Day 3: Winning
This was it. They day of the finals rounds. We went into this day four points behind Fairfield, just four points. We were determined to give the best show we had ever given, to keep up the image of Happiness Inc., America's Favorite Show Choir. It was a big responsibility we were handed, and we were willing to live up to the challenge. We loaded the buses, and everyone looked outstanding. We warmed up immediately when we arrived at the Opry, our performance was at 11:30 AM. After performing, and doing the best we'd ever done, we got the privilege to watch our hosts, Clinton Attaché. They were amazing. Finally, awards were announced. Our hearts were beating so fast, our palms were sweating. We wanted this so badly. They announced best band, and again it went to us. We also got the award for best overall affect, meaning that our show design was really well thought out. The award for best choreography went to Fairfield, meaning that the winner would be determined by whichever group had the best vocals. And that group just happened to be us
Tears flowed from my eyes as I realized that we were just crowned National Champions. Everyone was hugging each other, cheers and cries of joy filled the room. We all headed outside to receive our metals and Grand Champion trophy, and we got a million pictures taken of us. We screamed and laughed and cried and giggled and had never felt this way before. As we headed back to the bus, we beamed and smiled at everyone we passed by. We cheered on the bus, as we were told the the win was unanimous--every judge put us in first. We really are the best show choir in the nation--the favorite and the best.
That night, we celebrated. We joined the other show choirs at the Wildhorse Saloon, were we ate dinner, played pool, and line danced. We mingled and got to know people from other schools. One thing I really enjoyed were the students from the south and their deep southern accents. So adorable.
We headed back to the hotel and hung out for a while. We were sad that this was our last night in Nashville but we were also thrilled to go back home with a National Championship.
Day 4: Goodbye Nashville
Day four didn't start out too well. I was woken at 1:30 AM by my roommates, telling me to pack my suitcase because we had to move rooms. I thought it was a dream, but then I realized that the floor was soaking wet, our hotel room was flooded. I asked what happened, as I had been asleep the entire time, and apparently the toilet got clogged and overflowed. Our hotel room was filled with water, and we were moved away from the show choir wing, to the 6th floor, on the opposite side of the hotel, at 1:00 AM. To make things even better, my roommates and I were moved into a handicap room. The beds were on the floor, the toilet was superpowered, and the closet was huge (not complaining about that one). When we finally got to bed, around 2:30, we were all exhausted. The next morning was even worse: being so far away from everybody else, it took forever to find the buses at the portico.
We left promptly at 7:00 AM, and within 2 hours we stopped at a McDonald's in Kentucky. These employees were again surprised, yet they were giddy when we informed them that we had just won Show Choir Nationals. We headed home but got caught in a traffic jam for nearly two hours, and by then, we were falling way behind schedule. To top it off, the air conditioning on the boys' bus broke, so we had to stop in Illinois to get them a new bus. Finally, we were on the home stretch. We didn't make any food stops, so we were all starving. When we FINALLY made it back to Cedar Rapids, an entire crowd of people were waiting to welcome us at school. They had huge signs and pizza and friends from all around. We were overjoyed; everyone loved us. We were practically celebrities in our town. Tonight (which is the night we arrived home), we were featured on two local news channels as well as top stories on news websites. What an honor, we think, to be National Champions. To have the opportunities and resources we have. We are so thankful.
And we're National Show Choir Champions.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Nashville Part 1
Why hello there! For those of you who didn't already know, I spent the last four days in Nashville, TN competing in show choir nationals with my school's show choir, Happiness Inc. The trip was a blast--a truly unforgettable experience.
Day One: Arrival
We loaded the buses at 2:15 AM (Yes, I said AM not PM) on Thursday. Everyone was tired--hair was uncombed, teeth were unbrushed, not a care in the world. We said goodbye to our parents, thanking them for waking up at such a vicious hour to drive us to school. After taking role and pulling out of the school parking lot, we assumed our sleeping positions. I personally chose the floor of the bus--it's much warmer and comfier than the seats (shocker). Around 7:15, daylight began to splash through the bus windows, waking us all. "Good morning, Princesses," our director greeted us. Us being on an all-girl bus, we were allowed to be spoken to that way.
