SANTA MONICA, HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey all!

Just a quick, little blog post.

A couple of posts back, I did mentioned that I am going to do an internship in Santa Monica at the Edgemar Center for the Arts.

Guess what?

Two days from now, I will officially be in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area and I will be starting my internship this coming Monday June 3rd, 2013!

The moment is almost here!

I can taste the excitement!!!!!

In a couple of days, I will be surrounded with some of the famous hot spots and landmarks, such as these:

  
 


Mostly, the Santa Monica Pier itself. ;)

I CAN'T WAIT TO START!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK.

That's it for me for now!

Talk to you soon!

My Love/Interest for Drums

Before I started playing the drums,

I used to sing. Now my singing voice is getting a lot more weaker.

I used to play the piano for a little while; I am really bad at it. I could play it with one hand, not with both hands.

I have an interest for learning how to play the guitar. Didn't get to do it. I want to do it as an elective in high school, but my parents wanted me to take a more reasonable class as an elective that will help me in the future. Good thing I didn't take that "reasonable" class!

And now, just last year, I started playing the drums and I ABSOLUTELY FELL IN LOVE WITH IT!

 I started drumming because I just wanted to express myself through art in a very exciting way, and I also wanted to be recognized for my work in the arts (performing arts in general).

 I’ve been playing the drums for a little over a year now. I started playing the drums last year and I became a very fast learner. I taught myself how to play the drums; I didn’t take drum lessons. I learned how to play the drums by doing 4 things: 

1) I listen to all kinds of music to see how the drums fit in any song and in any genre, such as rock, pop, hip-hop, r&b, jazz, reggae, dance, techno/dubstep/nightclub music, etc. 
2) I watch other people play the drums, whether it’s live or it’s a video, 
3) I sight read; I would go to music stores all throughout my hometown and I would scan all kinds of drum books just to sight read the music notes for the drums, 
 4) I would just jam on the drum sets that were on display, whether it’s in the music store, at a school in the music department, or at a church.

My favorite drummers so far are female and my top 3 are Hannah Ford, Meytal Cohen, and Emmanuelle Caplette. They have been my inspiration for over a year now.

My love for music started at a very young age of 6 years old.

 I started singing at that time.

 I was also fascinated at the drums during that time as well, so fascinated that I start to hit random things all throughout my childhood home, pretending that it’s the drum set. 

Throughout my childhood, teenage years, and my first year as a college student, I have sung a lot. 

During my sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school, I have watched the jazz bands practice their repertoire, and I was focusing mainly on the drummer’s role on the drum set; I focused on the drummer’s every move closely as he/she plays the drum set. During that time, I once sat behind the drum set and played just a little bit on the drums. 

During my first year in college, I took a lot of piano classes and as a result, I wasn’t very good at playing the piano. 

One year later, I was back at my hometown, going to music stores all throughout my hometown looking at the drum sets, and I did that again the following year, but it was last year, 2012, that I started taking the drums seriously. When I play the drum set, I feel like a free spirit, I am letting myself loose, I was feeling alive and free, and I was having a really good time. 

Not only was I really into playing the drum set, I was really into playing another kind of drum, the taiko. In 2011, I started to get fascinated with the taiko, so fascinated that I started researching about the history of the taiko and how it came to be. I looked at images of the taiko and people playing the taiko. I started looking at the collegiate taiko groups and I came across UC Riverside’s Senryu Taiko and that was before I was planning to make the transition to UC Riverside to finish my college career, but that plan didn’t happen. In early 2012, I was looking at another collegiate taiko group, this time, it’s Cal State Northridge’s Jishin Taiko. I was so into that group and that compelled me to apply to that school to finish my undergrad college career there so that I could be a part of the Jishin Taiko 

(not only that, it’s because the school’s close to Los Angeles/Hollywood and that I can pursue my dream as becoming a future and successful actress, singer, and entertainer).

 Now I am extremely proud to say that I am officially a member of Cal State Northridge’s Jishin Taiko!

