Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

  I am at my parent's house soaking up their internet signal. Mom has been studying for her final in General Chemistry and I have been slightly annoying. It is far too quiet for me. I like background noise even when I study. I learned that I don't like to study alone either. There are certain days where I unplug from the internet to do some deep core work but those occasions are rare. This could be why I love coffee shops so much besides the obvious caffeine content. 
  At any rate, I have been somewhat useful, such as dragging the indoor plants out onto the patio and watering them. I also made mom what she requested for lunch, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 
  Every time I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I am transported back to high school and Acting classes with Tom Marcello. Improvisations were constant in our class. Having the capability to be given a scene or situation and act. No script. Make up your own dialogue and action. One of these exercises had to deal with making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However, we were given an emotion that we had to convey to the audience while making said sandwich. 
  It was an exercise in understanding how our body movements convey our hidden emotions to others. Watch someone make a sandwich. Watch how they interact with people. Are they bored? Amused? Absolutely ticked off at the world? Does their actions betray their voice? How about their eyes? 
  I have noticed that some people put on a show, knowing that they're being watched. Others act very naturally and simply don't care what others think. Watching people, reading people, and reading their eyes is the most important life skill I picked up when taking Acting classes. These studies also increased our capability of reproducing characters by observing actions and recalling them when defining the role that we were playing. Hence why I support and advocate for the arts as I do. There are soft skills learned there that take many others, without the training, most of their lifetime to develop. 
Me hamming it up at VWCC last spring.

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