A bit less scared of poetry.....

Last weeks class was the one of the most entertaining classes I have ever been to. I loved listening to every single one of the pieces and it made me realize that poetry is not so intimidating. Each and every poem was so different and yet so entertaining, touching, and impressive. It is amazing to have seen the vulnerable side of every one in class and I was seriously impressed.

I have been doing theatre all of my life and yet I was really nervous to go in front of the class and read my poem. It is such a different arena. Everyone is so close and it seems inappropriate to picture everyone naked, so it is a bit nerve racking. But once the ball started to roll and people took there turn being vulnerable I was more excited than nervous. I was now looking forward to reading my poem and getting some feedback and response. I think we are all lucky that we have a class where all of the people are supportive and not threatening. This can make all the difference in the world. After the last class poetry became for me, something not so scary. I now want to write more, and realize that poetry is not a rigid, judgemental arena, but one with the potential to enlighten and build confidence.

I loved that each poem/poet had a different style. Every poem was different, but had something in common..they were all poetry.

It was also so obvious that everyone shared my enjoyment on this day. You could tell that even the most frightened left the podium with a positive feeling. We have so much talent in our class, so much humor, much fun. I could not stop thinking about this class session for days, and when I got to my car I immediately wrote a new poem. It is refreshing to be inspired at school.

What's A Blog?

Hello, my name is Katie Watts and this is my very first blog. I am a bit embarrassed that I have never done this before, and I do not think that "Myspace" should really count. Hmmm.....well, I want to be a teacher, a Theatre teacher. I graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and then decided to go back to school after living in New York and realizing that I don't want to spend the rest of my life auditioning. I was standing in a cattle call for "The Sound of Music" along with Broadway veterans who were dying to get cast as Nuns! I realized after my third callback for the eldest VonTrapp daughter that I hate "The Sound of Music", and wouldn't want to do the show if I got it. This feeling came on many occasions and I then found myself on a plane and back in school. So here I am a semester away from graduating.

I am so excited about Graduating. I am proud of myself for sticking through this after already going to school, and for not giving up when I realized that there was MATH involved. For some weird reason I got an "A" in Statistics....I have no idea how that happened, or how I ended up enjoying it, weird. It has taken me five years and I knew this semester would arrive, but in a way I am surprised. That I got through the Math is a surprise. The "A" in Statistics was an even bigger one. This is one Graduation that I will be celebrating and partying about.

I will most likely be going right into the Credential program in the fall. I want to teach Theatre and English in High School. I currently teach Theatre, voice and dance privately and I have been doing this for 13 years. The idea of teaching English is right now more exciting for me because I have not been doing that my whole life....we will see. The bottom line is that I love to teach, it makes me happy, and I am great with kids. It is also the perfect career for me to do what I want more than anything....be a mother.

Let's see....how to wrap up my first blog. My blog, I am so cool now. Wait, what's a blog? Why is it called blogging? I think this is most likely a stupid question, and that I should know the answer. Well, I'm sorry but I am so not computer savvy, and I am hopeful that after this class I will be more up to date on the technology that I should already know. I got an "A" in Statistics, I am confident that I can handle this blogging thing, whatever it may be.