-I started my training as an NBC page. April 5 was a cold, rainy Monday, but I couldn't help but wake up that dreary morning with bright eyes full of hope. At 9:30am on the dot, I stood in the main lobby with the six other pages in my class. It was a bit awkward, but after a round of personal introductions the idea that we were meant to be together in this journey started to settle in my brain. Our first hour on the job consisted of rules, regulations, procedures. But as we were handed our weekly schedule (which changes every week) and saw that we would be shadowing older pages at "The Tonight Show" every day, excitement turned my stomach. They wasted no time getting us newbies out in the open and learning the ropes of NBC Guest Relations. After helping to corral audience members into their seats every night for the past two weeks, it seems as if we got it down. But this week starts our first official week on our own, and suddenly all of the skills I learned are leaking out of my memory.
Giving studio tours on the Burbank lot is another task for us pages, and you would think that two weeks of seeing the same exact routine with the same exact corny jokes would be engrained in my soul forever. But, of course, I manage to stumble my lines that I practiced so carefully when I gave tours that were being evaluated. I'm hoping tomorrow will mark the start of my rock star tours... or not.
Everyone is excited, everyone is determined, and everyone is so supportive of each other. Sometimes I feel like I'm in college again because I am surrounded by peers who are just as passionate and driven as they were in their undergrad years. We are all struggling to be adults in the real world; finding our niche while living on a part time salary isn't exactly winning the lottery. But in terms of achieving lifelong dreams and doing what you love everyday, I'd say that being in the Page Program is hitting the jackpot to open doors and opportunities (my I am corny tonight).
-I spent a tiring, but wonderful 22nd birthday in Sin City, getting my mind blown at the Muse concert. This show is in my Top 3 of best concerts I've ever attended, hands down. I have a ginormous crush on Chris Wolstenholme. D doesn't mind. In fact, I'm pretty sure D has a crush on him too.
After Vegas, D cooked homemade dinner and allowed me to choose a city to buy plane tickets for our next vacation. Can't wait for San Francisco in June!
-My mother visited for a week (she's still here) for my birthday, but also to cook mountains of food for her children. We spent this past weekend in San Diego to see more family, mainly my adorable nieces and nephew. I really don't know what happened on this trip to cause this thawing of my icy heart toward children; it probably has to do with the fact that I share DNA with these children, but I truly had a blast being with them.
-On Friday, I found out that a friend of mine died in a car accident. I'm ashamed to admit that we had not kept in touch since I've moved out here, considering the fact that I grew up with him and attended the same college as him. Obviously his death has shaken those who knew him because it's just not fair that he was taken away in the prime of his life. Matthew was one of the brightest people I've ever known, with a heart and soul to match. He had been accepted into dental school, he had graduated from college, he was going to begin a new adventure. And it has all been stripped away by a split second decision on the highway going home. Death is a natural part of the human cycle, but how can we ever comprehend the logic in the untimely death of a young man? It has not hit me yet that he is truly gone. When I see his pictures posted on Facebook, it doesn't seem real that he is no longer here. As much as it pains me to say this, we must take his tragic death to re-evaluate our lives to become better people. It's never fair to have it come down to this, but a rude wake-up call such as this is something that we all may need as stagnant, complacent individuals. He lived a too-short, fulfilling life doing what he loved: serving his community and living by example with his unshakable faith. His modest actions may have gone unnoticed some of the time, but his generous spirit continues to influence me, and it will never leave me. I want to remember Matthew not by his death, but by his life. And I'm sure he would want it that way as well.
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