In conclusion, for me, playing the drums, whether it’s the drum set or the taiko, is a way of expressing myself in a very exciting way and it’s a great alternative to regular communication so that I could be heard and that I could be the center of attention. It gives me courage, confidence, dedication, and determination and I love every single minute of it!!!!!

http://www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com/videos/entry/lynette-chiamaka-okoroike

WORLD! SOCIETY! PLEASE GIVE ME A JOB!!!!! The job economy/society responds back by offering me an internship. MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two to three years ago, I have the worst job experience of my life. First it was this experience:

I didn't get the chance to work for the Fund for the Public Interest (my prospective job) as a paid canvasser today due to the morning traffic. I arrived at the office 10 minutes late and the staff, which consists of 2 people, told me that they will not observe me because I came late, they were on a tight schedule, and there's already 2 people that came before me for the same job. As of right now, I am jobless once again. :(

Then it was this experience that happened a few months later:

In May of 2011, I got the chance and the opportunity to work as an Environment California canvasser for the Fund for the Public Interest for one whole day. The experience itself did not go well. I got transferred to three different city intersections throughout midtown Sacramento, trying to get some people to stop, learn about the campaign so that they can support and gain enough grassroots for the campaign, and to donate some money that will go towards the campaign. I got a few people to stop so that they can learn about the campaign, but most of them just walked on by and told me the one word that I hate the most: "NO." I totally understand that they don't have the time to stop and listen to what I have to say about the campaign because it's a work day and their daily 9 to 5 jobs are their top priority. The worst part is that  the few people that stopped to learn about the campaign DID NOT DONATE to the campaign!!!!! That got me so angry!!!!! At the end of the day, I was TERMINATED by the boss. She forced me turn in the uniform and the work supplies and told me to leave. I was completely devastated.  :( 

Now I just avoided the "people who are on the streets trying to get the people to stop and listen to what they have to say about their cause" completely by simply finding another way/route just to get around them. It is my way of saying that I ABSOLUTELY HATED THAT JOB and I just don't have the time to listen to them. 

That is my revenge to the Fund for the Public Interest. Good Riddance to that company once and for all!!!!! I will never go back there again!!!!!!!

Between 2008 and today, I have filled out several job applications and I am having a very hard time trying to find a single paid job whether it be in retail stores, grocery stores, food and beverage places/restaurants, bookstores, department stores, shopping center retail stores, etc. The result of it is that I ended up being empty handed and the reason for that is because it's tough, it's very competitive, they are not hiring, or that they filed your job application in some compartment at that company and they never seem to get around to it...like ever.

 This goes to show that this economy is extremely weak right now at this moment and it is recovering at a very slow pace.

Going through all of that, I feel like I just want to give up. They don't want me, they feel like that I am not ready to take on those challenges in the real world and that I don't have any work experience whatsoever, they don't care about me, etc.

Well, you know what? Until the society offers me a chance/opportunity at a real world paid occupation that will help me get my foot in the door so that I will become a contributing person to this crazy world, I would just HATE on the economy/society for what it is today.

So with that, I would like to say this: Economy, Society, World, I HATE YOU! I LOATHE YOU! I don't like the things that you are doing to me! If I were to have a weapon, I would hunt you down, beat you up, but most importantly, KILL YOU! I JUST WANT A SINGLE PAID JOB, THAT'S ALL! I AM IN DESPERATE NEED! PLEASE GIVE ME A JOB! And yet, YOU DIDN'T RESPOND! TO HELL WITH YOU, World/Society/Economy! TO. HELL. WITH. YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 There. I got that out of my system.

Fortunately, I didn't give up. I got back on the horse once again.

I have looked for more jobs and have filled out more job applications, but unfortunately, I ended up empty handed once again.

Oh, how I hate this never-ending process!

And with that, I took a long break from job-seeking and I focus more on internship-seeking.

 I did apply to an internship offering at a casting talent agency, but unfortunately I didn't get the internship.

I then talked to my Theater Teacher at CSUN about finding an internship in the entertainment industry and he advised me to apply for the internship at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, CA. I did just that by sending my resume to that place via email and that leads me to an interview with them, and that leads to me getting that internship!!!!!! YAY!!!!! I AM BEYOND EXCITED!!!!! I will start working there next month!!!!! I thanked my theater teacher for giving me this opportunity. If it wasn't for him, I would be hopeless in finding an internship on my own and I will be going through a never-ending cycle of me being rejected over and over again and I can't take the rejection anymore.

 I need some real-world work experience, darn it!

Good thing I FINALLY obtained one that is in MY field of interest, the entertainment industry-music, theater, film, etc., and not just a BORING 9 to 5 paid job that will help me make some money and pay the bills (even though I WANTED a real world 9 to 5 paid job, and in DESPERATE need for that as well, so that I can make some money on my own and not depend on my parents for EVERYTHING. I really love my parents so much and I really appreciate for what they are doing for me and for my siblings. :) <3).

And with that, my prayers have been answered. 

