Half A Decade of Magic

All month I've been patiently awaiting the 27th of March to mark my 5 year work anniversary and counting down all last week, Friday finally arrived and I FORGOT! I feel so dumb. I mean we did have 3 shows that day and then made the 3 hour trip to Columbia but still I had been waiting forever for that day! What's even worse is I just realized last night that I missed it... *facepalm*
I cannot believe I've been sucked into the world of magic for this long already! It seems like just yesterday I was arguing with Brandon that I would be a good assistant and I don't care if I get hurt trying to jump in and out of the boxes. He had to trust me that I could do it.
I've been searching and searching, honestly I used to have it, the picture from my very first official show with Brandon. I was wearing my pink dress and a silk rolled up into a flower in my hair with a bobby pin. It was as ugly as it sounds, trust me. And the show was beyond awful since the audience just didn't care but hey I was a magic assistant. I finally got what I wanted.

The oldest photos I can find are from this show at my 16th birthday party

Magic wasn't quite what I expected it to be though. There's a lot more to it than it looks. So many hours of rehearsal. Lots of trial and error. Which is always embarrassing during a show. The whole idea of trying to leave feelings offstage and pretend like everything is just great and you weren't trying to kill each other behind the curtain.
Over these past 5 years I have done things I would have never done on my own. I've performed for thousands of people. Signed lots of autographs. Travel to amazing places. Entertained at some really unique events. Performed along side with some of the most talented people I've ever met. And most importantly I've made some of the best friends. Magic is a pretty dog eat dog world so if you find a good friend, stick with them.
I've changed so much over these past 5 years not just as a performer but as a person. Obviously my looks have changed, you don't go from 15-20 looking the same. My attitude has changed. Growing up with divorced parents you tend to be a little rough around the edges and don't put up with a lot because you don't trust a lot but I'm still learning to get better about this. My confidence has increased. Yes I get more compliments and confidence as Hannah Lynne than as Hannah Wagster but slowly it helps. Our relationship has changed. When Brandon and I first started working together, we broke up within 3 months. We could not figure out the balance but now we do it pretty well. (I think that's what I'm going to blog about next.) To me atleast all of these changes are good.

I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped me become the magic assistant I am today! Without your help honestly I don't know where I'd be. Thank you to John Tudor, Joey Vazquez, Kohle Leaphart, Joe Daniels and of course my handsome husband... You guys are pretty much responsible for molding me hands on to perform like I do. There's so many assistant I look up to and wish I could thank personally for inspiring me, that's on my bucket list to meet some of the famous assistants I look up to!

Here's to another 5 years!