We stopped at a McDonald's somewhere in Illinois, unannounced, uninvited. The employees nearly had a heart attack when they saw approximately 75 people running toward their restaurant. Once we were all finally served (it took about half an hour), we sat down to enjoy our egg McMuffins and CinnaMelts. Once back on the bus, some went back to sleep while others (like me) read a book or listened to their iPod. My goal of this trip was to finish Mad Women, a book I'm reading for AP Lang.
For lunch, we stopped at a mall in Kentucky. We were given an hour and a half to eat and shop, both of which we did. I had some pasta at a fast-food Italian restaurant, and a milkshake from Chick-Fil-A. Nothing too exciting happened at this mall. We got back on the bus around 1:00 PM and headed to Nashville. Around 2:30 we arrived at our destination: the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel in Nashville, TN. Across from the hotel was the Opryland Mall, which just reopened after the floods last year. Diagonal to the hotel was the Grand Ole Opry theatre itself, the place where we would be performing in less than 24 hours.
The Opryland hotel was huge, as big as the Mall of America at least. There were thousands (literally thousands) of guest rooms and a tropical jungle-type-thing right in the hotel. A river ran through it, and there was also an island with shops and restaurants. It was all we needed--we could live in a magical place like that hotel forever. After an hour or so, we headed over to the Opry house to watch show choirs. We saw middle schools as well as women's choirs on Thursday night. We headed back to the hotel and a lot of us went and chilled in the hot tub (haha, a more accurate statement would be we cooked in the hot tub). We went to bed around 11:30--we had a big day ahead of us.
Day Two: Let's Show 'Em What We Got
After getting a good night's sleep and plenty to eat for breakfast, we headed over to the Opry House around 10:00 AM. We were scheduled to perform last that morning, at 1:30 PM. So for a couple of hours, we watched show choirs from all over the nation, including one from Fairfield, OH. We were awed at how fantastic some of the groups were, and each show we saw was unique and had a lot of good features. At 1:00, we headed to the warm up room. We were all hyped up, the nerves took over. Adrenaline began to rush as we stepped out onto the a world-famous stage, where people become stars all the time. Performing live at the Grand Ole Opry was like nothing I've ever experienced before. The feeling of doing something that so many famous people have done and so few non-famous people get to do was amazing. The classic barn backround was just behind the curtain of the band, the wood circle from the original Grand Ole Opry was placed right in the center of the stage, with dust from Hank William Jr.'s boots still on it. I looked out into the audience, and for a moment, I felt like a star. I felt like I was watching a live country music concert at home, on TV, where I have seen the Grand Ole Opry so many times.
After performing, we got our pictures taken and then we headed back into the auditorium. We were surprised by lots of clapping and cheering--even a standing ovation. The crowd loved us. We went to take our seats for awards, anxious to know whether or not we made finals. As they began to announce awards, we found out that we won best band, and everyone cheered. Finally they announced the finalists--the tension built as they named five groups and none of them were us. One last chance, we thought. Luckily, the sixth name they called was Happiness, Inc.
After awards, we headed back to the hotel to explore. We had the entire rest of the day to do whatever, 7 hours of free time. My friends and I headed across the street to the Opryland Mall for some shopping. After grabbing a bite to eat, we spent an hour in the gigantic Forever 21, each of us buying clothes there. After that, we ate ice cream and headed back to the hotel. We joined the other show choir members for a while in the hot tub, and then we explored the hotel and took pictures. Finally, we headed to bed. We were all so psyched for finals--but we were then placed in second behind Fairfield. We were determined to fix whatever we could for finals and we hoped we could win Nationals.
Day One: Arrival
We loaded the buses at 2:15 AM (Yes, I said AM not PM) on Thursday. Everyone was tired--hair was uncombed, teeth were unbrushed, not a care in the world. We said goodbye to our parents, thanking them for waking up at such a vicious hour to drive us to school. After taking role and pulling out of the school parking lot, we assumed our sleeping positions. I personally chose the floor of the bus--it's much warmer and comfier than the seats (shocker). Around 7:15, daylight began to splash through the bus windows, waking us all. "Good morning, Princesses," our director greeted us. Us being on an all-girl bus, we were allowed to be spoken to that way.
