by Rachel | Uncategorized
Even though Sadie spends her afternoons romping around with her cousin at my in-laws’ house (so as to keep her occupied while I work with students), I still refer to her as the official Music Therapy Connections studio mascot. After all, my students know her and ask about her all the time, plus she’s my constant companion as I blog away and plan music therapy sessions. Sadie even makes a star appearance in one of my songs.
So how do we plan to celebrate the big 2? This is one spoiled pup to begin with, which means we’ll have to outdo ourselves today. Sadie’s favorite treat is a peanut butter-filled Kong, and today she’ll get an upgrade from the mini to the full-sized version. My little girl is growing up!
Sadie is still a bit hyper, which is why I keep her out of the way of students as they come and go. But I can’t wait for the day she calms down and can handle a little more interaction every once in a while. I know a few kids who look forward to that day, as well :)
If you see this dog today, please wish her happy birthday!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Yesterday, I came home to a giant hole in my house. That may sound like a bad thing, but I promise…it’s not! Renovations for my new studio are now officially underway, so I thought I’d better share some “before” snapshots of the space in its original condition. Note: click to enlarge pictures.
My dog Sadie decided that she wanted to get in on the picture-taking action :) Here she is, posing in the hallway that will soon be separated from the rest of the house with a door. To the right is the bathroom, straight ahead is my new office/studio, next to that is a closet, and on the far left (which you can’t see in this picture) will be the waiting room.
Here’s the bathroom. We aren’t going to be making any changes to it, but hey, I just thought I’d throw it in with the rest of the pictures since it will technically be included in the new space.
Here’s the view of my future office/studio from the hallway. (It was formerly used as a guest room.) Both the flooring and wall color will be different.
Here’s another view of the room. I’m thinking the piano will go on the wall where the baker’s rack is right now. Oh, and you might see that baker’s rack again later, only looking a little different :)
This closet actually extends across the entire wall inside. My current studio does not have a closet…I’m so excited to have the storage space for materials I don’t necessarily want out in plain sight.
Here’s the future waiting room! Right now, this room is completely wasted, so it will be nice when it actually serves a purpose. The wall color will stay the same, but the floor will be different. To the right of the closet, there will be a door for entering/exiting from outside.
Another view of the room. Those chairs are extras that go with our kitchen table, so they will not be in the new waiting room. I’m already in search of furniture…any ideas?
One last view from the opposite corner. I’m thinking I’ll use part of the closet for coats, but I’m not sure what else. I’m also toying with the idea of leaving the keyboard and bench in the waiting room so that students can practice before their lesson (with headphones, of course).
The contractors worked from 8 am to 6:30 pm yesterday, and their progress is pretty phenomenal. I’ll be sharing more pictures of the process in the coming days and weeks, and look forward to your feedback and decorating ideas!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
This week not only marks the beginning of spring, but also the beginning of a BIG project at my house. I’ve hinted at this in my newsletter, but now the cat is coming out of the bag: my studio is moving!
Yep, that’s right…my home studio and private practice is moving from its current location (pictured above) all the way to the other side of my house. I’m sure going to miss this beautiful room full of windows, but it will make a nice nursery someday.
So why in the world would I decide to move when I have such a great setup now? A couple reasons, actually. First of all, my living room doubles as the waiting room for my students and their families. And since I work up until 7 pm and later some nights, my poor husband and puppy are banished until my last student has left. Second, I wanted a more dedicated studio space with a separate entrance. Currently, everyone enters and exits through the front door and has full access to my home. However, that will change once the move is complete.
The contractor is coming tomorrow to start the renovation of my new studio space, and I can’t wait. The flooring has been ordered, paint colors chosen, and my head is full of decorating schemes. I’ll be documenting the entire renovation and moving process, of course — stay tuned for one last tour of my current studio, and before pictures of the new space!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Confession: this post has nothing to do with music therapy, education, or children. But I’m so excited for my trip to the Windy City this weekend that I couldn’t resist writing about it. It’s been a long winter full of work-related weekend obligations, which means this trip — which has NOTHING to do with work — is the perfect way to ring in spring.
Our little weekend getaway does have something to do with my husband’s work, but that’s a good thing. Every March, his company invites its top performers to Chicago for a hotel stay and awards banquet. Zach and I have attended for the last 4 years, and this will be his 2nd year receiving the Agent of the Year title.
So that’s what we’ll be up to on Saturday night. But we’re heading out this afternoon with plans for a fancy dinner tonight followed by an overnight stay in a suite at the Wyndham Hotel. We love trying out new hotels every time we visit Chicago; back in August, we stayed at the super-cool W Hotel, and on Saturday night Zach’s company is putting us up at the Sax Hotel. Our favorite is the Peninsula, but you have to take out a small loan in order to stay there :)
Ahh, a weekend full of eating out, dressing up, and relaxing. It doesn’t get much better than that. What are your plans for this weekend? Hopefully they’re equally as fun!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I have this man to thank for my career in music therapy. Dr. John Sinclair, or “Doc” as everyone calls him, was the head of the music department at Rollins College during my undergraduate years, and still is today. He directed the ensembles in which I sang, and I had him as a professor for several classes.
But it was one particular class he taught that changed my path; I can’t remember the name of it, but I remember the pivotal assignment. Doc asked us to choose a career in the music field and write an in-depth research paper on it. I was a vocal performance major, and had dreams of becoming a professional singer. But I wanted to learn about something new, so I did a Google search for “careers in music”. Music therapy was one of the top hits.
I read everything I could on the internet about music therapy that day, and on Monday morning, I went straight to Dr. Sinclair’s office. “Doc, I know what I’m going to write my paper about, and I’ve found my future career!” It turns out that Doc knew all about music therapy, and offered to contact a music therapist he knew who had just moved to the Orlando area.
A week later, I had written my paper and begun job shadowing his music therapist friend. I watched her in action at a nursing home, with private students taking adapted lessons, and with an early childhood group. She told me all about her coursework as a music therapy student, and spent hours answering all of my questions. I was even more convinced that music therapy was for me.
I was in the second semester of my sophomore year at the time, and couldn’t stand the thought of waiting another year and a half to graduate and go on to grad school for music therapy. So when my advisor told me that I had enough credits to graduate after the first semester of my junior year, I only hesitated a little. Did I really want to leave college — my friends, my sorority, this beautiful campus — 1.5 years early? It was hard, and I got a lot of flack from my friends, but I did it anyway.
I applied to and was accepted at several schools in Florida, including FSU and University of Miami. But in the end, I returned to Illinois and ended up an hour north of my home, at Illinois State University. I was sad to be back in the cold; however, I couldn’t pass up a full ride to graduate school. It ended up being worth it, though, since it was at ISU where I fell in love with my now-husband :)
So that’s my story of finding music therapy. I was inspired by similar stories shared by my colleagues, including Nat Mullis and others. What’s your story — whether you found music therapy or another career for which you were meant?
