Gerren as Ralph Lauren
Editor’s note: I was introduced to Gerren soon after I began teaching at NC State University, through Dance Program Director Robin Harris. Gerren was an alum of the NCSU Dance Company and lucky for us, was still dancing and living in Raleigh after graduation! He is another one of our dancers who has been with the company since it started; he actually worked with me also for my film project Product, which began before Code f.a.d. was “officially” founded.
It is difficult to say what a typical day in my life would be like because, like most people I know, no two days could ever quite be the same. This is even more true now that I am in my second year of law school. On a typical day during the semester, I wake up around 5:45 in the morning to get ready for school. The first thing I do is make a pot of coffee because I am generally not a functional person prior to having at least one cup. Then I prepare my lunch and any snacks to keep me going for the majority of the day. This helps reduce my temptation to go out to lunch and make poor eating choices, even though I have to admit that Chargrill and Snoopy’s Hotdogs are only two blocks away from school and are often rotated into my lunch plans during the examination period.
When I arrive at school around 7:30 in the morning, I immediately drop my books off at my favorite study corral in the library, as I am likely to be in the same spot for the vast majority of the day. I try to schedule my classes early so I can utilize the afternoons to prepare for any classes or research any cases or laws I may need for upcoming assignments. I will often stay at school literally all day, sometimes not leaving the library until 10 at night, but I do take a break between 4 to 5 in the evening to either go workout at the gym, take a yoga class, attend a Code f.a.d. rehearsal, or even teach a dance class in the evening. One of the things I have learned as being a law student is that it is okay to take a break when you need one and you should often schedule these breaks to avoid taking too much time off or not allowing your brain time to rest in between reading assignments. Plus as a dancer, it is important to not only keep my physical physique up to par, but my mental capacities as well.
picture of my coffee table preparing for my Constitutional Law II final exam
Rehearsals require us dancers to have both physical and mental strengths because it is important for injury prevention and to retain the complexities of each choreographic piece. Prior to attending rehearsals and during my off-time, I spend a portion of the day going over choreography and listening to the music we dance to from our in-house composer (Todd Buker) in order to catch certain accents in the music and translate them into my movements.
The last thing I do before my day ends is try to spend some time watching television, specifically the Daily Show or catch-up with Modern Family and House Hunters on my DVR. I think it is important to allow my brain to disconnect somewhat to everything I did prior to that point. This helps me to relax and have an uninterrupted number of hours to sleep.
And this is what is a typical day in the life of Gerren Mobley….thanks for reading.
-Gerren