Best~Day~Ever part 2 of 3

Memorial Day 2011

Traditionally on Memorial day, we visit the cemetary.  We have also spent this day marching in parades in honor of my brother John...Annika's Uncle Buddy.  But this year, we did things a little differently.  It was the path less-travelled and it made all the difference.

David and I took Annika and her brother Lex who is 3 out to Glen NH to StoryLand.  It is a 4 hour drive from where we live in Warwick RI which we drove from 2:30 to about 6:30 pm on Sunday night.  We stayed overnight and visited the park on its opening weekend!  Family bonding time never goes out of style, no matter how old you are.  Our 4-piece ensemble certainly loves times like these together.  We spent the whole day laughing and exploring the park together.  Annika is getting older and so her tastes have changed.  She has never been much of a thrill-ride kid.  She prefers the water rides.  Annika really LOVED the Hanneford Circus.  There is a young performer there named Ariana Alvarez who does a hula hoop act and also performs with her brother and parents.  She is wonderful and Annika is a huge fan!  As a family we really enjoy their show.

Annika always looks glamorous.  She is so charming to everyone she meets!  And she is an exceptionally loving sister to her sometimes pushy little brother.  She spoils him and gives him anything he asks for!  We were all surprised when we measured her height and it turned out that she is old enough to ride without supervision!  GASP!  Fortunately she blatantly refuses to ride alone...it is not her style.  What is her style were some sunglasses we bought her there at the park.  That and her beach towel which she traipsed about in all afternoon. 

Annika was very conscienscious about what she ate, even while on vacation.  I love how at 9 years old she will calculate what she has eaten  and how it balances out.  For example, in this picture above when we stopped for lunch, Annika ate a grilled cheese sandwich.  Later in the car, after an ice cream, she announced that she needed only an apple for dinner to balance out the more carb-rich and fattening foods from earlier that day.  She is so organized!
 

These were Annika's favorite views from the road on our drive home.  On our first trip to New Hampshire last summer we stopped to feel the cool water of a small waterfall along the highway.  On this trip, as we were driving, I had my camera pointed along the landscape and remembering I had seen a waterfall along the drive up, but had not pointed it out quickly enough to her, I was on the lookout.  I snapped a picture and told Annika to look.  She was so excited when she saw it as we were passing.  It would have been nice if we could have spared just a bit more time to explore it, but we can do that next time.  Clearly, Annika is a fan of water!

What to do in your Downtime

An Actress or Model is a busy person.  This is my understanding of it.  Annika will often spark up conversations with me as though we are currently engaged in a big project with her career.  It is this positive way of seeing herself that I adore so much about her.  She is Sheer Confidence from head to toe.  She may have momentary doubts... but put a Movie Director and a bullhorn in front of her and you will see her light up like a Christmas Tree.  She is ready for this.  Annika is ready for opportunities to work as a Model or as an Actress.  She is ready to be on stage or in front of a camera.  With so much to do in the field, I personally am delighted at the contacts we have had and the relationships they have given us.  Our friends in the field, Adrian R'Mante, Chester See, and her Agents at Model Club are some of our best resources to achieving her goals.  But enough is never enough when you have a burning passion to be something...to be someone.  So that begs the question of how do you keep yourself in forward motion when things appear to be stagnant?  They do get stagnant often, but that does not mean nothing is happening.  Right now, somewhere, someone could be talking about Annika and considering her future.

Annika has many interests, like most children.  She has never been particularly interested in organized sports.  She seems to prefer the type of physical games and activities that children commonly engage in in small groups.  Annika loves to climb Rock Walls, Ride her bike and scooter and just run around.  She is not usually up for a thrill experience but she certainly puts herself into some precarious situations at times.  More often, Annika's interests will lead her toward outside play, imaginary play or Music.  She loves to play "detective" and "Interviewer" or "teacher".  I think it is exactly this fascination with role-play that shows us her passion for acting.  Whether it has been learned from her or not, Annika's little brother Lex possesses the same qualities for acting.  Watching the two of them together is a blast for me and for their Dad.  Annika also has a unique gift for writing, coupled with depth and maturity while on this task.  Ever since the first time she wrote a message in a birthday card for a friend, I have found myself continually amazed by her skills and comprehension...her comic timing and her style.  I am definitely Annika's Biggest Fan...or at least I hope I have proven to her that I am by writing this Blog for her!

During periods when Annika's Audition schedule is slow, she has been filling her time by focusing harder on schoolwork, earning her a spot in the 2011/2012 ALAP program.  This program allows Elementary School kids the opportunity to participate in Special Learning Sessions based on their distinctive level of Proficiency in their current grade levels.  Annika is very proud to have achieved this since last year she was not accepted into the program...a rejection which hindsight shows me created a more determined child in her!  My daughter likes to know WHY and WHY NOT.  She is never satisfied to only see what is on the surface of a thing and I find this challenging at times.  But I am glad she is this way because I want her to be strong, capable and Independent.  Aside from the Gifted-Student program, Annika is taking Improvisation courses at a local Theatre School from an Actor names Rich Morra.  She is getting practice and refreshing ideas so that she keeps thim in the forefront of her mind.  We are so fortunate that this course came around.  It is doing wonders for her! 

