOMORROW at Champs Fitness in Mountain View, MO. The class starts at 7:30pm and it's going to be an absolute blast. Then I'll be doing regular weekly classes of 7:30pm on Tuesdays and 5:30pm on Thursdays. I have been working hard to make sure I have great playlists all ready to go and the moves are going to be hot.

If you want to know a little bit about the history of my relationship with Zumba, know that it's a crazy one. I did some Zumba classes with Tish and with Mary and Pam way back in the day, but I never had a regular enough schedule to keep up with doing them very often. I even kept in better shape while I was doing them, and I loved it so much that I wanted to teach it in addition to all of the millions of other things I was doing at the time. I incorporated some Zumba dances into the Spintronix warm-up routine and life became more fun because of it. However, I didn't have the time, money, or energy to get out and get the training necessary to teach classes.

Then came Brazil. My roommate and I enrolled in some Zumba classes and also another class that is similar in structure but more hip hop in style called "Street Jam." We kept on one another about going every day and we both got into great shape. The instructor Wendell is an incredible human being and we both became very focused on making sure we made it to our classes. I started playing with the idea of becoming Zumba certified again and found that it was much easier to do since I was living right there in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of the Zumba craze in Brazil! My roommate and I both signed up and got our training down, and it was a fantastic experience. Another awesome point about it was that the woman who trained us was the girlfriend of our other dance teacher! Just one big happy family there in Brazil...

When I came back to the states, I had no intention of starting my own class just yet. With all of the new ideas I had for my biology classes, an offer to teach at the college level, and of course the new season of Spintronix fast approaching I just didn't think it would be something I would have time to do. But then, I started going to everyone's classes in the area - sometimes driving as far as an hour away - to get my Zumba fix. I went from dancing 8-10 hours per week to dancing 4 hours per week and having to drive at least two of those nights. It made things very stressful. So when the students of one class I was subbing for approached me about starting my own class, i definitely had a lot to consider! And of course, I decided I would... I mean, it would save on me driving far away and it would help me to keep developing myself as an instructor.

Now, I'm just super excited! If you are too, then I'll see you tomorrow!!!

<3 Jackie

Inspirational - Reprinted with Permission

Ever notice how things happen in your life that just plain inspire you? Ever notice how those things don't generally happen online, but out there, in the big, wide, real world?? At least, that's how it happens for me! I do something or see something and it just causes me to want to keep living that way. It may be hard for people to find inspiration in their every day, but they tend to chain themselves to their habits and lifestyle choices like their lives depend on it. In reality, their lives are being taken apart by the very things they are clinging to make them whole!

 

Therefore, I am learning how to be more efficient on my computer so that I can spend more time off of it, more time getting out, and more time letting life happen to me. I have a little notebook where I can jot things down and be inspired for writing later. What a fun life this is turning out to be!

J.M. Hope

Have you ever just felt brain-stuck?

I have had a really hard time in the past having a "growth mindset." The problem was, I always thought I had a growth mindset. I thought that I was as open-minded as I could possibly be and that I had learned everything I needed to know to be able to teach students well. The thing about a growth mindset is that not only should I be looking to grow the minds around me, I need to also leave room for my mind to grow.

Going to Rio for a few months was incredibly helpful for me to switch back into this mindset of knowing that there is still more even for me to learn. With that in mind, I am able to plunge forward and create new and exciting opportunities for my students. For instance, we as teachers are always taught that we have to reach the students in order to teach them, and that if we aren't reaching all of them and engaging them then we are not teaching them anything. On the other hand, there are some so-called realists in the field who will tell you that there are some students who are absolutely impossible to reach and you shouldn't expend your energy because if they don't care and their parents don't care then you shouldn't either. This is where a growth mindset often devolves into a fixed mindset; we think that things are the way they are and there is nothing that we can do to change them. But the world is dynamic and so is the human brain... it could be that one teacher is the difference between the student engaging and learning more than ever or sitting back in class and becoming a bump on a log for the rest of their life. I don't think that a teacher should completely turn his or her life inside out trying to get to a student who doesn't want to be reached, but if they don't even try then how will they ever know?

