It’s officially been a year since I moved to Amsterdam to begin my studies as Theater Educator (theaterdocent) at the Amsterdam University of the Arts (AHK). It’s been a very fruitful year, I made new friends and gained a lot of new experience. I personally think this wouldn’t have been possible without Elisa Academy.
I spent four years of my life being a part of Elisa Academy and I can honestly say that those four years were the best years of my life. I made friends that I now see as family. I had opportunities to be part of amazing projects, I had many chances to grow and learn and to simply have fun and do what I love.
Now don’t get me wrong it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows. There were some really hard times and long days. Days where you leave feeling frustrated with yourself because you couldn’t get a certain scene right or days where your inspiration is at an all‑time low.
But this is all part of learning and growing. It’s all part of discovering more about yourself and figuring out how you’re going to pick yourself up again to give it one more shot, because you are not giving up on your dream.
The most important thing I learned is that if you really want something, you have to be willing to fight for it to put in the hard work, because it’s not going to be handed to you on a silver platter. And sometimes you might fail or things don’t work out the way you wanted them to, but you never give up. You just try again until you succeed.
And that is something I took with me when I moved to Amsterdam. My first few months at the AHK were really hard not only because of the language and culture, but also because I come from an acting background, always standing on the stage, whereas Theater Educator is more about sitting on the sidelines and directing. That was really difficult for me, especially because they have a completely different way of making and seeing theater.
So when my first reflection came back saying that I needed to step out of my comfort zone and start experimenting more, I was sad but I knew it was coming. I didn’t let it stop me. I did my best, tried new things, asked for help when I didn’t understand something and started participating more.
I learned that while there are different ways of making theater, I don’t have to lose the essence of who I am to fit into the standards I think they want me to fit into. Because at the end of the day, my background is different and my experiences are different and I just need to see those tools as something that will help me in the future.
I am now going into my second year with new friends who
have my back and my Propedeuse!!!
Yay.
Never stop believing in yourself and your dreams, even if other people don’t. You are the only person who can make it happen, so go out there and make it happen!
With Love,
ALUMNI REFLECTION #3