We stopped at a McDonald's somewhere in Illinois, unannounced, uninvited. The employees nearly had a heart attack when they saw approximately 75 people running toward their restaurant. Once we were all finally served (it took about half an hour), we sat down to enjoy our egg McMuffins and CinnaMelts. Once back on the bus, some went back to sleep while others (like me) read a book or listened to their iPod. My goal of this trip was to finish Mad Women, a book I'm reading for AP Lang.
For lunch, we stopped at a mall in Kentucky. We were given an hour and a half to eat and shop, both of which we did. I had some pasta at a fast-food Italian restaurant, and a milkshake from Chick-Fil-A. Nothing too exciting happened at this mall. We got back on the bus around 1:00 PM and headed to Nashville. Around 2:30 we arrived at our destination: the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel in Nashville, TN. Across from the hotel was the Opryland Mall, which just reopened after the floods last year. Diagonal to the hotel was the Grand Ole Opry theatre itself, the place where we would be performing in less than 24 hours.
The Opryland hotel was huge, as big as the Mall of America at least. There were thousands (literally thousands) of guest rooms and a tropical jungle-type-thing right in the hotel. A river ran through it, and there was also an island with shops and restaurants. It was all we needed--we could live in a magical place like that hotel forever. After an hour or so, we headed over to the Opry house to watch show choirs. We saw middle schools as well as women's choirs on Thursday night. We headed back to the hotel and a lot of us went and chilled in the hot tub (haha, a more accurate statement would be we cooked in the hot tub). We went to bed around 11:30--we had a big day ahead of us.
Day Two: Let's Show 'Em What We Got
After getting a good night's sleep and plenty to eat for breakfast, we headed over to the Opry House around 10:00 AM. We were scheduled to perform last that morning, at 1:30 PM. So for a couple of hours, we watched show choirs from all over the nation, including one from Fairfield, OH. We were awed at how fantastic some of the groups were, and each show we saw was unique and had a lot of good features. At 1:00, we headed to the warm up room. We were all hyped up, the nerves took over. Adrenaline began to rush as we stepped out onto the a world-famous stage, where people become stars all the time. Performing live at the Grand Ole Opry was like nothing I've ever experienced before. The feeling of doing something that so many famous people have done and so few non-famous people get to do was amazing. The classic barn backround was just behind the curtain of the band, the wood circle from the original Grand Ole Opry was placed right in the center of the stage, with dust from Hank William Jr.'s boots still on it. I looked out into the audience, and for a moment, I felt like a star. I felt like I was watching a live country music concert at home, on TV, where I have seen the Grand Ole Opry so many times.
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| Image provided by Google Images. |
After performing, we got our pictures taken and then we headed back into the auditorium. We were surprised by lots of clapping and cheering--even a standing ovation. The crowd loved us. We went to take our seats for awards, anxious to know whether or not we made finals. As they began to announce awards, we found out that we won best band, and everyone cheered. Finally they announced the finalists--the tension built as they named five groups and none of them were us. One last chance, we thought. Luckily, the sixth name they called was Happiness, Inc.
After awards, we headed back to the hotel to explore. We had the entire rest of the day to do whatever, 7 hours of free time. My friends and I headed across the street to the Opryland Mall for some shopping. After grabbing a bite to eat, we spent an hour in the gigantic Forever 21, each of us buying clothes there. After that, we ate ice cream and headed back to the hotel. We joined the other show choir members for a while in the hot tub, and then we explored the hotel and took pictures. Finally, we headed to bed. We were all so psyched for finals--but we were then placed in second behind Fairfield. We were determined to fix whatever we could for finals and we hoped we could win Nationals.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
All-State Jazz Auditions
It's been nearly a week since I've blogged. Oh my gosh, I am so far behind.
