May 18, 2026
Personal Reflections
This week’s lineup empowered me to dive deep yet again into nostalgia for my K-12 education, and I found the trip very encouraging to my spirit today. Here is one of the many reflective stories from this week:
On Thursday, I attended “Mean Girls” at North Thurston High School (my Alma Mater) and had the opportunity to be in the very space where so many of my own dreams came true a decade ago.
When I got home from the show, I decided to look through my high school photographs and yearbooks, and memories came flooding back along with a profound truth: it was evident that echos of what would be my future were very present in the past.
Per my request at the time, my sister took many of my senior pictures at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts (this was prior to their remodel). Some of the photographs felt deeply poetic as I looked out from a balcony into the “invisible” audience or stood in the space in a way that looked confident and really comfortable. Looking at the photographs, I asked myself, “woah, who knew that a decade later I would find myself in this space, writing about the arts, like I do today?” Writing now, the answer is clear — God did, and He is so good for bringing me back to moments like this just so I can see how incredible destiny can be.
The photo at the top of the newsletter came up in conversation on Sunday at the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia concert. My friend Diane had been waiting for me right by the outdoor clock. Before stepping into the concert, she told me about her experiences people watching and remembering her daughter’s time in a student orchestra … The clock brought her to a place of nostalgia too!
I am now convinced that the clock in front of the Center has a sort of magic in it as it allows our minds to travel back in time to special moments in our lives.
Next time, you are at the Washington Center, I invite you to pause for a moment and look up at the clock and see where your heart takes you.
Time is a gift and it is important now more than ever to embrace every wonderful moment we are given.
Life can get busy and crazy, but don’t forget to pause and soak in the wonder of existing in this moment and the opportunity to make the world a better place with the time you are given.
This Week in the Arts
Coming up this week, I will be publishing three pieces in my JOLT Column including:
A review of North Thurston High School’s “Mean Girls”
A review of Olympia Family Theater’s “The Hobbit”
A review of Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia’s Spring Concert
To read my articles as they come out, I invite you to subscribe to the JOLT News and/or follow me on Instagram and Facebook, then invite a friend to do the same! :)
If you read a story that inspires you, I invite you to share it with others and help spread the word about the incredible things happening in the Thurston County Arts Community.
Then, make a donation to The JOLT News so that we can continue to celebrate everything happening in our arts community.