trying-my-hardest-everyday

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

As a music theatre student, so so many people ask me this exact question when they find out what I’m studying. After reading this article, it helps me know even more that this is where I am supposed to be because it is what I love and what helps me express myself and find myself. 

Believe in yourself, everything happens for a reason 

A “Useless” Degree

It’s something that a lot of us hear - or dread hearing - when we’re starting off in university. “What are you going to do with a useless degree like that?” Some variation of this question will be said, whether it’s by a friend, a family member, or even a perfect stranger who decided that they knew better about your future than you do. 

Here’s the thing about academia - all degrees have value, but the amount it’s worth is always going to be up to you. Did you go into your university career with a different major than you have now? I did. This degree was less lucrative, less “useful” than my previous major would have been. But I excelled in the classes, and I enjoyed them, which was not what I was doing in my previous program. 

The experience you have while you’re studying at the undergraduate, or even graduate, level does not just have to extend to coursework, but to other things as well. Did you make new friends? Did you uncover an interest you might have not otherwise known about had you not taken that class? Did you overcome a fear? Did you read more books than you ever thought possible? Did you learn something new about yourself? Did you have fun? Did you laugh? Do you have a professor who will stand out in your mind forever because of their literal catchphrase? (Mine was a Medieval professor who started every first day of class with: “There is no use of the F-word in my class! You can fuck all you want, but noooooooooooo feudalism!” - I had him for three different Medieval courses and looked forward to the reactions every single time.) 

Your program is there to help you learn and become a better scholar, but it is also to help you grow as a person. To me, there is no such thing as a useless degree - I get more out of my degrees than most people would expect. Do I need to indicate that I have a Creative Writing degree on my CV for my museum work? No, but I claimed it as a double major because I wanted to do it for my own enrichment, my own enjoyment, and if you’re doing something that makes you feel good, then it’s not useless. 

If you have fun, your degree is worthwhile. 

If you’ve made friends, your degree is worthwhile.

If you have memories you’ll never forget, your degree is worthwhile.

If you learned anything during your program, your degree is worthwhile.

If you found yourself during your program, your degree is worthwhile. 

Remember, there is no such thing as a “useless” degree. If you’re enjoying it, if you love it, and you’re studying it because you want to, that’s more than enough for your degree to be worthwhile. Let no one stop you from doing what you love.

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation

I have been using this foundation for so long now, I think I’m on my second or third bottle. I love it so much because you only need a little bit and it has a buildable coverage and one of the most seamless finishes I have seen in a while.

https://www.mecca.com.au/too-faced/born-this-way-foundation/V-022129.html?cgpath=brands-too

Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

I have been using this bronzer for about a year now and I love it. Because I’m so pale, it really helps to have a bronzer that isn’t super dark. I’ve only just hit pan on this product and use it as a bronzer and an eyeshadow just about everyday. Plus, it smells amazing. Because of this product, I step outside everyday looking gorgeously beachy and tanned

https://www.mecca.com.au/too-faced/milk-chocolate-soleil-matte-bronzer/I-031921.html?cgpath=brands-too

Benefit Blush Bar

This is a product that I have been using for ages and I’m still going. I have yet to even hit pan on anything in this. My favourite would probably by Galifornia so I’ll link both the pallete and just galifornia. I love this because it pairs so well with the chocolate bronzer as well and it just looks so natural.

https://www.sephora.com.au/products/benefit-cosmetics-galifornia/v/5g

They don’t sell the palate anymore but that’s the link to Galifornia x

Ever Eco Keep Cup

I’ve put this on our instagram stories(@theartofmusicology) but I love this cup. I carry this around with me in my bag and its so cute. It literally goes with every outfit and keeps my drink hot when I want them hot and cold when I want them cold.

https://evereco.com.au/collections/drinkware/products/insulated-tumbler-cloud-592ml

Hello Fresh

I’ve known about and loved Hello Fresh for so long because we have it at home. It’s super simple and super delicious and delivered right to your door. I love that I can choose what meals I get and it’s also super hand because now my grocery runs aren’t huge. It’s literally like milk, berries, oats and yoghurt.

The Good Trouble

This is a TV show on Stan. and while it’s not the best TV show in the world, it’s really interesting and it deals with a lot of really relevant and interesting issues, which I like.

