Grazie, Italy

Hi! Long time no talk...write? Either way, I am glad to be back to blogging! Currently, I am sitting at the jetBlue juice bar in the airport, waiting to board a flight to Rochester, New York- so I figured this would be the best time to work on this first blog on this site and catch you up on all that has happened in my life.
A lot has gone on since I last wrote (on my last blog). The last time I wrote, I was in Amsterdam, about to go on a week long cruise along the Rhine River. I am currently still working on making the vlogs for this trip, and they will be posted on my YouTube channel shortly. The cruise was a graduation gift from my mom, since I graduated high school with straight A's and honors and I was the first Mexican-American graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. During the cruise, we went to Germany, France, and Switzerland. After coming back to California, I had my family reunion (which I will also have vlogs for), I attended IBStage in Barcelona, Spain (another thing I will have vlogs of), I went to visit Ashley, a friend from the Academy, in Chicago (you guessed it, there will also be vlogs on this), and I started my first semester at university. 
Choosing a university was actually kind of a funny process for me. My plan, since I really first started thinking about university, was always to do online school towards a business degree. Then, for some reason, in a phone call with my mom the summer before senior year high school, my mom asked if I wanted to perhaps try out for a dance degree. Without much thought, I said sure, and a few months and some trips across the country later, I had applied, and was accepted into 5 universities... and then I decided I liked my original plan of an online business degree better :). In the end, I applied, and was accepted, to both Oregon State University and Penn State (which I had a full ride to). Of course, I ended up loving Oregon State University the most, so that's what I chose. I am currently still loving the school, even though I am doing it online. I started my first semester end of September, 2018, in all sophomore/junior classes. Now, I am preparing to start my third semester and my first class actually focused on the business major (since I had been taking all of the baccalaureate core classes up until now).
I also started my teacher training for yoga at the end of September. This training went on until the start of November. I am so beyond grateful for this training, as it has given me not only much more knowledge on the practice of yoga, but it has also changed my outlook on life, helped me find my voice, and it gave me amazing and loving friends- including someone who I met the very first day and has grown to become like a big sister and has really been such an amazing gift in my life.
October was filled with mostly only school and teacher training, and November was the same except for a quick trip to NYC to watch the Macy's Parade in-person (which had been something my mom and I have wanted to do for years). I also got my first paid job in November. I became an independent consultant for Arbonne, which is an all green, ethical, vegan health and wellness company. The products sold include makeup, protein powders and bars, teas, other nutrition products, hair care, skin care, essential oils, and even baby care. Since having been first introduced to Arbonne in October, I have since thrown out all non-argonne makeup and skin care. If you are interested in looking at the amazing products Arbonne has, check them out at my link: http://LouisaRamirezForney.arbonne.com/
If you want me to be your independent consultant, receive rewards, and get discounts, all purchases must be made through my link. A way to make sure you are on the correct website is to check the upper lefthand corner for my name and picture.

In December, after exams, I saw ABT's Nutcracker, had a sleepover with a friend and saw A Christmas Carol (a tradition since freshman year high school), went to Palm Springs, and spent lots of time with friends. 

January was filled with hanging with friends, renovating a room in the house into a dance/yoga studio, and the usual work and school. 

In February, I was busy with Arbonne, school, and helping with a HUGE event going on at my mom's work. My mom and I also went to Portland and Corvallis, Oregon, to tour OSU. I also made sure to get in some time with my friends though, since I knew I would be heading to New York the next month. February is also a very special month because that I when I met and started dating Jon. Jon has been such an amazing person in my life so far, and he even flew out to visit me in NYC this month. He also is really into photography and takes lots of great pictures, so if you want to check them out go to his website! 

Now, that brings us to this month. As I said, Jon visited me in NYC for a week. We had a great time exploring the city, seeing The Lion King, and going to the movies. Prior to his visit, I had two weeks filled with classes at Steps on Broadway, gyrotonic and pilates privates, and reuniting with another prior student of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. My mom came for a visit the last week I had this month in the city. We had lots of good coffee, went to the movies, saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (which was amazing!!!), and lots more. 

Now, as I said at the beginning of this post, I am sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight to Rochester. I will be visiting Lauren, a friend from the Academy, for two weeks. She has lots planned for us, and of course, I will tell you all we did in my next blog post!

XOXO,

Louisa