Anywho, for the last couple of months, my jazz choir has spent part of every rehearsal learning scales, rehearsing a prepared piece, and most recently, learning our individual solos.We spent day after day learning the right notes and rhythms, starting at lower tempos and increasing until we reached the quarter note equaling 260 beats per minute (which is really fast!). No one at my school had ever auditioned for all state jazz choir before, so it was a brand new experience for everyone.
On Monday, we had rehearsal for three and a half hours. The first hour was spent doing a sort-of cabaret, in which everyone sang their individual solos for the entire group. This was easily the most life-changing part of the entire all state experience for me. One by one, I watched and listened to my peers singing their solos. Each and every one of them sounded amazing--I could never top it. When my name was finally called to sing my solo, my nerves had gotten the best of me. I was shaking as I walked to the stage and felt every pair of eyes, all thirteen of them, on me. My solo track began to play and I began to sing. Immediately I saw one of the most talented members of the group turn to the person next to her (also one of our stars) and whisper something. Oh gosh, I thought, they're talking about how awful I sound. How I shouldn't even have made jazz choir. How I don't have a pretty voice like everyone else.
Finally, my solo was over, and I felt the cold sweat on my face. I walked back to my seat as my fellow jazz members clapped and cheered, and sat down---wait, they were clapping and cheering? for me?--must be a joke, I thought. No, I think they actually enjoyed my solo.
Afterward, the girl who whispered to her friend while I was singing (the star of our group) came right up to me and said, "I never heard you sing until today. We all doubted you because you're so quiet, but you are really talented." I was nearly in shock. The best performer in the jazz choir, and possibly the entire school, just complimented me on my singing. Maybe she's just saying that, but maybe, just maybe, I'm not as bad as I thought.
I didn't make all state jazz. I didn't even get a recall. My audition was at 7:44 AM on Tuesday. I went in to the designated room, sang my scales, my solo, and the prepared piece. I probably failed the sight singing (who doesn't?) but I aced the rhythms. I felt good about my audition, and I still didn't have a chance at all state. But it doesn't matter, because I know that I'm still a good singer. What my fellow jazz members thought and said about my voice meant much more to me than a list with a mere twenty names on it.
Anywho, for the last couple of months, my jazz choir has spent part of every rehearsal learning scales, rehearsing a prepared piece, and most recently, learning our individual solos.We spent day after day learning the right notes and rhythms, starting at lower tempos and increasing until we reached the quarter note equaling 260 beats per minute (which is really fast!). No one at my school had ever auditioned for all state jazz choir before, so it was a brand new experience for everyone.
On Monday, we had rehearsal for three and a half hours. The first hour was spent doing a sort-of cabaret, in which everyone sang their individual solos for the entire group. This was easily the most life-changing part of the entire all state experience for me. One by one, I watched and listened to my peers singing their solos. Each and every one of them sounded amazing--I could never top it. When my name was finally called to sing my solo, my nerves had gotten the best of me. I was shaking as I walked to the stage and felt every pair of eyes, all thirteen of them, on me. My solo track began to play and I began to sing. Immediately I saw one of the most talented members of the group turn to the person next to her (also one of our stars) and whisper something. Oh gosh, I thought, they're talking about how awful I sound. How I shouldn't even have made jazz choir. How I don't have a pretty voice like everyone else.
Finally, my solo was over, and I felt the cold sweat on my face. I walked back to my seat as my fellow jazz members clapped and cheered, and sat down---wait, they were clapping and cheering? for me?--must be a joke, I thought. No, I think they actually enjoyed my solo.
Afterward, the girl who whispered to her friend while I was singing (the star of our group) came right up to me and said, "I never heard you sing until today. We all doubted you because you're so quiet, but you are really talented." I was nearly in shock. The best performer in the jazz choir, and possibly the entire school, just complimented me on my singing. Maybe she's just saying that, but maybe, just maybe, I'm not as bad as I thought.
I didn't make all state jazz. I didn't even get a recall. My audition was at 7:44 AM on Tuesday. I went in to the designated room, sang my scales, my solo, and the prepared piece. I probably failed the sight singing (who doesn't?) but I aced the rhythms. I felt good about my audition, and I still didn't have a chance at all state. But it doesn't matter, because I know that I'm still a good singer. What my fellow jazz members thought and said about my voice meant much more to me than a list with a mere twenty names on it.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Welcome Back to Life.