Forever New Smock Dresses

Listen y'all, smock dresses are where it’s at… you can eat heaps and no one can tell. That’s all I have to say.

https://www.forevernew.com.au/sallie-smock-t-shirt-dress-265532?colour=sage-green

Nike Court Vision Low Sneakers

SUPER. COMFY.

https://www.platypusshoes.com.au/womens-court-vision-low-cd5434-105-wht.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5eX7BRDQARIsAMhYLP_LMrdWwImflVqBo-B4thBqEeiqwh66Je4ezehyD2DJTSjZw56PL5saAiNBEALw_wcB&istCompanyId=c390542c-ed66-420b-95f5-d10a1535a547&istFeedId=0a6ddfb6-44c3-499f-8808-37f035e75054&istItemId=impwlppqp&istBid=t&ef_id=Cj0KCQjw5eX7BRDQARIsAMhYLP_LMrdWwImflVqBo-B4thBqEeiqwh66Je4ezehyD2DJTSjZw56PL5saAiNBEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!6457!3!434910171837!!!u!59204758700!#93=20416

The Horse Leather Watch

I actually got this watch for my 18th birthday but lately it’s just been the BEST addition to my outfits.

https://www.thehorse.com.au/products/the-original-polished-rose-gold-white-face-grey-band?ch=%2Fcollections%2Fwomens-watches&ct=Women’s Watches

Statement Earrings

Plain outfits with statement earrings are honestly my go to. As someone who doesn’t wear a lot of rings or bracelets or necklaces, a pair of statement earrings with a cute outfit really just ticks all the boxes. You can’t go wrong here.

-Carolyn xoxo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

For the longest time, I’ve been the person who is always checking their phone and having unopened notifications bugged me so much, but recently, I’ve been focusing on working against that ‘need’ to check who snap-chatted me or get rid of the notification symbol above every app.

Its hard, I know. Especially when the one person that you want to message you, actually does for once. I’ve been there. But honestly, learning to leave my phone alone has been super liberating (it also helps when someone sends you a message that you don’t want to respond to because then they can’t see that you’ve seen it). I’m just going to talk to my experience and what helped me and this may not work for everyone.

Actually leaving your phone in another room or at home completely. I found this to really help, specifically leaving it in another room because even if i goes off, I can’t be bothered getting up to go get it to check it.

Putting your phone on do not disturb, even when you’re awake. especially at your busiest time of the day, this is quite possibly the easiest thing to do.

If you’re sitting at a desk, don’t have you phone with you. leave it on your bed or in a drawer or in the kitchen. that way you can’t see it light up when you do get a notification.

This may sound counterintuitive but I found that turning on the preview of the notification helped. so now instead of just saying 'snapchat: notification’, it says who snap-chatted me or the start of the message. because of this, I have been able to assess whether its an emergency and whether I REALLY need to look/respond to the message straight away.

Realising that your phone is not the centre of the universe. get a watch if you need the time and get off your phone. I started to find that I wasn’t valuing my time with others because I was too busy messaging and I was sick of it so turn off your phone and spend quality time with those around you.

I’m not perfect, sometimes I do slip up and find myself checking my phone all the time but I’m definitely getting better at it and I think most of us have room for improvement in this sort of area.

Carolyn xo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

Going to an arts uni and working in the arts industry is a literal full time gig. On top of that, the workload is insane. At high school, it was so easy to just keep on pushing through; one test down, time to start the next assignment. I kept going like this for so long ad now that I’m at uni, I’ve found that I can’t. I have learned the importance of celebrating the little things; whether it be going out for brekky for someone’s birthday or having a couple glasses of wine after doing multiple assessments in one night or submitting a big portfolio or, because you’re in Perth and there’s beaches everywhere, going to the beach because we’re almost on break and the weather is gorgeous.

I was thinking just yesterday about how we can’’t always wait for the holidays to take a break; whether it be a few hours, a day or a weekend. It’s impossible to keep going at 100% all the time because we get run down. So i just wanted to write this to remind everyone to take a break and celebrate the little things.

-Carolyn xo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

August has been a crazy month and I don't think routine was in my vocabulary for the entire month! Everyday has been so different, hours have been different and I've been balancing my social/private life as well as my course in Musical Theatre and rehearsals for the Classical Department's Opera. So here's a few things that have kept me sane this month:

= Glow recipe Watermelon Glow Pink Juice Moisturiser - okay. This isn't exactly a niche product; it's loved by many but my goodness I have been loving it for so long so I needed to tell y'all about it. I hate having heavy moisturisers on my skin so this was a massive plus for me because its so light but so moisturising.

https://www.mecca.com.au/glow-recipe/watermelon-glow-pink-juice-moisturizer/V-038854.html?cgpath=brands-glowre

= Parker's Baked Pretzels - I don't need to say anything. They're just so good

= Sarah's Day workouts - I saw my abs for the first time in 2 years the other day. They're so good. They take about 30 mins each, I feel accomplished. Check them out. Post coming soon with more info on these bad boys and my experience with them.

= My nike revolutions - I think it's no secret that MT's wear activewear ALL the time. As a result, we either wear slides or runners all the time. My faithful Nike revolutions are the shoes that I wear on an everyday basis and I just can't gush enough about them. I wear them to workout, dance, walk, go shopping, just to run errands. I don't think there is an everyday activity that i do where I am not wearing my Nikes.

= Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara - most days I chuck on mascara and go and this stuf makes my eyelashes look a million years long and I can't be more grateful for that. I look super put together super fast and I love it.

= Home Republic stone washed cotton sheets - This sounds really stupid. I promise you its not. These sheets are amazing. Everyone whose every laid on my bed has commented on how amazing my sheets are. They're just a plain light pink and they go with everything. You can get them in so many colours and I know my mum is ordering a silver set for my bed at home which I am so excited to get into when I can finally fly back to Victoria safely. But they're super comfy and make my nights so much more relaxing although, it is hard to get out of bed in the morning because of it...

= Lorna Jane Leggings - I am VERY fussy about what I'm wearing when it comes to leggings and I kid you not when I say that at the moment, I have the same three pairs of Lorna Jane leggings on rotate on the daily. I have one pair in particular that are a dark orange and I AM IN LOVE. All my course mates have seen this pair atleast 3 times a week but honestly, when they're this comfortable AND have pockets (!!) how can you resist?

They don't have my dark orange pair anymore but they do have them in copper: lornajane.com.au/dash-ankle-biter-leggings-cop/052072_COP.html

= Winnow Chocolate - okay I can't even explain how good this stuff is. Handmade, organic, made in the Blue Mountains by a gorgeous lady who will also send you a note when you order. Just order some please.

https://www.winnowchocolates.com/

= Italian Wedding Soup - this one seems a bit weird but when I was living at home, my mum would make me this soup when I was sick or it was my birthday. Seeing as my birthday was at the end of August, Sophie and I made Italian Wedding Soup for my birthday and I just love it.

So there you have it, the things that I love in August. It's been a bit of a roller coaster and hopefully September is a little bit more stable but we can only be thankful for what we have and hopeful for the future.

Carolyn xoxo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

quarantine queens || day thirteen 

                  {the one where they did almost nothing} 

7:00am || We both got up and Carolyn continued editing her video for class while Sophie made an omlette for brekky. While we were eating, Sophie did the meal plan for the week and made a grocery list 

10:00am || with Carolyn’s editing almost done, we went grocery shopping (which was pandemonium)

12:30pm || we got home and had organised our shopping, sorted the washing and did some small tasks 

1:15pm || Carolyn headed to uni to do some choreography to teach some friends for a boogie while Sophie did the laundry for the week 

3:00pm || Carolyn came home and we both had a little bit of a jam and thought about our livestream (once again, stay tuned for more details). We tried to learn a tik tok which didn’t really work because Carolyn is too un-co for that 

6:00pm || we had some leftovers for dinner and Carolyn finished her editing (cue confetti canons) 

7:00pm || our friends came over and we all watched Knives Out which was phenomenal. After the movie finished, we talked about it which is a sign that a movie is amazing 

10:00pm || bedtime is a little bit late but that’s the way it is, especially on weekends its very easy to slip up and be late

Much love and stay safe xoxo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

quarantine queens || day twelve 

            {the one where they tried} 

7:30am || Sophie got up to do some yoga 

8:30am || Carolyn dragged herself out of bed to find her chocolate chip cookies eaten 

9:00am || We ate the last of the muffins for brekky while we did some admin 

10:00am || Carolyn went to uni and went for a boogie and was joined by a friend halfway through 

12:00pm || Carolyn came home and had a shower while Sophie went to uni to do some singing practice 

1:00pm || Carolyn went for a walk with a friend and started editing a video for her classes this week 

5:30pm || Sophie had a zoom party which went for hours so Carolyn went out for a while because the editing was doing her head in 

Sophie went to bed around 10 and Carolyn didn’t come home until the early hours of the morning and safe to say we both want to sleep in

Much love  xoxo 

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

quarantine queens || day eleven 

        {weird day} 

6:15am || a beautiful walk with some COFFEE. We managed to pick some frangipanis and saw this beautiful old chrysler as well on our way home 

7:30am || Sophie did some aural and theory while Carolyn had a shower and made herself pretty so she could film something for her assignments 

11:00am || Sophie did some workouts while Carolyn had her singing lesson (which went much better than last week’s lesson) 

12:00pm || we made some lunch and watched ballet variations for a change 

1:00pm || we both went to uni for a while. Carolyn needed to do her filming and Sophie did some singing practice

2:30pm || we came home and made chocolate chip cookies and a friend came over briefly for a chat 

5:30pm || the last of the cookies came out of the oven and we had a few friends over to help us eat them (and we still have left overs !) One person literally just left but we had a really good night and made some mac and cheese and chatted for a few hours 

We’re posting this and then heading to bed for a productive day tomorrow because today wasn’t quite as productive as we would have liked but it was nice to have a day where we weren’t too worried about getting everything done and doing what we wanted to, when we wanted to. 