I've been examining my own lesson plans and my own ideas with this new perspective gained from watching a school system in another country. Since I returned to the states, I have found myself often looking at ways children are taught in a variety of other places and wondering how I can implement something similar into my lessons. There's definitely going to be some lesson edits going on here as the year goes on.

<3 Jackie

Get Ready for It... - Reprinted with Permission

School is in session! Well, not right at this second, because it is the weekend... but it will be tomorrow! Busy, busy. I have a lot to look forward to this semester, and not a lot of time to do it all, Hopefully I can get my schedule all hammered out so that I have time to do everything that I want to do.

 

I think the problem is that I want to do too much. And then I want to be a writer on top of all of that? You have got to be kidding me... I mean, I have got to be kidding myself because I can't possibly do all the things I want to do, plus get back in shape, plus write, plus keep my sanity. Alright kids, help me out here. I think I'm turning into a crazy teacher!

J. M. Hope

Looking the part... How to make people believe you are what you want to be.

I slathered my lipstick on a little too thick in the morning and it caused me to make a face at my reflection. I recalled talking to a student last year who was wearing too much makeup and thinking "oh my goodness, I can't take you seriously while you look like this." But the thing was, I wasn't on my way to school, I was on my way to judge a color guard competition. It would be difficult to be taken seriously as a guard or dance judge if I didn't wear some makeup.

That's the thing about the wide variety of activities and professions we have in our world; they all look different. When we are young, we are told that we should express ourselves and be who we want to be. As we get older, we are told to dress more professional and look professional. But being in two vastly different careers as I am, I have found that the definition of "professional" has a lot more flex than we are teaching to our students. And it's such a big piece of being successful - looking the part that you want to play.

If I'm going to give a presentation in front of the school board, I am going to dress up as clean and straight-laced as I can. This would include a button-down shirt, slacks, and maybe even a jacket or vest. I wouldn't dare wear my Zumba instructor clothes because one look at me and nobody would be listening to any of the words coming out of my mouth, because they would be internally giggling to themselves about my clothes. On the other hand, I wouldn't even dream of wearing a suit to a Zumba class! And wearing the bright colors of clothing and lipstick and whatever in Zumba is fun and inspiring to the students there, so it's the appropriate and professional thing to wear in that situation. When I'm teaching biology, my favorite thing to wear is a polo or a blouse and slacks. When I'm judging color guard competitions it's a polo and khakis for sure. The look changes to fit what I'm doing and I don't think that we teach that well enough to our students.

One of the things I am doing this year is teaching students how to pursue projects of passion. As they do this, they are going to also have to learn to look the part of their chosen passion. Whether it's nursing or beekeeping, dancing or teaching, these kids are learning that they need to really pay attention to how they look if they want to be taken seriously in the field they are discussing. It might not be the most important aspect of the project, but the book cover is never considered the most important part of a book either - and yet what do we use to judge whether we want to read a book or not? What are my students' audience members going to use to decide if they want to pay attention to the presentations? It's not the most important part maybe, but it's definitely more important than we think!

<3 Jackie

Confidence - Reprinted with Permission

DCI Championships was great! I loved seeing all of my favorite corps perform for the last time. There were so many who didn't make it but deserved the honor, and so many who also performed their heart out on that night! I love The Cadets's show the most, Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday!

Band camp season also went quite well for me. I am really becoming more confident in my skills as a guard instructor. I have even been thinking about the possibility of instructing a drum corps color guard sometime soon, what do you think of that? It would definitely be a lot of fun, but I would have to really strive to do it since I generally have very packed summers as it currently stands.

Unfortunately, all of this has really put me behind on writing and lowered my confidence in my writing skills as well. I do have good news there; I have a couple of family members who have volunteered to do some proof-reading so that I don't have to rely on just one friend all the time anymore. It will make things go a lot faster when I get to that stage. Now if I could just sit down and write for a few days straight...

J.M. Hope

Why Monday is the best day of the week

I love Mondays.

How many people will you ever hear say that?? Probably not a lot!

We have a serious problem in this country with hating the work week so much and loving the weekends so much that we absolutely loathe the first day back to work each week. I was one of those people for many years, and it started when I was in high school. I can't put my finger on exactly WHY I started hating Mondays so much in high school, but I'm sure it was some combination of my teachers setting an example of Monday malice, my peers exhibiting modeling behaviors, the general pop culture of distaste for the work week, and normal teenage germinal angst. The serious problem with this topic is that I held on to this bad habit all the way through college, all the way through grad school, and then on into my first few years of teaching full time.

