Our Experiences

Our Experiences

Stretchy Toddlers Taking Over Dance

Vanessa Finnegan

In this post, I talk about my thoughts on the best ages to start dance and how you can measure your growth despite current trends. These ideas spring from my experience as a student and educator of dance over the past 7 years.

Not Just Words

In the private studio dance instructor field, I’ve noticed that the biggest market out there right now is for very young children, ages 3-5 years old. Everyone wants to get their children into dance as young as possible, some even at age 2. And there is no denying the coordination, attention, and bodily awareness benefits that a child will be able to gain at that age from learning dance! However, it makes me wonder. What about all of the older children who have yet to experience instruction in dance?

At every private studio I have worked at, as the ages increase, the class size decreases. It makes sense that not all of those children who started dance at a young age will want to continue with dance for one reason or another, and many will have family circumstances change preventing them from continuing formal training in dance. But where are…

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Our Experiences

Are We the “Custodians” of the Planet?

Vanessa Finnegan

What are the fundamental roles of human beings in the larger picture? Are we the “custodians of the planet”? In terms of being the most “intelligent” and “evolved” species on the planet as many claim we are, does that mean we are owed the privilege of taking advantage of “lesser” animals in whatever way suits our cause? Or do we also have responsibilites to protect and defend the innocent lives of those helpless to defend themselves against us?

Our Experiences

4 Key Points to Consider When Deciding What to Do After High School

melindafinnegan

The topic of college can be stressful to young adults, especially if you are coming right out of high school!!! A large number of high school graduates don’t know yet what their dream career is, and between me and you that is ABSOLUTELY FINE! Here I’m going to talk about a few ways to weigh your options and what I believe are 4 key points to consider before making your decision.

1) Think about what makes you happy, not necessarily what makes you $$$$

If you first consider what makes you happy you are onto a good start! When I was a sophomore in high school I knew the answer to this: for me it was baking and to this day it is still baking. I will say there were other things that made me happy, such as ceramics, painting, scrapbooking and eating ice cream by the pint!! I bet you weren’t expecting to hear that one but hey it made me happy. The point I’m trying to make is that narrowing down your options is the first step to making a successful decision. For me, I would throw eating ice cream out the window first because unfortunately nobody ever made money that way. Next I thought about art (ceramics/painting) and baking. I thought about what I was best at. I knew I had gotten good at decorating cakes, and I saw what I was capable of doing in the baking field but I was still playing with the idea of going into ceramics. I even looked at art schools… and here is where we lead into key point #2 DOING YOUR RESEARCH!

2) Do your research

Now that you’ve narrowed down your options you can do your research. To use my experience as an example I found that art school can be very expensive, and that the job opportunities can be scarce. When looking into baking I found that college can also be very expensive, but I found a lot of other options such as trade school and internships, and the job opportunities seemed to be endless. So there it was! I found what made me happy, did my research, and I was ready for the next step! Point #3 be realistic with your finances!


3) Be realistic with your finances!

Everyone has their own finances and it is important for you to look at the numbers and be realistic. I knew right away that $30,000 a year was not going to work for me. I was not ready to put a financial burden on myself at a young age. Growing up hearing the adults around me talk about debt really shaped me to think, “if I cannot afford it then I cannot buy it.” In my case it may seem extreme, but I did not want a loan and I didn’t want this word DEBT to be part of my world. It just seemed like a burden. Having 100% responsibility over my career path and finances meant there was a lot at stake. This is when I found that Trade school was the right option for me. I looked into the price and it seemed like a reasonable option considering my financial state at the time. In order to put my plan into motion I still needed to save more money. This is when I decided that a gap year was right for me. I took a year off, worked my butt off, and paid for my professional training at the International Culinary Center for Pastry Arts In full. This meant no loans, and NO DEBT for me!!! I know that many people have the financial burden lifted by their parents, and that is something to be very thankful for. This leads to key poing #4 DO NOT go to college just to please them!!!


4) Please make sure you ARE NOT going to college just to please your parents!


I cannot stress more that your career path is YOUR OWN! I’ve known many people who cave under the pressure their parents put on them to go to a four year college. Others go because it is an easy choice, and they likely won’t gain as much from the experience. I’ve even met someone who said “Yeah my parents paid for my school, I just chose the easiest major.” It’s important to consider your motivations before going to college, because you may look back and think you wasted time and money (whether it be your own or that of your parents). What to do after high school may be the first adult decision you make. Do not forget this choice is about your own future and no one else’s!