Much love and stay safe, 

Sophie and Carolyn xoxo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

quarantine queens || day ten 

         {work day} 

6:15am || a beautiful walk (or waddle) and caught the sunrise. We cut it short today because we were getting rained on and Carolyn was still quite sore from her workout

7:00am || because of our short walk, we hit the books early this morning. Carolyn gave her fitness and creating work assignments a final read through and then submitted them and also finished off some other little tasks for her upcoming week at uni. Sophie did aural and theory, Italian and freelance research 

11:30am || we made cheesy cauliflower for lunch (with more veggies) and finished off our work and filled in our diaries (stay tuned for a post on our diaries tonight) 

1:00pm || we headed to uni to get some singing practice done. Carolyn ended up staying for HOURS to help out a friend and then had a jam with them while Sophie came home and did a workout and did more freelance research

6:00pm || Carolyn came home and we heated up the very last of our potato and leek pot pie for dinner and filled in our diaries and schedules for the rest of the night. Carolyn got her final schedule for next week which is going to be crazy and she changed all the dates of her assessments that have been moved because of COVID-19. Sophie worked on a setlist for a live stream thats going to come up (stay tuned once again for more details about that, coming soon) 

It’s been a pretty chonky day and our schedules didn’t go exactly as planned but thats the reality. Our happiness is more important than anything else right now and it takes some discipline to remember that. For us, doing that workout or having a jam or spending that time working on our piano skills is what we want to do to let our brains reset. 

Stay mindful and happy 💗

much love,

Sophie and Carolyn xo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

|| chicken pot pie! || 

we love this recipe because its so easy to make and you can just chuck whatever you want in it and we always end up with plenty of left overs !

ingredients:

¼ brown onion

minced garlic

1 carrot

1 zucchini

1 leek

thickened cream

salt, pepper, tumeric and italian herbs

vegetable stock cube

puff pastry

mushrooms

plain flour

3 potatoes

method:

preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius

finely chop all the veggies

in a large frying pan at a medium-high heat, put in all the veggies with some olive oil and minced garlic. Cook until softened

add 300mL of thickened cream, a stock cube and 1 tbs of plain flour to the pot

pour the veggies and cream into a large baking dish

lay 1 sheet of puff pastry over the top of the veggies and curl the edges back over. Cut a small slit for the steam and drizzle with olive oil.

put baking dish full of goodness in the oven to cook until the pastry is golden brown

serve as much as you want !! 

{ This also keeps really well in the fridge and you can easily cut and heat it up again! We’ve been eating this for the past 4 or so meals! } 

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

quarantine queens || day nine 

             {work day} 

6:15am || beautiful walk (or in Carolyn’s case, waddle) and caught some gorgeous views of the last little bit of sunrise

7:15am || had some brekky and started work straight away. Carolyn translated her aria and recitative, finished her big creating work assignment and her fitness assignment while Sophie did Italian, aural and theory and research into being a freelance musician. 

11:30am || we both got really hungry so we ate the last of our potato and leek pot pie for lunch and then Sophie did some more freelance research and composition while Carolyn tied up some loose ends on assignments and did little things like sending messages and checking emails 

1:30pm || we headed to uni so Carolyn could do some singing practice and Sophie could do some tap practice (who said that Opera stars couldn’t tap?) 

3:00pm || we came home and chilled for a while; we were both extremely dead and needed a rest. We spent the afternoon on the couch watching Agents of SHEILD and snacking on tortilla chips with hummus and tzatziki 

5:00pm || we made the leftover gnocchi dough into some gnocchi for an early dinner and watched the last of Otello

We’ll be clocking off soon because we’re both extremely tired and Carolyn is still waddling around the house; that workout yesterday hiit real hard. Get it? HIIT? ANYWAY, stay tuned for more content and we’ll see all your beautiful profile pics tomorrow 💗

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

Uni is hard, especially at the top performing arts institution in Australia. it’s CRAZY. There’s so many things going on and you’re learning songs left right and centre and you’ve got a niggle in your right shoulder and you think that you’ve forgotten your text book and you’ve learned the wrong vocal line… I think you’ve got the point. There’s a lot going on. Here are the top 5 things that I’ve learned in my first term at uni:

Allow yourself to change - my course coordinator says this in relation to acting. Each time you make a character choice, allow your interpretation, movements and character to change. Same goes for you in your life as well. As you make different choices, allow yourself to learn from it and don’t feel as if you have to be the same person afterwards. Going out when you’re not a person who normally goes out on a Saturday night? Let it change you. If you decide you like dancing on a Saturday night, that’s okay. Never been a morning person and want to try it? Go for it. Allow it to change you as you are. These experiences have a key word in them; learning. These are learning experiences because no one expects you to know exactly who you are from day one.

