We sat eagerly, waiting for what events would unfold. All of us - students, teachers, and teacher’s assistants - sat on the wooden floor of the largest acting studio in an almost-as-large circle. It was one of the last days before our final performance, and we were slowly and unwillingly preparing ourselves to say goodbye to our newfound family. The head of my summer acting intensive held out her hand, in it, a large red ball of yarn.
We each passed the ball to a person of choice and with the ball gave a “gift”: a word of kindness, a parting phrase, a complement, something to show our appreciation. The yarn went from a few, solitary strings stretching their way over the circle, to an intricate spider web - a metaphor for our connection as an ensemble. We wrapped the yarn around our wrists creating linked bracelets. Everyone had their own, representing the individual “gifts. My bracelet represents the new person I became. 

I was placed into an environment with a focus on collaboration and ensemble that I had never before experienced. In my previous acting classes, and even in the audition-required school plays, there was always a varying level of interest between students. It was not so last summer: every student woke up daily with a twinkle in their eye. We walked the streets of Boston at 7 in the morning full of energy, a desire to grow, and a plan to take every opportunity presented. I was spurred on by the collective energy of the group, and when challenges presented themselves, I took them head on instead of avoiding them, something that was almost out of character for me. Before the program, I had tried many extracurricular activities from gymnastics, to diving, to playing the guitar, and I always gave up when I felt challenged. However, having a group of peers going through the exact same activities as I was with a positive attitude spurred me on to accomplish tasks I had previously thought unobtainable.

We were physically exerted every day: we had movement classes in the morning, movement in our mid-day acting class, and movement in our nightly ensemble rehearsals. A certain exercise we did daily consisted of approximately 20 minutes of structured and continuous movement; one part involved us moving about the room as fast as we could, never slowing down. Within two minutes, my throat would be dry and raw from the intensity of my breath, and it felt like someone repeatedly taking a kitchen knife to my esophagus. That exercise left me short of breath, exhausted, and with sweat dripping from every pore, but oddly enough, those 20 minutes left me more awake and ready to go than a cat after a bath. I learned to push myself and let go of any fear of commitment.

From day one of the program, we were encouraged to “Take off our ‘cool jackets’, and leave them at the door.” In Acting, one of the most important skills is the ability to recognize, and follow impulses, as they are tied to the visceral and raw reactions that actors are required to produce onstage. A majority of the work we did involved following impulses, and everyone was too busy hopping about the room as a frog, screaming in anger at an alien, or running away from a super-spy to care about what the others were doing. How can one put down another for doing something out of the norm when they are doing something equally as absurd? This openness and lack of judgement carried past the classroom and into the halls of our dorms as we bonded.  A safe environment where I felt no pressure to act according to traditional social expectations allowed me to flourish: I gained confidence and lost the awkward and self-conscious tendencies I previously harbored.

Now, I have gotten back to my normal life of homework, friends, and the musical. Although I became more confident in my body and person, less awkward, and an overall better person. The only physical remanence of this program is the red yarn bracelet that lies wrapped around my left wrist. I often play with it, in moments of contemplation and introspection. I think about those times I had, the new experiences, the impossible amounts of learning.  All these countless significant events that happened in only 35 days that lead me to become who I am now. This strange, twisting, frayed and knotted red band is a sweet reminder of the experience of becoming the new and improved Juno.