Wow, it has been a while since I've blogged. For those of you who noticed my absence, no worries, I've just been extremely busy. It's going to be challenging to get six posts in the next week, but with spring break beginning this weekend it should take some of the pressure off. So since I haven't blogged in while, I'll just kind of ramble on about new things in my life.
The Hunger Games. You may have read the series. You may have not. I have spent the last couple of weeks reading the series for the first time. I believe I wrote about it in a post a couple weeks ago when I was reading the first one. Anyway, I certainly recommend the entire series. It's a fairly quick, easy read and it's great if you like fiction/action books. The series offers many twists and turns and certainly a lot of combat. However, I must be somewhat critical. I felt that the first book was absolutely outstanding--I was practically demanding more when I finished--and then I was somewhat disappointed when I got to the second and third books. Also, my ratings for the books descended in chronological order. I'd give the first book, oh, four and half out of five stars. I'd give the second book 3 and a half. And the third book (which I am not quite but almost finished with, so this rating is subject to change) I would give about a 3. The books aren't bad, and I would recommend them to almost anyone, but I guess the first book set my expectations for the series very high, and I was slightly disappointed.
School Dances. Last Friday night, my school held its annual WPA (Women Pay All) dance in the small gym. Being to five school dances prior to ths one, I felt that this was probably the best one, at least location-wise. The small gym is much better than the cafeteria in that it's actually bigger (despite the name 'small gym') and it is much, much cooler. Yet to me, school dances are kind of becomming overrated. What's so great about hanging out in a gym with sweaty people that are way too close for comfort? Or spending two and half hours doing your hair when it's going to be ruined in ten minutes anyway. It just doesn't make sense to me anymore, although I am looking forward to prom. Prom will be different, right? It's not held in the school, the dress and hair are more expensive, the boys wear tuxes. Yeah, prom will be better.
Show Choir. The 2012 show choir season has now passed its boiling point and is coming to a slow simmer. We leave for nationals exactly one week from today, at two o' clock in the morning (best part of show choir). We'll be in Nashville for three days, two of which will be spent performing in the Grand Ole Opry theatre. I couldn't be more excited to perform on the very stage where legends from all over the world (and most of the country music folks) have given outstanding performances. But most of all I'm thankful for a school that has a choir program that can actually take trips like this one. We are able to compete and show off what we do to a national audience. How many people can say they've performed in the Grand Ole Opry? (Besides all the famous people, of course.) After nationals, when we return home to boring old Iowa, show choir comes to nearly a dead halt. We have no evening rehearsals until May, and our class time was cut off at the beginning of March. This leaves room for my next topic:
Show Choir Auditions. The show choir audition process at my school is what I describe to be a catastophe. There are hundreds (literally hundreds) of people who try out for show choir each year. More people try out for show choir and don't get in than the number of people who do get in. It's simple: you sing a song, you dance a dance, you get callbacks. But it's so much more than just that too, as your personality, attitude, contributions, ect. are all taken account of. So many talented people just don't make the cut at my school. Like our director says: it's a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we have the talent and the resources to do what we do. In fact, we have an abundance of talent and resources. A curse because there just aren't enough spots for everyone. So if show choir auditions aren't enough to get my blood flowing:
All State Jazz Auditions. Certainly are. We've been preparing for them for months, and yet I still don't feel that my scales, solo, and prepared piece are good enough. The auditions are on Tuesday, yes, in five days. Only sixteen people out of the hundreds in the state that try out make it in. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be a member of the all-state jazz choir, but I honestly don't think I've got what it takes. I know, I know, self confidence and all that. But I am confident. Just not about all state jazz auditions.
Work. And lastly, I was recently hired at my local Coldstone Creamery store. I've only worked twice so far, but I'm starting to get the hang of things. And I love ice cream. So that's a plus.