In case I have not mentioned it, I love being on this journey with Annika.  She is my Dream Come True.  She is strong where I am weak and I love her.  She has the heart of a lion and she is a fighter.  Many people fail to see this about her because she sometimes comes across as a defeated person, but this is very much only skin deep.  She is relentless and refuses to give up.  I have never ever once seen her quit a thing, and I suspect I may never ever see it.  I will be glad if that is the case.  Like I said, she is everything I am not and a quitter?  HUH!  She could never be that.  Annika recently purchased her first Book of Monologues and has been working on memorizing some of them.  She has a remarkable ability to remember lines she hears and re-enact them...like movie lines and TV lines.  Her comic timing in this way has me laughing most of the time and when she puts things in writing she still carries that same ability to totally crack me up.  Last night she wrote the most incredible letter to the tooth fairy.  In a later Blog, I will transcribe this letter.  She just refuses to take no for an answer.  When Annika decides...it is the word.

Annika and her friends are together everyday here at our home where we have a HomeBased ChildCare.  She has some very deep friendships...people she is really close to.  They love each other deeply and this is something I am really happy that my child has.  She knows who her REAL friends are and they are growing up together.  Her friends, Nicolas and David and her have formed a Musical Group called "OceanSide", where Annika is a drummer.  Annika has ALWAYS wanted to be a drummer since she was very young.  We gave her guitar lessons for 6 months but this was never what she really wanted to play.  So now she just improvises as a drummer.  In time, I will encourage her to consider being a drummer in the school band, but for right now I am content to let her learn as she goes along.  I laugh because as a kid, I also wanted to be a drummer.  My parents said no because of the cost of drum equipment and so I went on to become a classically trained FrenchHorn player.  I played through College.  I will let Annika have her dream...and let her play the drums.  It wil certainly be an adventure.  So this is what we do during the downtime between auditions...this and so much more.

How to face rejection cheerfully

It is a fact of life in the world of Acting, Modeling and Theatre.  There will be many "no's".  There will be many yeses too.  Unfortunately, long periods of rejection can become tiresome and create a weary soul.  My daughter Annika is 9 years old, and has only been "Performing" since February 2011.  Because of her lack of experience and newness to this, it can be difficult to not get the role on any given tryout.  She has had several great experiences and I keep reminding her that this is good.  I help her to gain  and maintain perspective.  This task requires repetition but is what I must do as her parent and her manager. I check-in with her regularly to gauge if she is handling things properly mentally.  Her mental wellness is absolutely imperative to the condition of her success, and I know this very well!  Therefore, I must re-fuel her mentally from time to time and always know how she feels and what she is thinking.  When necessary, we must recharge those batteries.

As in all areas of life, Annika is aware that she must tune into the Law of Attraction and remember to use it for her and not against her.  She is very wise and capable of manifesting things.  She has done it in other areas of her life.  It is not surprising to me that it would be a bit more challenging to manifest in this area of her life because regardless of her natural confidence, she has some insecurities that she must overcome.  Her method for doing this, and what we work on together each night is to allow positive thoughts to be her guide to sleep.  There is no TV until you fall asleep for her...instead after a tuck-in, I ask her a series of questions about her dreams and desires.  When needed, I remind her to visualize her specific desires and see herself in the vision.  From where she sleeps, Annika has a clear view of her Vision Board.  The Vision Board is also there for the purpose of reminding and a tool to use as she gives thanks each night.  Having faith in The Law of Attraction and the power of Positive Thinking, is perhaps the most essential lesson I have ever taught my child or ever will.

I recently wrote on my personal Blog about the power in counting our blessings.  It is a great way to change a negative feeling or mood and prevent a negativity spiral from starting.  I call it a negativity spiral when one negative thought or feeling takes hold and seems to never let go.  It cannot stop without effort, and this is something that a lot of people either do not know or do not practice.  I tell Annika all the time to be positive and to avoid negative people and negative words.  She is very sensitive to the influence of music and the lyrics.  If songs talk about death, dying, losing or being a loser or hatred of any sort, she will not listen to those songs.  While I myself have no problem singing along, Annika prefers not to draw things to her that she feels the lyrics may do.  I love that she is so sensitive to these types of influences.  She reminds me!

The reverse of avoiding negative is that you must turn the thought around completely and find your happy thought.  I call this counting your blessings.  Annika works hard at this and she does very well.  One thing we have been focusing on this month is just realizing where she came from and how she came to this journey in the first place.  In early February we were nowhere near this  Direction...and in a very short period of time, we had found ourselves on this Path and have been enjoying it ever since.  I remind Annika all the time that there were children who were not selected to be in Celebrity Actors Camp.  She was.  I remind her that even though we could only afford the first of 4 levels of training, some children who were in level 4 were not picked-up by an Agent.  I remind her that her distinct Talents have created these opportunities for her and that no one else has the exact same gifts as her.  We are all completely unique.

Annika is thankful to Model Club Inc for sending her on auditions in Boston.  We are more than delighted for having made friends and met many amazing professionals in the Industry who we will work with on future projects.  It is wonderful to have these experiences and more.  I feel thankful to be a part of it all.  My path was taking me in a different direction and for the time being is primarily focused on her.  But life is too good to be sad!  And so we live to tryout another day, and that is all we can do.  We wish our readers all the best on their endeavors.  Remember where you have come from and how each step you take brings you a bit closer to your dream.  Count those blessings and most importantly- Never EVER give up!
~namaste~