Haircut

Learning to take care of yourself on the road...

New Cast Photo!

Cast B 2013!!!!!

EMBARK: The Beginning of Cast A 2013

Cuidad Cuauhtemoc

As you may know, there is a drug cartel war present in Mexico. As you may not know, the incident is isolated in the North Eastern part of the country. The rest of the country is as safe as ever; however, the entire country is effected.
For the most part, Mexicans LOVE their country with an undying passion that inspires me still today. It breaks the hearts of the Mexican people to have their county, even just a part of it, in such an fragile state.
In the areas surrounding the conflict, like Cuidad Cuauhtemoc, the people are thirsty for hope. For the children especially, most of them grow up expecting to join the cartel because that is the only place they can see themselves being successful. No one is telling the children who they could be.

That is why Up With People came to Cuidad Cuauhtemoc, and that is why I joined them.

Hope.

We showed the children of Cuidad Cuauhtemoc that they can be so much more than the World before them. They can take a stand and say "enough".

That is what my tour was about; Hope. Hope of a smile today and brighter tomorrow. And that is what I leave with you.

There is more hope in a smile than in all the money and possessions and empty desires the world has to offer. So get up, go out and be that hope for someone. Make YOUR world a better place. One step at a time.

“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places.
But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now
mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.” 
-J.R.R. Tolkien

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Thank you so much for following me, for your countless prayers and support, and your smiles!
This was the perfect end to a perfect tour.
End: Cast B2012
Begin: Cast A2013

God Bless!

Teotihuacan Pyramids

It was amazing to experience a culture with such a rich history. Indescribable to be so close it it.

The Zocalo, Mexico City

Artists such as Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney, and Shakira have performed at the Zocalo, the center of Mexico City, the third largest city in the world. This last tour, Up With People had the opportunity to perform here for the first time. I feel truly blessed to be a part of it.

Mexico

The three experiences that come to mind when I think about Mexico are performing at the Zocalo (The third largest square in the world), visiting the Teotihuacan pyramids outside Mexico City, and performing for underprivileged children; being the first show they had ever seen in a theatre in our last city Cuidad Cuauhtemoc.

Philippine Entry

When I think of the Philippines, I think of the children that impacted me during our community impact. While we were in Manila, we had the opportunity to work with Gawad Kalinga Baseco (Facebook Link), an organization with a vision to rebuild the slums, and Liter of Light, a similar organization with a vision to bring light into the homes of the slums. The group I was with went to the same site three days in a row, and the connections we made with the kids there will always be a part of me.

GK Baseco on BBC News    Liter of Life on Youtube

Gawad Kalinga official site

Philippine Video

Here's a video my friend from belgium made of the Philippines.

Taiwan Video

Here is a short video of my time in Taiwan.
Enjoy!

Taiwan Video

Taiwan; Reflection

Taiwan was, in ways, what I expected, in others, I was completely caught off guard. From staying in a temple the first night to performing at the national Taiwanese Independence day celebration (10/ 10) in Taipei, Taiwan was nothing short of spectacular.

The first week was very challenging for me. Being my first time out of my own country, I was overwhelmed by a culture that was so completely unfamiliar.
Culture shock for me was when I was so overwhelmed by my experiences that I didn't know how to process it.

After a few days, I decided I wanted to just experience Taiwan, and I stopped trying to process everything as I was experiencing it. After all, it's not every day you're in Taiwan with a traveling performing arts and community impact organization. Experience now, process later.

After I made this decision, I was all in (after recovering from jet lag of course). We had the opportunity to meet the president, work at the school for the blind, and visit more temples than I could have imagined.

Now, looking back to my time in Taiwan, the one thing that sticks out is all the people I got the chance to connect with. To the host families who invited me not only into their homes but their hearts. To the friendships that started, that grew, or that endured. To the audiences that gave so much during our shows.
Thank you.

I am truly blessed!

God Bless!

Jordan's Furniture, Concord, MAS

This was the coolest furniture store ever in Concord.

jordan's Furniture

Lowell, Mass: CI Story

I was one of the CI leaders for the Riverside Beautification Project this week. It was an amazing experience to work along side my cast members from around the world with a common goal. The first day we were at the site we cleared the side of a path that ran alongside the river and painted a mural under the bridge. It was rewarding to finally be able to experience the whole cast coming together and overcoming obstacles together in a CI setting.

At the beginning of the second day, it was raining, half the cast was off doing other things, and we came to the site to discover that our mural had graffiti on it from the night before.

This was not a good start to our day.

The few of us that were there focused on the path and, discouraged though we were,  did what we could in the rain.

However, halfway through the day, the sun came out and the rest of the cast came to our rescue. We formed a plan over lunch of how we would finish the cleaning of the path and what we would do with the mural.

By the end of the day,  we had finished the path, and all came together to paint a second mural with out handprints that read “Make A Change” (One of the songs in our new show).

This experience was one of the most inspiring I’ve had the fortune to have. I feel honored to be a part of such an amazing group of people.

Travel Day to Boston

Finally off to the east coast!
From 4am in Denver to 7pm in Lowell, Mass.

Thanks for the Prayers! God Bless!

First Show!!!

Our first show was so much fun!
Thanks if you came! It was amazing to see everyone there.

I've learned so much in the past month during staging, it's been a huge blessing to have this experience!

Show!

The Up With People show is on

Saturday, August 11 at 7:30 pm
At the Performing Arts Complex at Pinnacle Charter School
1001 West 84th Avenue, Denver, CO 80260

Link to Up WIth People Website

Blocking!

This week was the blocking portion for the show.

Our director, Lynne Morris, arrived last friday. This week, she put all the pieces of the show that we had previously learned on stage and made them into one show.

It's been the most difficult and exhausting, yet rewarding and exciting experiences so far.

I love it! I feel at home on the stage.

Here are some pictures:

God Bless 'til next time!!

First CI day

Here are some pictures from our first CI (Community Impact) day!

We worked with The Coalition for the Upper South Platte on the Cheeseman Trailhead near Pine, CO.
We built steps, and run offs to prevent erosion on the trail.
It was a great experience with everyone working towards the same thing!