Think about it, I spent one seventh of each week hating the day just because everyone else did. That's one seventh of my life drenched in rancor without purpose.

A couple of years ago a man named Casey Neistat began vlogging every day on YouTube. And he couldn't have appeared in my life at a better time because I was heading down a path of misery and had no understanding of why. What I really needed was a new perspective. And that's what I got from him. He LOVES Mondays. His work ethic and passion for life are unmatched by anyone in their 30's that I know of. Watching him go about his day and exhibit the eagerness of an 18-year-old in the bottom level of their first dream job changed my life.

So why on earth love Mondays? Here are five reasons:

1. It's the start of something fresh and new. Whatever happened last week was last week, and no matter how good or bad it was this new week is a blank slate to start again.

2. I'm the most rested I can possibly be all week. Especially when I get to take Sundays off to just chill, it makes life so much happier!

3. I haven't seen the students all weekend, so they have new stories to tell.

4. I love my job, and I get to do it.

5. With the whole week ahead of me, who knows what could happen!

I hope more people in life find the inspiration and perspective that they need to start living more positively. With this sort of mindset, we can be a more productive society and find happiness in our daily lives.

<3 Jackie

Thoughts Forgotten & DCI Finals - Reprinted with Permission

I bet you thought I had forgotten about you this week, didn't you!! Nope, nope, just been busy as always. I've also been turning to my handwritten journal for a lot of my writing lately since it isn't always inspirations I want to share with the world.

 

This week is world championships for drum corps international, so if you know what that is all about then you are probably as excited as me and most of my friends. We are heading to Indianapolis and it is really going to be a blast of a time. I'm cheering for the Cadets this year for sure (I have been cheering for them for the past couple of years), and Carolina Crown too because their new guard caption head is a really awesome guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Muncie, IN show. I can't wait to see Bluecoats again with their incredible glamor (I swear, they sneeze glitter!) and Blue Stars with their lovely ocean-themed show. I love mermaids when I was growing up, so that is a true treat for me.

 

Spirit is pretty phenomenal this year (I mean, come on, they have a Vegas showgirl on the field! Mad props) although I am really upset with the amount of recordings they are depending upon. If I wanted to hear Frank Sinatra or Lady Gaga performing, I would be at a concert or just turning the radio up in the car. I go to drum corps shows to see what amazing things the KIDS are capable of doing, and puching "play" on an iPod doesn't count.

 

Fan favorite for me this year is Glassmen with their "face" flags. I wish I could've been on Glassmen's guard this year JUST so I can have a flag with a picture of my own face on it! That would be awful if you got the wrong flag during a performance, though, so I'm glad they have that organized.

 

There are LOTS of other great shows on this year. I'm busying myself with DCI's free live webcast of prelims right now... anybody could check it out too! Have fun and good luck to all my friends marching!

J.M. Hope

5 Steps for Successful Recruitment!!

One of the big issues we face in Spintronix is the same problem that a lot of color guards face; recruitment! The things we do as a color guard are so thrilling, complex, and teachable that we want to share it with the world. How do you show everyone what you do in such a way that they will want to learn how to do it as well. Here are some of our favorite and most effective methods of recruiting...

1. Create a website and/or Facebook page.

Have an internet location that houses all of the information about your team that people might want to know. How old do you have to be? Do you have to attend a certain school? What skills do you have to have, if any? When and where do you meet to practice? When and where do you perform? Make it look professional so everyone knows you mean business!

2. Set dates.

Set up dates in advance for informational meetings and/or rehearsals so you can have a deadline of when to be prepared.

3. Create posters.

I'm not talking about slapping some information into Microsoft Word and then printing off a million copies; I mean make some serious posters with full color photos from performances, beautiful (but readable) fonts, and a nicely designed layout. Make sure you have your website and/or Facebook page clearly printed somewhere on the poster so people can find out more information. Again, look professional! This is serious business we are talking about doing here!

