Changes

“That’s just the way it is! Things will never be the same,” flew out of my friend’s mouths and mine, simultaneously. This was followed by cries of our 99 problems, and Kanye’s all too relevant lines, “You know what the Midwest is? Young and restless!” The floor lit up, in flashing squares of different colors, reflecting off the mirror ceiling, in true disco fashion. This was my first proper night out since moving to London, meaning I got to dance.

This brilliant evening began with a Thai dinner at Mudmee, with Abigail and my flatmate, Veronica.

Then, Abigail and I headed back to her flat, to change and get ready for the evening. Taylor Swift, The Click Five and Carly Rae Jepsen, among others, echoed through the kitchen, in true Michigan pregaming style, while we waited for another American, Jemma, to arrive. 

Abigail’s Brazilian flatmate slipped right in and joined our conversation, sprinkled with mentions of Beyonce’s tour and Oscar parties. She brought out a box of absolutely delicious Brazilian candy that her mother had given her.

These little guys taste exactly like Nutter Butter filling, and are almost the same texture. YUM!

This snack was fitting, because we then ventured to Barrio East, for Brazilian music night, some Rick’s style stage dancing, and a delicious peach and fresh fig cocktail. I’m fairly certain this was one of the best cocktails I have ever had, if only because I got to snack on a fig. The rest was just icing on the cake.

We left to pick up my other flatmate, Alessia, then head to the Electric Showroom. We stayed here for the remainder of the night, four American girls, dancing together, with a mix of ironic and truly nostalgic appreciation for the DJ’s playlist.

Five days later, Alessia moved out of my flat, to a new place in North London. She threw lots of gifts my way, including a pink yoga mat, as she crammed her possessions into a suitcase and garbage bags. The new resident is scheduled to move in this week. Her name is Rachel and she is a fellow DMP trainee. I adore her and am very much looking forward to her settling in.

The day after Alessia moved out, I had a meeting with my clinical supervisor, to go over my proposed outline and bibliography for my Mid-Course Case Study. The meeting went really well, but left me with a million new topics that I want/need to research, specifically: mirror neurons and movement, empathy and the brain, and shadow movement. It’s no coincidence that I chose this specific client for my paper, due to the strong influence of hormonal and chemical factors affecting the case. I could go into the intricacies of how I became fascinated by motor control, neurology, physiology, and biological psychology, while at Michigan, but I prefer to just use the term, “That’s my shit!” and move on. Either way, now that I have been launched into this project, I have a lot of reading, writing, and dance filming to do before the end of May.

The next day, I started working with a new client. I now have two individual clients, and a group of four.

A lot has changed in the past week, and my focus in the course has shifted a bit. It’s somewhat reassuring that I am finally finding my footing and able to start putting some words and research together in my own case study. Every time I find evidence supporting my work, I have this little voice in my head exclaim, “Oh my gosh! I’m actually doing something!” It’s a start, anyway.