There are nice, attractive people everywhere. Learn the difference between a physical attraction, intellectual attraction and just being nice. This causes a lot of confusion and drama when people don’t understand the difference. Be really clear about what you want.

The only thing holding you back is yourself - I found that when I came to uni, I would say “I can’t do that” a lot. I would say “I can’t belt through my passagio” or “I can’t sing legit” or more recently, “I can’t speak Italian”. Something I’m trying to start a habit of saying instead is “yet”. “I can’t speak Italian yet” because I am here to learn. No one expects you to be perfect. You’re there to work and learn and get better. I wish I was kidding but literally in week 1, I was performing in class and we had to sing one of our audition songs. I was singing away (as every MT does) and I got to the high belt note that I struggled with the entire year that I was working on the song and did it okay. Then my teacher distracted me by giving someone to direct my singing to. She made him walk away as if he was upset and I had to go to him and try to comfort him and I it forced me to think about the singing less and think more about the acting. In this, my voice became freer and I wasn’t thinking about what my voice was doing as I got to the high note. As a result the high note just came out and it was really good. It certainly wasn’t perfect but the only barrier there was me. I was in my head. That’s just an example but it perfectly illustrates my point. To quote Audrey Hepburn, “nothing is impossible; the word itself says I’m possible”.

Learn it early, learn it good - So many times over my amateur career, I’ve learnt things on the day of the rehearsal or show. I kid you not when I say I’ve had shows where I didn’t know it until the last show (entirely different story). One of the first things that I learned was to learn things as quick as you can and as well as you can so you can concentrate on other things while singing or acting. SO many people in my course don’t learn things until the day of or the day before and its shown when they’ve performed it. I regret to say that I have done it and I was so stressed the entire performance so I’ll say it again - GO LEARN THAT THING YOU NEED TO LEARN (after reading this post). The more you learn and the more things you have to memorise, the quicker you’ll get at it. Your brain is a muscle and memorising things take muscle memory. The more you learn things, the better you’ll become at it.

If someone bugs you and belittles you, don’t treat them any differently to how you treat everyone else - a promise that I made to myself when I moved here was that I wasn’t going to treat anyone any differently because they weren’t nice to me. There are people in my course and people in my dorm that aren’t very nice to me at all, making snide comments and belittling me but I make the effort not to treat them any differently to how I treat the people that are nice to me. Now I’m not saying you have to be friends with everyone, because you don’t. Just don’t go retaliating when that person says something a bit mean to you. This only applies to a certain extent, so of course when they overstep, call them out NICELY. By reacting to every little thing, you just add fuel to the flame. If they ask if they can crash at yours before class, say yes. Try to understand that everyone has their own situation and they don’t completely understand your situation either. Try to be understanding and empathetic. Also, if they genuinely don’t like you, being nice to them will catch them off guard and they won’t have anything mean to say to you because there’s nothing for them to pick on.

~ Carolyn xo 

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

quarantine queens || day eight

          {work day} 

6:15am || a beautiful walk again this morning, catching the sunrise. While you’re there, peep a look at the gorgeous mural of the famous guitarists which is on the wall outside a guitar shop near out apartment

7:30am || heated up some muffins for brekky and hit the books. Carolyn caught up on her fitness notes that she hadn’t done while Sophie worked through some admin, Italian and aural and theory

11:15am || Carolyn headed into uni to do a HIIT session with some friends in a studio while Sophie did some yoga at home

12:30pm || Carolyn had a shower and did more fitness work and Sophie did her budgeting. We ate some leftover pie from last night for lunch and then did the dishes because we had been procrastinating doing the dishes all morning

2:30pm || we headed over to uni to do our singing practice where Sophie worked through her repertoire pieces and Carolyn played Les Miserables on piano for an hour. Carolyn eventually got her life together and did her singing practice (hit her top Eb for those who know what that is), learnt some Italian opera pieces and worked on some Operetta as well (finally something that is in English ! )

5:00pm || we came home and filled in our practice journals for singing and then started making our homemade gnocchi from scratch

7:00pm || due to some interruptions, our gnocchi making adventures took a bit longer than expected so we had a later dinner and started watching Verdi’s Otello (the opera adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello)

8:00pm || after not paying attention to our opera, we turned it off and decided to do our Tumblr work instead so we had content to post (hehehe you’re welcome) 

We’ll sign off in 10-20 mins and pop into bed for another hectic day tomorrow. Until then, much love 💗

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

As if starting uni wasn’t already a stressful and trying time, try starting at a fine arts uni! The normal pressure of higher education PLUS all the bs of the performing arts industry makes for a tough time. So here are five things I learnt in my first term;

You will probably cry in your first week… and that’s okay!! - I cried my second day.  I felt homesick and the realisation of what was happening set in, so I listened to sad songs and cried on the floor of my dorm room. It’s okay to feel things and its definitely okay to cry! That’s why whenever I’m feeling extremely sad I will allow myself to cry and feel those feelings. I used to be someone who would bottle it all up then eventually explode but have learnt that the kindest thing you can do to yourself is allow yourself to feel your emotions and deal with them accordingly. While listening to sad music to make myself cry might not be a therapist approved method it allowed me to acknowledge how I felt and then move on. Just remember its okay to feel - it’s okay to cry.