4. Print smaller informational flyers.

These are great to hand out at your performances or any other event where it is allowed, and they can just be a small, quarter-page with some text explaining who your group is and how to find more information. They don't need to be as flashy as your posters as they are usually for people who are already interested.

5. Perform locally.

It may seem like a no-brainer, but just doing performances in the town where you are based is so helpful in getting your group's identity out there where people can see it. For winter guards, this might mean performing during halftime of the high school (or college) basketball games, attending pep rallies, performing in parades, or just getting together to do smaller performances at local festivals and fairs.

Having an advertising budget and plan can also be really helpful if you have some money for your group. Facebook ads are really helpful and can be modified to target only people in certain geographical areas you want to target. Printing flyers and posters can cost money as well so be prepared! Then get ready to have the biggest guard you've had yet!

Back in Shape - Reprinted with Permission

This week has been really great for getting the blood moving and having some exercise to spare. I got into some really good habits and I am hoping to keep them going!

 

It is important to me to stay healthy, especially since I sort of have a desk job. I know I probably won't ever have my drum corps body back, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. My family made the comment the other day while watching beach volleyball that the girls there look the way I used to when I marched! It can get embarassing when people compare me to what I used to be!

 

I started in on Sparkpeople.com, so I can track what I eat, track how much I exercise, etc. It is going to be rather intensive but I think once I get used to entering information in daily I will be able to do it rather quickly without trouble. I have already gotten into the habit of writing in my blog weekly, doing push-ups at least three times a week, and checking eBay daily (people have been buying things off of there like crazy for some reason!).

 

Wish me luck, I am going to need this.

J.M. Hope

Why making new friends is so hard for adults

When you were a kid, making friends was so super easy. You saw someone wearing a Spongebob Squarepants shirt or playing with a toy you were fond of and you just walked right up to join them. Sometimes that went well and you became friends with the kid, other times they didn't want to share and you either had to back off or fight them for some play time. The fact of the matter is, as you got older you took in all of this information and became more calculating when meeting new people. You wanted to find friends who would share and stay away from situations where you might have to show somebody who's boss. By the time you got to high school, you were probably involved in so many "Mean Girls"-style situations that the cost of the squabbles far outweighed the benefits of making a new friend.

Now, welcome to adulthood. You might not like to admit it, but somewhere deep down you are afraid to make new friends. It can be hard to break out of this pattern learned as a child and then a teenager, but I have to tell you that it's worth the trouble. Do it, and realize that the other people are probably just as afraid to make new friends as you are, but they will be thankful that you made the first step (or at least responded positively to when they make the first step). Do it, and know that you are making someone else's life richer so long as you are allowing them to make yours that way as well. We all need friends, and so many times as adults we tend to push friendship aside in favor of working or hobbies or some other thing that we learned was more important. The truth is, our relationships with other people are what make any of that other stuff worthwhile.

Being in another country, I had to keep myself in check a lot of times with this. I would often see another person and find myself inspecting their expression, their body language, their demeanor... when really all I needed to do was go up to them and say hi. It's a good learned habit to be precautious, you don't want to walk up to someone who could potentially pull a gun out and mug you, but when you are in a situation where you are supposed to be meeting new people it can be let down a bit more than what I was doing. What I often found when I greeted someone new or gave an unexpected smile or wave was that the other person was wanting to be friends just as much as I was, they were just scared to take the next step.

Continuing with your timeline, I can also say that it has been my experience that as you enter into your senior years the "fear" seems to be reversed. I can't tell you how many elder adults had no problem walking right up to me and talking to me without even caring so much if I spoke their language let alone if I was going to be a nice person or welcome their company! If their wisdom has taught me anything, it's to be brave in the face of your fears, even if those fears manifest themselves in some form of social anxiety. It will be worth it later.

<3 Jackie

Audition time! 5 quick tips for an outstanding audition

Can you believe it's almost time for winter guard season to start up again? Having just returned from living in Brazil I know I am having a hard time of it! Whether you have auditioned for a dance/color guard team before or not, here is a list of advice from our staff about how to do your best at auditions:

1. Show up early!

Getting there early is helpful on a number of levels. First of all, you get to explore the place a little bit and get more comfortable with your surroundings before it starts. You can meet the instructors, judges, or anyone else who will be evaluating your audition, or any veteran members who are there early as well. It's great to also have time to do your own stretch and warm up before starting in with the group. Plus, it's the professional thing to do!