IT'S A MIRACLE.

 AMEN!

ALLELUIA!

I FINALLY GOT A REAL WORLD, REAL LIFE, WORK EXPERIENCE AND IT'S IN A FORM OF AN INTERNSHIP.....

 AND I WILL START WORKING THERE NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!!!!

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!

SANTA MONICA, HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!

Performing in Front of People is My Passion and It Always Will Be!!!!!!!!!!!

The title says it all. I want to do this for the rest of my life. Whether it be:
-Singing
-Acting in Theater/Film
-Writing and Reciting Poetry
-Playing the drum set or the taiko
-Performing a monologue/an anecdote or performing a dialogue with another person
I just want to do this forever.
In fact, three years ago, This was my personal statement for all five of my UC (University of California campuses) college applications. Unfortunately, I didn't attend one of those campuses, but this statement will stay true to my heart and I will never let a single person take it away from me. Without further ado, here it is.

Expressing Myself through Art

            When I was a little girl, I had a hard time trying to communicate with others, including my family.  I was making a lot of grammar mistakes, but my family was there for me to correct my mistakes. Communication was a big issue for me when I was little and it still is a big issue for me today. That is why I write down my thoughts first before I speak.  My voice can be heard on the paper, but I don’t want my voice to be heard on the paper, I want my voice to be heard in a different and exciting way. This is where I found my interest in the performing arts and that is why I want to get a degree in Theater Arts. When I put the words that I speak into an art form, I feel so much better about myself. I did just that and singing was the perfect fit for me because singing is my way of expressing myself through my thoughts, feelings, and emotions without any difficulty whatsoever and I really enjoyed it a lot.

            It began when I was in elementary school, my first through third grade special day teacher, Miss Linda Small, encouraged the class to sing along to songs she had lying on top of the piano. Most of them were songs from classic Walt Disney Movies and other songs from the school play productions. I became engaged with singing and I felt that this is what I wanted to do with my life. I got so engaged that I started to appear in school plays; most of them were during the Christmas Season. 

            A few years later, my family and I attended family oriented events that the Okigwe Family Union of Northern California, a Nigerian-based family community, had planned for that day. At the beginning of that event, the children in attendance, including myself, had to sing the national anthems of both the United States of America and Nigeria. I led the children and everyone else in attendance in singing the U.S. national anthem. I enjoyed it so much that I actually did this a few times at different events that the Okigwe Family Union of Northern California had hosted. Now, I figured that performing in front of people is something that I truly wanted to do in life.

            When I was in high school during my sophomore year, I was in choir for a couple of weeks at Rio Linda High. There, I improved my singing skills and found my vocal range. I enjoyed choir so much that I took a few more voice classes. I liked choir, but I wanted to take it to a whole new level. I want to perform.  This was before my family moved from North Sacramento to Rancho Cordova. There I attended Rio Americano High School. During my first year at Rio Americano, I went to see a Reader’s Theater production of “The Clumsy Custard Horror Show.” I was fascinated by the actors that performed in that production and that got me interested in the work of theater. The first audition that I did was for the school’s winter production of “Grease.” That was still during my first year at Rio Americano. I didn’t make the cut, but that was just the beginning. I auditioned for several other plays such as “Picnic,” “Edward Scissorhands,” and “Words & Voices.”  To help me improve my acting skills for the theater arts, I took a couple of acting classes. After that, I kept on auditioning for plays because I didn’t want to give up on my dream of becoming a successful actress. The more plays I auditioned for, the better chances I would have for getting a role in a play.

            Performing in front of people is my passion. It’s my way of getting my thoughts, feelings, and emotions out into the atmosphere.  That is the reason why, I want to continue my education as a Theater Arts major to be able to sing and share the joy I feel to the audience.

 I did audition for several theatrical productions after I wrote this personal statement, but I got rejected to all of them. I was even interested in acting in a student film, but I got rejected once again. I hate being rejected, but I need to learn to live through it and I will NOT let rejection get to me. I will keep on auditioning until I get a single role in a single theatrical production. I am destined and determined to get what I want. And that's what counts. 

New Series: I Say What I Mean, I Mean What I Say. Just Putting It Out There.

Hey all!
Coming soon to this blog is a new series, hence the title of this post. In this series, I am going to rant and vent on anything and everything that is going on and what I am going through in my life. You don't have to agree or disagree with what I am saying, but it's a great way to start a forum. I am just going to set all of my burdens free. That's all.

That's it for me for now. See you all soon!