If you have stopped to consider these 4 points I hope this has challenged
you to really think about your next step after high school. Remember to consider what makes you happy, know your reasons for wanting to go to college/ trade school, and weigh the financial options available to you. You have what it takes to make your dreams a reality!

Uncategorized

Asking a Loved One: “Are You Gonna Go Vegan?”

Vanessa Finnegan
An exploration of ideas regarding what is ok to do to animals: exploring that concept with someone close to me whose view differ.

It can be difficult when developing ideals that are different from the ones you love. Especially when it comes to issues of oppression. Open communication is necessary in order to fully develop one’s own ideas about how the world should be, as well as to help others understand where you come from and why you hope they will change their actions for the better. This video recounts a lively conversation I had with someone close to me about going Vegan. Making this video helped me to recall important points made so that I can carry them with me in the future, I hope it might also help anyone who comes across this video to develop their ideas on the issue further.

Seester Fun, Uncategorized

How to Do a Headstand in the Park!

Vanessa Finnegan

The sister is working nights at the moment and was sleeping through the day today, so the boyfriend subbed in for the daily sisterhood fun. I took him to the park and taught him how to do a headstand. It was surprisingly successful! Here are some step-by-step instructions on how to do it yourself!

 

  1. Prepare by placing your head in interlaced fingers. Your hands should be prepared to support the back of your head while most of the actual weight will be on your fore-arms once you are in your headstand.
  2. Straighten your spine as much as possible, for some, straightening your spine completely and then slowly raising the legs using the strength of your abdomen is better for balance. This worked better for Sean and is shown in his photos at the bottom of the page. Others can straighten their spine at an angle from the neck and then kick up into a straight spine which is what I tend to do.
    Straightening your spine

     

  3.  Kick or raise the legs by synching the abdomen inward and balancing the weight onto your elbows. 

          Some pictures of the student’s attempts and eventual success: 

Ps. When you inevitably fall over in your first attempts, don’t forget to tuck in your head and roll!

Our Experiences

Growing Up Without Religion: Pros and Cons

Vanessa Finnegan

Growing up, I wasn’t taught to worship a particular god. I didn’t attend church, and my parents didn’t tell my what I “was” in terms of my religion. My mom identified as Christian, and my Dad (An Englishman and devout atheist) identified as “church of England.” On my own terms, I went through phases of reading bible stories and speaking about the all-encompassing power of God, believing in reincarnation, exploring buddhism, and mistrusting religion altogether. Everyone’s journey with regard to religion is different. Some grow up growing to church every Sunday only to declare their Atheism in adulthood, some find god later in life, some grow up with religion and though not particularly devout, are grateful for the community and morals they were taught through religion.

Here I’ve put together some pros and cons of my experience with being brought up without religion. I’m interested to know what you think in the attached poll, was your experience similar? Is it better to grow up without being taught to believe in a particular religion, or are those who don’t grow up with a god missing out on something important?

PROS                                                                                                                                        

  • I was never afraid of Hell.
  • I got excited about the bible stories on my own, and interpreted their value for myself rather than having a pre-conceived notion that these stories represented God’s will
  • When I learned that in many interpretations of various religions God sends people to Hell for loving people of the same sex, I was able to conclude that God was the one in the wrong, rather than developing harmful and prejudiced views about other people
  • Alongside my explorations about the idea of reincarnation, I developed an immense empathy for all animals
  • By exploring buddhism I gained understanding of the importance of letting go of unhealthy feelings of need and want, and accepting the way life unfolds more readily
  • I developed my own ideas on sex, marriage, and love
  • I developed a moral code based on genuine empathy and a desire to imbue my life with value, untainted by ideas of reward and punishment that go along with religion

CONS

  • As a child, I was terrified of the possibility of a dark nothingness that would swallow me up after death
  • I am a spiritual person and do not like being identified by others as an Atheist, but that is what many will insist I am
  • When I was faced with challenging times in later childhood I had no one to pray to, and often felt alone
  • I come from a small family, and when my family was splitting apart my support system shrunk even further, I sometimes think a church community of some sorts may have helped my family during those times
  • As I get older I sometimes regret that I am so afraid of labels and choosing Identities, because I notice that when I do commit to something as part of my Identity, that Identity gives me direction and purpose