2. Relax and be yourself.

The best guard members are pretty chill on the outside, no matter how much they are freaking out on the inside. Put your own personal emotions aside and focus on showing off the best version of yourself that you can!

3. Be confident.

Even if you don't feel confident, just having a solid posture and standing toward the front of the block will make you LOOK more confident. If you look confident, people around you will think you are confident and they will treat you like a confident person, which in turn helps you FEEL more confident. This is one of the best positive feedback loops of performing!

4. Take care of your body.

Get plenty of sleep the night before and drink plenty of water for a few days before the audition. Having a properly rested and hydrated body will open you up to being able to better reach your full potential.

5. Dress appropriately.

Just like wearing business attire to a job interview or a swimsuit to the pool, make sure your clothing is appropriate for the audition. Generally, instructors like when dance and/or athletic clothing is worn with jazz shoes or sneakers. However, this can change from one guard to the next so the best thing to do is ask someone what you should wear. Often guards have pages or events on Facebook where you can connect with staff or other members who can give you more information about what to wear, the best way to have your hair, and so on.

If you know of any other tips that you would like us to include in our next audition blog, or if you have requests for another blog, just contact us through our website, shoot us a message on Facebook, or tweet us @SpintronixGuard! Break a leg this audition season... Boa sorte!!

The Bad Guy - Reprinted with Permission

I've been a busy little bee! As you may have noticed,Learning to Breathe is now available on LOTS of different e-reader formats instead of just Kindle! You are welcome, world!

 

On that note, I love when I don't have to be the "bad guy" in a situation. What do I mean? Well, there has been this girl in my life who I really was not a fan of for several years. However, being the soft-hearted and kind person that I am, I was nice to her. I was always nice to her. She thought she was being nice to me often, but she mostly just came off as a mean and overbearing person. I kept being nice, though, because I know that is just how she is and she can't help it. I'm sure it was something to do with the way she was raised.

 

Anyhow, she recently contacted me on Facebook to let me know how immature she thought I was. The thoughts in my head, of course, "Oh boy, here we go. Haven't had any contact with this girl in like 2 years and suddenly she feels the need to tell me something I am doing in my life is WAY out of line." So she gave me what-for, informed me that she knows everything about me, my personality, my character, and my life (suuuuuuuure you do, sweetie), told me everything I am doing wrong. Then I let her know that people who ACTUALLY know me really like me and think I am funny. I never said anything mean, never cut her down, and was just being informative.

 

Here is the part where I don't have to be the bad guy... She responded by informing me that I am wrong (again) and immature (again) and she doesn't even know why we are still Facebook friends because there is no reason for us to be. She also said (and I am imagining she is using her slightly higher-pitched dramatic voice for this) that "this will be the last time you ever hear from me because I don't really care what you have to say in return!" Then she blocked me. There wasn't even a pause before I threw myself a little party in my mind!! I am a nice person, like I said, but it is still really difficult to continue being nice to someone who continually treats you like a lower life form than themselves. For her to cut off communication and block herself from my life is the greatest blessing.

 

I hope you all have continually great blessings in your life as well. :-)

J.M. Hope

A little more Carioca

It's hard.

I can do it, but it's hard.

I'm taking my life in Rio and trying to slowly integrate myself back into the reality of my life in the States.

I'm trying to keep talking to all of the incredible friends I made while in Brazil, but they are getting back into their normal everyday routines of going to work and taking care of their families just like I am back home and working every day as well. They don't have as much time for me, I don't have as much for them. Still, I try to send them messages on WhatsApp every chance I get; to tell them something that reminded me of them or to let them know how much I miss them. Sometimes they reply, sometimes they don't, just like normal people in their normal lives. The sad thing is that I feel like we are running out of things to talk about and I want nothing more than to just continue talking to these wonderful people, allowing them to inspire me and trying to inspire them as well.

The important part is that I don't forget what I've learned and the inspiration I had while I was there. So many new perspectives and ideas were presented to me and I want to integrate all of them into my life, my home, my work. But I also have to keep up. I have to catch up on everything that I missed while I was gone and then somehow keep up with everything that is going on while trying to integrate these new perspectives and ideas.