Everything you do is seen - Something I had drilled into me in my first week was that we are now entering the professional world, everyone here could help us in the future. Our teachers could be our future employers!! So, how we present ourselves in class and on campus is crucial. You may think the teacher won’t notice you on your phone in your 2 hour lecture but they do, and they take note. I’m not saying you have to walk on eggshells around campus, just be aware that everything you do has an impact on how people perceive you. So, maybe don’t talk smack about that annoying girl in your 8am, or sit in the campus cafe and complain about your teachers… be conscious that you are being kind to everyone.

You will question who you are - I definitely went through a minor identity crisis during my first term. I was finally at a school full of like-minded people who were just as passionate about the arts as me. I didn’t have to hide this whole part of me anymore which lead to some questioning of who I was as a person. I can’t tell you there is a solution to fix this and yes you will probably be trying to “find yourself” well after uni but use this time to discover more about yourself! Who you are, what you like, your fashion taste! EXPERIMENT !! Uni is the perfect time for self discovery and who cares if you look stupid doing it! Now is the time!

It’s okay to say no - I used to be someone with massive FOMO, maybe it’s just the libra in me but I would always find myself saying ��yes’ despite wanting to say 'no’. As a performing arts student you really can’t afford to be going out every night, or going rock climbing, or staying up till 3am every night talking. I’m not saying you can’t do these things, or that you can’t live your life but it’s okay to say “not tonight”, don’t feel like a loser for prioritising yourself and your health. Feeling tired? It’s okay not to hang out with your friends tonight! Listen to what your body and your brain is telling you it needs. And yes, sometime you will want to go out and have fun, good! But remember to respect when your peers say no to you as well. Respect goes both ways.

You are good enough - You got into this course for a reason. You are where you are for a reason. Yes, sometimes you won’t be the best and you won’t nail everything the first try but just remember you are here to LEARN not because you are perfect. You have talent. You are You are worthy. You are enough.

~ Sophie xx

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

If you had told me last week that I would be waking up at 6am everyday I wouldn’t have believed you. I’ve NEVER been a morning person. I would happily stay up until 3am every school night or just not sleep at all. My bedtime habits and productivity is something that I’ve wanted to fix, so when Carolyn suggested that we try waking up at 6am I was eager to try.

Monday was a total reset. I’m not kidding when I say I had to drag myself out of bed that day. I was actually nervous for week ahead, not sure how I’d do or what would be in store for us. The morning walk was refreshing and arriving home at 7:30 being fully awake and ready was an amazing feeling. Carolyn taught me how to create a budget (something I never thought I’d do in my life!) and we spent the morning doing admin stuff. I set up my bullet journal - a habit that I had abandoned since starting year 12 - and if felt great to start taking control of my crap. We grocery shopped together and I taught Carolyn how to make apple pie. To keep on with the theme of fresh starts we ‘Marie Kondo-d’ my wardrobe. That night we decided to treat ourselves and order Uber eats (which was actually a really difficult event but thats a whole other story!) and gave the extra burrito they accidentally gave us to our friend who lives underneath us and all watched a movie. The whole day was really wholesome and had me excited for the week to come.

It was easy to wake up Tuesday. In fact I had to wake Carolyn up for our walk! Once we got back I spent a good chunk of time writing a weekly schedule to try and utilise my quarantine time. Most of the day was spent writing to-do lists and journalling. Tuesday we spent a long time in practise rooms at uni, I got some great work done and felt vocally great. A good portion of the day was spent setting up this blog and all the accompanying social media accounts on other platforms - just search @theartofmusicology anywhere! I also set up the joint Notion account (a really awesome app for taking notes) and planned out a lot of content ideas. Tuesday was super productive and I couldn’t believe how quickly my mind and body had adjusted to this new lifestyle.

