It’s hard to believe, but with Thanksgiving this week, it means there are only a few more weeks left of the semester! Today, our ADALife bloggers reflect on what they will remember most when they look back on their time in Arezzo, both personally and academically. Read on to hear more from Korilyn and Drew!

Korilyn Hendricks: Physical Theatre, Coastal Carolina University SC

When I look back on my time here at the ADA, I think that the things that will stick out the most aren’t things at all – but people. Here, I have met a huge group of smart and talented artists who have pushed the limits of my perception time and time again – everyone with their own unique style and vision, and true passion for their craft. The professors are kind and unyielding (the best mix of traits for a teacher to have, in my opinion), the staff are considerate and helpful, and our guest artists have been an incredible treat to work with. Everyone brings with them a fresh perspective on art and on the world, and oftentimes a kind of bravery I’ve only ever dreamed of possessing. The places we have all been together and the experiences we have shared have forged something new, I think. A growing worldliness, an appreciation for the positives and negatives of being an ocean away from home, a filial bond that keeps us protecting one another even as we face challenges and argue over minutiae, as all siblings do. I truly love everyone in my new extended family, and I hope to see them all do well as time jets on and circumstances separate us from one another. I am also very grateful that, although I will have to say goodbye to most of these young actors and musicians in a few weeks, I don’t yet have to say my farewells to Arezzo and this country that I have come to love. I’m nowhere near ready for that day, and thankfully I have another semester to prepare for it!

Pictured: Briar White, Erin Paxton

Drew Maidment: Physical Theatre, Muhlenberg College PA

There is so much about my time at ADA that sticks out to me when I look back that it is hard for me to center on one thing. Much of the work we have done this semester has been very physically challenging. I did not think I would ever be able to do a headstand, learn to juggle, or get myself out of bed at 8am to do yoga (one of my greatest fears). I’ve never been the greatest student because of my ADHD. I often have trouble focusing, get lost and confused, sleep through class, or have trouble sitting still while other people talk. I am forever grateful to the classes at the Accademia for actually giving me the first semester ever in my life where I really genuinely enjoyed going to class. The physical exhaustion that I thought would dissuade me from participation actually motivated me to work harder and improve upon skills I thought I couldn’t achieve. I have been able to pay attention in classes and really feel as if I have learned more in this semester about my work, my art, and myself then I ever have in my entire life. If I had to point to one specific image that really sticks out, my mind always goes back to the same place. In the teatrino in either voice, movement, commedia, or conditioning, when I was sweating and tired and achy I could just look out the window right in front of me. There I would see the beautiful Tuscan countryside with the point of the Duomo sticking out. It looks like a painting. I cannot describe it in any other better way. Every time I looked out that window I was reminded of how I was in Italy at a school where this weird, exhausting art was greatly appreciated. Not only appreciated, but admired and respected. As a student, this has meant the world to me. Thank you ADA, for giving me a space to actually learn and develop as an artist for the first time in my life. I will never forget it.