It's almost impossible.

I spend a lot of time listening to playlists I downloaded while I am working. Brazilian music with a mix of American and Spanish music that's currently popular in Brazil, mostly. It helps.

I wear jewelry and clothing that I bought while living there, and look daily at my beautiful Brazilian tattoo. It also helps.

But really I think the saddest thing is the relationships. Those people mean so much to me because we went through so much together; suffering and heartache, happiness and excitement, boredom, love, just everything! We were living together in a huge community and depending on one another in a way that I've never depended on anyone.

But now I'm home. Life isn't like that here. I want it to be. I can't let it be the way it was before. It won't be the way it was. I'm going to change it.

Be ready, Missouri.

I'm back and I'm a little more carioca than you remember.

Life-Changing - Reprinted with Permission

What makes an exerpeince "life-changing"? We have so many experiences on a daily basis, all of which help us to make decisions that affect the outcome of situations or our lives every minute. Why, then, is every decision not considered to be a life-changing one?

 

I think the descriptive words to use here shouldn't be "life-changing" but "perspective-changing." Think about this! Your life is always moving along at its own pace, you are making decisions, doing the things you like, avoiding what you dislike, talking to people, etc. All of these things are constantly different, except for one thing: your perspective. You are always looking at things through your own eyes, watching the world work through the lenses that formed on your mind from past experiences. It is only once you stop and look at the world with the knowledge and experiences of another person that you can see it from a different perspective. The so-called "life-changing" part of this is that once you can see your life from more than one persepctive, you can make your decisions based on more information than just the information in your own mind.

 

I learned a really neat perspective test last week that I would like to share with you. Point your index finger at the ceiling, with your arm extended straight up above your head, so you have to look up to see your hand. Yeah, I know you look a little silly, but just stay with me here! Move your finger around in a clockwise circle (as if you were pointing at the hands of a clock on the ceiling and following their motion). Now, while still moving your finger in a circular motion, slowly lower your hand down, in front of your face, in front of your shoulder, in front of your chest, until you can look down at your hand as it continues its circling. What do you see? Comment if you had a cool experience with this!

J.M. Hope

Communication - Reprinted with Permission

I know it is a touch early for this week's note, but I doubt if I will have a chance to write tomorrow so there you have it.

 

What makes for good communication between two human beings? How can you tell what someone is trying to say to you? Well, you may think this is easy and say "duh, listen to their words." Unfortunately, the spoken word is onlyabout 8% of the message you are sending. The rest has to do with your posture, facial expressions, tone, inflection, volume, and everything else. Yeah, we are taught this in our communication classes and at leadership seminars, but come on, who really listens to and follows that kind of stuff?

 

I listened to it this time. And finally, I listened to it for real for once. Then I had the opportunity to apply it and I did. After that, I had the opportunity to apply it again and again, with each time getting more comfortable and meaning more to me than the last time. I would have to walk up to a new person I had never seen before (usually a student, occasionally a parent, from time to time another unrelated adult), look them straight in the eyes, shake their hand, and introduce myself. I made sure I had decent posture, slightly forward, arms down at my sides, and the more I did it, the more comfortable it became.

 

Okay, you wonder why on earth I am blabbing on about this, but I am telling you for one reason; it worked. You would not believe the difference that it made to students who might not have mingled with anyone otherwise. I can't put a price on any of the connections I made recently because of this method of attention to detail. I feel like I made a lot of kids' experiences better by making them feel more comfortable; one girl who was sitting on her own informed me that she wasn't hungry even though it was lunch time so we sat and chatted. Before long I offered to give her a tour of the dining facility and guess what? Suddenly she said to me "I guess I'll eat something after all." That was all it took. Win.

 

I actually used to be really good at this when I was younger, I was so fearless I could communicate clearly with anyone! Unfortunately, the world got its hands on me and I began to feel as if I was invading people's private spaces by looking them straight in the eyes, by touching their hands as we shook. No more... Everywhere I go from now on, no matter the camp, book signing, or other event, I am all about this straightforward and friendly communication style. I wish more people could be like band people because it would really make the world a better place.