Wednesday started with a beautiful sunset on our daily walk and everything was starting to seem possible. We sat down and shared an adorable breakfast together before starting on our work for the day.  I worked diligently and crossed off a few tasks from my to-do list.  I got all my new depop listings up on my shop (@sailedkitten if you want to check it out ;) ) much quicker than expected. Today I actually STUDIED music theory! As someone who totally blew off my final year of high school and didn’t bother studying properly for my exams this was a big step for me. After a practise sesh at uni we ran into a couple friends and ended up having a long chat - with social distancing of course - which meant that our schedule got changed. We felt bad with not being able to complete everything we had planned but during this trying time it was much needed to spend quality time with people who bring us joy. Wednesday left me with the feeling that I had changed for the better.

On Thursday I finally sat down and caught up on my History work that I had been putting off for over 3 weeks. We had finally created a routine and were settling into it nicely. We listened to what our bodies asked for and stretched after our daily walk. I spent a while creating content for the blog and doing assigned readings. We helped a friend with some singing so I decided to stay at uni late to get my individual work done. I studied AGAIN and found my self excited to go to bed because I was looking forward to what tomorrow would bring. For real I was becoming someone I didn’t recognise but the kind of person who I’ve always wanted to be.

Friday was rough. It started well but after our singing lessons we were feeling defeated. We had spent all week practising but ran into new problems in our lessons that left us feeling down. In our line of work we are used to rejection but our perfectionism is something that we are trying to work on. I came out of my lesson and Carolyn had created the “Rainy Day Reminders” on our fridge. It felt awesome to have someone who shares my experiences and understand exactly what I’m feeling, the reminders are a great way for us to remember what we all sometimes forget. Today we learnt that even when you try your hardest sometimes your brain can put up mental blocks that can be hard to get out of, but all you need is to reach out to someone else for support.

Saturday didn’t exactly follow what we had planned. We found ourselves quite tired and I threw myself into creating content for our blog while when my body was telling me to relax. Feeling sluggish we went on a walk to the grocery store and made scones. A friend came upstairs to watch a movie with us and then a few more came round for drinks. We went until around 1am, talking and hanging out - I was DEAD TIRED the entire time! I stayed up however because social interaction is hard to come by during this time. It taught us both a lesson about picking and choosing when to stick to the schedule and when to deviate.

Sunday was good. We woke up around 7 and cooked a really adorable pancake breakfast!  We went shopping for our weekly groceries and when we got home spent a great deal of time cleaning our kitchen. While doing my laundry my parents Face-timed me. I call them every Sunday and while it makes me homesick its also so so so good for my soul. Just to talk to my rents about my life is so therapeutic and to hear them talk about Melbourne is great (they having totally taken over my garden though !). Don’t underestimate the powers of a good phone call with a loved one.

This week has made me a whole new person, I’ve totally overhauled my lifestyle and work ethic. Getting up at 6am has become a habit I will keep for as long as possible it just makes me feel so accomplished already just by getting out of bed. I’ve always been a hard worker but maybe not a smart worker, this week gave me the opportunity to learn how to properly utilise my time. Having someone along with me for the ride was honestly so motivating and I couldn’t have done it without Carolyn (<3).  I think this whole process has created a new out look on life for me! I no longer look forward to scrolling on my phone until 2am at the end of each day and sleeping isn’t a chore. Now I look forward to what each day can be and sleeping is someone I want to do to treat my body with kindness. I’m finally working towards to living the life I wish I had in year 12.  I am so thankful for this week and can’t wait for what the rest of this quarantine season will bring.

~ Sophie :) 

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

Not gonna lie, waking up at 6 am everyday is hard. Especially in quarantine, on holidays and especially for the first week its very hard. The first day was okay because we had made the promise to ourselves that we were going to get up. It felt very spontaneous as we hadn’t done any planning at all so we did spend some time sitting around saying “what are we going to do next?” but what we did do was really good. Due to it being our first day, we did a lot of admin; I set up a money tracking page for both of us, made a shopping list, created a weekly planner spread sheet and wrote out a big huge to do list of things I had to do and learn in this strange quarantine holiday break period thing.

Overall, the first day left us feeling really motivated to continue. We struggled to get to bed at 9 like we said we were going to because we got so stuck into the work that we were doing. We had decided to treat ourselves to Mexican food for dinner and Uber eats messed it up so that took a while to sort out and then we sat down with a friend to watch Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary performance because it is a favourite in our house. We ended up going to bed late but sometimes thats the reality of life.

Tuesday was a tough day to get out of bed. Apparently you can turn off your alarm and fall asleep again without remembering. I know because I did it and then I only actually woke up when Sophie texted me. After that, it was a really productive day and I got everything on my to do list done (including over an hour of singing practice which was really good to get done). Tuesday we managed to get to bed fairly on time as well. Its amazing how just shifting your life hours forwards can make you so productive and fulfilled. Not going to lie we were also exhausted at the same time.

