It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … and craziness

ElfBuddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color? Dear me, what a year it’s been. I cannot believe it’s almost December. I feel like my life has just been metaphorically blown up by Michael Bay. The insanity is starting to wear on me. Sometimes when I’m frustrated I just run on my treadmill. I don’t even change into gym clothes. I don’t care if I’m wearing Uggs and my nightie, I am running off my frustrations before they send my blood to a boil and cause the rest of me to spontaneously combust.

Scholarship essays, applications, preparations for my move next year, auditions, physical therapy and the coursework for my classes, blah blah blah. We’ve all been through it, and it all makes us feel like (as Bilbo so wisely said it) “butter scraped over too much bread”. I mean, I do love bread, but not without butter or some kind of spread. Otherwise it’s like eating soft cardboard, isn’t it?

But in spite of all this, I’m working on a novel, two screenplays, a play, and a series of poems and short stories. It’s nice to unwind and just express all my deep, mysterious angst. Plus, this season of Walking Dead is pretty brutal, so I’m just vicariously living through the characters and taking my frustration and stress out on killer zombies. I bet killing zombies is a serious relaxant, when you’re used to them I mean.

I want to be a zombie hunter when I grow up.

But until than, I suppose I will be an actor/writer/musician/wizard. Actually, I’m a human, but I was raised by elves. Whatever works. I have a lot of dear friends who are professional actors, and they all seem to say the same thing: EDUCATE YOURSELF. It’s just nice to meet another human that shares my affinity for elf culture.

I agree with them. As someone wanting to make a career in a creative field, I recognize the importance of distinction. Sure, you can be talented, but why not allow yourself to be educated? It breaks my heart when I meet people who want to be actors and writers and musicians and singers who don’t take the time to earn an education. I mean that several different ways: the first is get a physical degree in something, whether you major in Theatre or Communications, just get a degree. In our current world climate, the man with the degree is king and honey, you should see him in a crown (if you get that reference you have immediately ascended the holy ladder of my respect for you. I should make my references a monthly thing, like Easter eggs. Oh my gosh, I am so doing that. This is going on a long time). I intend to earn my BA in Theatre Arts, with a minor in Creative Writing and than go on to earn my Masters in Text and Performance at the Royal Academy. Yes, that means years of schooling, but it also means that by the time I finish with schooling I will be more richly connected and more confident in my abilities. And I’ll look freaking impressive. The key to education is the confidence it provides you, not the actual paper in your hand (do you even get a paper?).

Now, on to Christmas! It’s the most… wonderful time… of the yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaar! Christmas means many things. It means my mom makes her homemade English toffee (that I love oh so very much even if my thighs don’t) and my brother and I watch all of the Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions in one sitting, I drink so much tea that it makes up a good 87% of my blood, and all the best movies of the year come out. I already have my tickets to The Hobbit, of course in IMAX. I am very excited.

OH MY GOSH I AM SO EXCITED OH MY GOSH. BILBO AND GANDALF AND ELVES AND DWARVES AND BILBO AND GOLLUM AND BILBO AND HOBBITS AND BILBO!

I love Bilbo. However, if you say his name over and over it sounds really weird. I love the Christmas movie season because the world doesn’t hold back. This is the time to milk the cash-cow and push for the Oscar nods. It’s a beautiful marriage of art and commercialism. Every year on Christmas, my family goes and sees a movie. Last year was War Horse, and this year is Les Miserables. I am going to cry. A lot.

But there are a couple of Christmas films that we watch every year:
1. Elf
2. A Christmas Story
3. Nightmare Before Christmas
4. Polar Express
5. Elf

That’s it. For a film industry family, we don’t really explore the Christmas movie genre. Perhaps we lack Christmas spirit. But we love Elf. A lot. We like to quote it. In fact, I am going to randomly quote it for the rest of the blog, when you least expect it. There will be five. See if you can spot them all… some might even be before this in the blog.

Is the tension killing you? You totally just started over from the top of the blog to find all the quotes, didn’t you.

Christmas is a time of magic: pumpkin flavored everything, our homes covered in lights and awkward blow-up Santas, ABC Family’s (I hate them) “25 Days of Christmas” (I love that though), and Christmas music, all day, every day. Christmas is the time I break out my favorite vintage German military jacket and my precious collection of Josh Groban holiday albums. ‘Tis the season for bustin’ out hardcore outerwear and my favorite curly-haired goofball without a specific vocal timbre. He’s an angry elf.

I hope you all have an absolutely beautiful holiday and you’re holding on in this season of incessant jingle bells and way too much to do. Enjoy every Christmas, because it’s precious. And enjoy every day you’re in classes, hard as that is. Even when the professor is droning on about something that is in every way inapplicable to your life, try to enjoy it. The fact that we can enjoy Christmas and an education is a precious thing.

Merry Christmas, everyone! (and a greeting to all the other holiday celebrations happening as well!)

XOXO
Grace

P.S. You smell like beef and cheese, you don’t smell like Santa.

ScreenShot

Grace

I have found in my brief and relatively simple existence that I adapt, evolve and rearrange myself on a daily basis. I have crossed into the perilous unknown of (very) young adulthood, and thus I am somewhat entitled to be in constant state disarray and discovery. Saddle up, kids. This'll be one heck of a bumpy ride...

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