The New Beginning

(OMG, did I really pick that as my title? It sounds seriously cliche….)

So, welcome to my new blog! I am now posting after one week of studying in the University of Iowa. This city is not only the first place that I have stayed with any degree of permanence aside from Malaysia, but it is also the place where I have officially turned 20.

20 is such a unique number. Not only is it the first year that our age starts with a “2” instead of a “1”, but it’s also a more “grown-up” age. But for me, it was also my first birthday away from my biological family.Instead of with my Malaysian family, I got to spend it with my Iowa family.

The morning started out with my second of four dance auditions…all during the first week of school! The first one had been on Monday; it was the 2nd Round for the Dance Gala auditions. The ones on the 25th (my birthday) were for the Dance Graduate Thesis and the dance auditions for Iphigenia Point Blank the musical (Part 1 of auditions). The following day would consist of Crash Dance auditions and the singing auditions for the musical (Part 2). Phew! I feel exhausted just thinking about the auditions all over again!

Anyway, my day started out fabulously; not only were the initial auditions improvisation, but I was also dancing with my new friend, Dhari (see the picture below). The auditions were in the gym studio (see the next picture below). This is also where I have Major Ballet 1 and Major Modern 1 classes every single weekday.

After the dance auditions, we went to the musical auditions. Since it was my birthday, I had convinced Dhari to try out for the musical, even though she had never sung for an audience before. These auditions were in the North Hall, the building next to my dorm hall, Catlett. These auditions were so different from the morning dance ones; we had to be aggressive soldiers and happy people praising the mythical gods. In both auditions, I had an amazing time learning new improvisation techniques, unique combinations and dancing with both familiar and unfamiliar dancers, and the good vibes certainly paid off because I got into the musical! (Actually, I found this out on Sunday night, not on Saturday…spoiler alert!)

After the seemingly never-ending auditions, I went back, showered (thank goodness, I know) and went out with my roommate and Illinois sis, Evie; my other BFF/sis and Sri Lankan native, Mishma; her roommate, Mandi; Mandi’s boyfriend, Zion; my “son”, Abdullah a.k.a. A.B. from India (he says Mishma is his mother and I am his father because of our tendency to “look after him”); A.B.’s roommate, Mayberry; and Camellia, a Vietnamese friend who came all the way from Mayflower to wish me happy birthday!!!

We had dinner at Noodles & Co. and ice cream from YoTopia afterwards. (Look at the food below…I feel hungry all over again.) The night ended with a WhatsApp video call to my Malaysian family back home. (Aw…that’s sweet…I know.)

My 20th birthday party might not have been with my biological family, but even though it was so different, I was not alone. My birthday was with my new family, my Iowa family, my Hawkeye family. And we might come from different backgrounds, have different interests, different passions, but we are here for one another and that is what made my 20th birthday so special…. and having my actual family here in spirit of course!