J.M. Hope

Expression - Reprinted with Permission

What makes a good expression? I know that in dance, it is the lines of the body, the muscles of the face, and the quality of the movement. Many young and new dancers tend to perform dance as a series of poses: a plie here, a tendu there. The problem with that is dance is NOT a series of poses, but a series of movements. The dance is seen only in the style with which a person moves between one pose and another. This can be a difficult concept for students to grasp on their own, so I find it useful to explain this outright, to let students know that this is exactly what will be looked for.

 

What makes a good expression of words? Here is a problem that our society is running into daily. The issue is that we are humans, used to in-person interactions in which we can see one anothers' faces and be able to tell the meaning of the words from the body language that goes along with those. When the telephone was born, we had to learn how to better use the inflection of our voices to demonstrate meaning where body language was not a factor. With the written word, however, the majority of our society is not educated enough to express their true meanings by using JUST words. It starts in our schools, where students who write papers are allowed to "say what they mean" out loud when they answer a question incorrectly on a test. It goes on from there in online formats, where people might get into fights over something that was said online but meant in a humorous manner, or someone showing true compassion through a text message is interpreted as being sarcastic or poking fun at the less fortunate.

 

The only way to become better writers is to read and to write. We all need to do it, because this is what our society is turning to as its main form of communication. Sure, writing has always been around, through newspapers, books, magazines, you name it and people would read it all. The people writing those publications, however, were well-educated in their trade. Now that EVERYONE must be a writer just in order to communicate, we all need to work on getting educated in good writing techniques to increase our ability to communicate properly and with a solid understanding of one another.

J.M. Hope

Summertime - Reprinted with Permission

Guard season has begun! It is time for summer camps, losing weight, getting tan, performing your face off, and all of that! I absolutely love this time of year and thus I am having difficulty finding time to sit down and write.

 

That being said, I am enjoying my travels and the exercise and sunshine I am getting. Although there was a lot of rain today, and even a little hail. I do enjoy the rain, but this was a bit much.

 

Maybe I'll be able to come back when I have had a lot more time to think. Things are just too crazy right now!

J.M. Hope

Being sick abroad

There are some serious problems when it comes to being ill in another country... For one, there's not necessarily someone who will just automatically take care of you like a parent, a significant other, or a friend. I have been lucky in that my roommates are super caring about me as I seem to spiral downward more and more into sinus misery. I haven't been this sick in a few years, so I am sure it's because it's a bug from a different country and my body doesn't really know what to do about it. There are a lot of volunteers having the same symptoms as myself, some not quite as extreme and others just as bad.

Then there's the problem of what drugs to take. Some of the brands are the same, some of the names in Portuguese are close enough to figure out what they are, but without spending a lot of time researching and figuring out exactly what is going to make you better then there's going to be a lot of time wasted on the pharmacy. Brazilians love their pharmacies, too, they are everywhere and they are pretty much the go-to for anything related to health and hygiene. The pharmacists only speak Portuguese in my experience though, so unless you know exactly how to explain your symptoms in their language you will have a tough time figuring out what you need.

Finally, there is the hospital. There's a better chance of getting exactly what you need if you go there, but be prepared to wait in line and the entire trip to take 4-6 hours of your already precious and limited travel time. You will be looked at by an actual doctor, for free, but when I say "looked at" that's literally what I mean. There will be no examination, no blood tests, no nothing unless you show very specific symptoms of something like zika virus. They will look at you while you explain your symptoms, hear your croaky voice, and possibly look down your throat using the flashlight on their iPhone, but that's about it. Maybe that's all it takes and American doctors are just over cautious with these kinds of things.

The worst part of it all is that I SPECIFICALLY got every single vaccine available to me and brought tons of vitamins that I've been taking religiously every single day in order to avoid being sick while I'm here. I spent all that time and all that money and I've STILL contracted something. Maybe it would have been worse if I hadn't done all of that but honestly, this is pretty horrible. I can't really imagine what it would be like to feel any worse; I would probably wind up blacking out from the pain and horror.

Anyway, I need to figure out what is wrong with me and get some medicine that is actually going to help me get better. Or at least get me decongested so that I can breathe again! 

Jackie