Wednesday, I found, was really easy to get out of bed. Our walk was really lovely and we managed to catch the sunrise which I think gave us a little bit more motivation to keep going. There’s nothing quite like the sunrises and sunsets here in Perth. I got almost everything that I wanted to done. I also managed to film my duet which meant I could concentrate on other things. Wednesday taught us that we can’t schedule everything. As we were leaving uni we ran into our friends and had a really good chat (1.5m away of course). It absolutely wasn’t planned and yes, it cut into our time doing other things and yes, we ate dinner later than planned but in a time like this, its so important to keep in contact with your loved ones and people who bring so much joy into your life.

Thursday was the same as every other day. We went for our walk, came home, ate brekky and we were productive. I was able to go and do some dance as well which was really fun and therapeutic. I found I was working harder and I had more energy then I did while we were sort of just doing whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, not stetting alarms and things like that.

Friday was a tough day to say the least. Getting out of bed was fine and we got our coffee on our morning walk but as the day went on it got harder. I got some work done in the morning and a close friend dropped some (very yummy) bagels off on their morning bike ride, which was very thoughtful of them to check in on us in such a time. I had a very hard singing lesson in which I felt kind of useless because I had no idea what was going on the entire time because I am a music theatre student and we have been working through the Vaccai vocalises and the recitative vocalise at the end of the book is very challenging, even for the classical students. So that kind of put a stump on my day. While I spent a few hours kind of moping around, I also got some things done. I tried to do some school work but my brain wasn’t in the right mode to do any academia so I decided to do some more domestic tasks instead. I did things that I’d normally do on a Friday such as my washing and cleaning, I also made a little collage of ‘rainy day reminders’ on our fridge because I don’t want anyone else in my house feeling like they aren’t good enough or they don’t know whats going on. It was a kind of therapy for me to write out little positive things for others because it also was a sort of self reminder that positivity is a choice and its what you make of the 'bad’ things that matters.

Saturday was an unplanned day. What we had planned, only sort of got done and then a whole lot of other things happened during the day. We started off with a stretch to try out my fitness assignment program. We then made some brekky and started work on our blog. I was falling asleep working on some posts so I got up and went into my room. While I was in there, I found some things that I needed that I was wanting to get our of my suitcases and I put some washing away. After this, I was more awake and able to concentrate on the work that I was doing. I smashed out a couple of blog posts before we went to get ingredients to make scones and do our meal planning. After we made our scones, a friend came upstairs to us and watched a movie and then a few more people came up for drinks. We went to bed really late, like 1am late. It was a real challenge to stay up until 1 but it was a good night with our friends. I think this just goes to show how much our social lives impact our sleeping patterns. It reminds us that things come up and sometimes you do just stay up and have a bottle of wine until 1 and talk about life and that’s okay!

Sunday was a late start. We woke up at 7am and stayed in bed for another 20ish minutes. I got up first and started cleaning up and making our pre-planned pancakes. After a wholesome brekky, we went shopping and did our groceries for the week. When we got home, we emptied out our cupboards and rearranged them so now they are all completely organised. We had some lunch and then I went to uni where I was at uni for about 4 hours and then came home and ate dinner and did some weekly admin. I crashed really easily because I was SO tired from staying up late the night before but as long as you catch up on the sleep, its fine. Sunday was a fairly slow day but I love that we were able to be so domestic.

Overall, this week has taught me a lot about who I am as a person and who I have the potential to be. Getting up at 6am has been a good way to kickstart my productivity. I used to think that I would never become a morning person and don’t get me wrong, getting out of my cozy bed to go for a walk when its freezing cold is really hard - but the fact that i have someone to do it with is really motivating and makes it so much more enjoyable. Obviously I know that when uni goes back I will have to adjust this routine because of my schedule but I don’t mind so much because I will still be established in this routine. I have loved being able to learn new skills (Sophie is teaching me how to cook because I never learned) and having more time during my day to get stuff done. Ultimately, I think its changed my life for the better and I can be more productive now, which is something that year 12 really took out of me.

~ Carolyn xo

[trying-my-hardest-everyday]

|| quarantine queens ||

quarantine queens || day six

{reset day}

7: 00am || woke up a bit later than usual because of the fun night before

8:00am || made a super delicious pancakes for breakfast and shared them with friends while listening to some show-tunes

11:00am || went grocery shopping & ran some errands

1:30pm || got back and unpacked groceries as well as rearranging our cupboards and cleaning the kitchen

3:00pm || Carolyn left to go do a stepping class with friends at uni while Sophie did her laundry and face-timed her parents back east

5:00pm || met up in a practise room and both got a lot of good work done! Sophie helped Carolyn with her Italian and Carolyn helped Sophie with writing a super crazy Cadenza

7:00pm || Got back home and had a very quick lazy dinner

7:30pm || Life admin & setting up schedules for the week ahead

And back to the normal routine of being in bed by 9pm to do it all again next week!