The Hunger Games. You may have read the series. You may have not. I have spent the last couple of weeks reading the series for the first time. I believe I wrote about it in a post a couple weeks ago when I was reading the first one. Anyway, I certainly recommend the entire series. It's a fairly quick, easy read and it's great if you like fiction/action books. The series offers many twists and turns and certainly a lot of combat. However, I must be somewhat critical. I felt that the first book was absolutely outstanding--I was practically demanding more when I finished--and then I was somewhat disappointed when I got to the second and third books. Also, my ratings for the books descended in chronological order. I'd give the first book, oh, four and half out of five stars. I'd give the second book 3 and a half. And the third book (which I am not quite but almost finished with, so this rating is subject to change) I would give about a 3. The books aren't bad, and I would recommend them to almost anyone, but I guess the first book set my expectations for the series very high, and I was slightly disappointed.
School Dances. Last Friday night, my school held its annual WPA (Women Pay All) dance in the small gym. Being to five school dances prior to ths one, I felt that this was probably the best one, at least location-wise. The small gym is much better than the cafeteria in that it's actually bigger (despite the name 'small gym') and it is much, much cooler. Yet to me, school dances are kind of becomming overrated. What's so great about hanging out in a gym with sweaty people that are way too close for comfort? Or spending two and half hours doing your hair when it's going to be ruined in ten minutes anyway. It just doesn't make sense to me anymore, although I am looking forward to prom. Prom will be different, right? It's not held in the school, the dress and hair are more expensive, the boys wear tuxes. Yeah, prom will be better.
Show Choir. The 2012 show choir season has now passed its boiling point and is coming to a slow simmer. We leave for nationals exactly one week from today, at two o' clock in the morning (best part of show choir). We'll be in Nashville for three days, two of which will be spent performing in the Grand Ole Opry theatre. I couldn't be more excited to perform on the very stage where legends from all over the world (and most of the country music folks) have given outstanding performances. But most of all I'm thankful for a school that has a choir program that can actually take trips like this one. We are able to compete and show off what we do to a national audience. How many people can say they've performed in the Grand Ole Opry? (Besides all the famous people, of course.) After nationals, when we return home to boring old Iowa, show choir comes to nearly a dead halt. We have no evening rehearsals until May, and our class time was cut off at the beginning of March. This leaves room for my next topic:
Show Choir Auditions. The show choir audition process at my school is what I describe to be a catastophe. There are hundreds (literally hundreds) of people who try out for show choir each year. More people try out for show choir and don't get in than the number of people who do get in. It's simple: you sing a song, you dance a dance, you get callbacks. But it's so much more than just that too, as your personality, attitude, contributions, ect. are all taken account of. So many talented people just don't make the cut at my school. Like our director says: it's a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we have the talent and the resources to do what we do. In fact, we have an abundance of talent and resources. A curse because there just aren't enough spots for everyone. So if show choir auditions aren't enough to get my blood flowing:
All State Jazz Auditions. Certainly are. We've been preparing for them for months, and yet I still don't feel that my scales, solo, and prepared piece are good enough. The auditions are on Tuesday, yes, in five days. Only sixteen people out of the hundreds in the state that try out make it in. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be a member of the all-state jazz choir, but I honestly don't think I've got what it takes. I know, I know, self confidence and all that. But I am confident. Just not about all state jazz auditions.
Work. And lastly, I was recently hired at my local Coldstone Creamery store. I've only worked twice so far, but I'm starting to get the hang of things. And I love ice cream. So that's a plus.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Books, Balls, and Boutonnieres
Happy Sunday. Can you believe the weekend is already over? I certainly can't. Anyway, I don't really have much to write about other than show choir and you guys are probably really bored with that so I'm just going to create this random blog post. Wow, that was a long sentence.
So I've jumped onto the bandwagon, it has happened to me, I have fallen for The Hunger Games. My friends asked me over and over again to read it, that I wouldn't regret it, that it's a great book. It's not that I didn't believe them, because I certainly trust my friends' judgement, but I used the excuse of not having any time for the longest time. Finally, on finals day, I finished one of my finals with forty minutes to spare. With nothing else to do, I grudgingly gave in and reached for the copy of the book my friend had lent me nearly a month before. After the first chapter, I was hooked, and that forty minutes felt more like five minutes. Although I still do have extreme time constraints, I am getting through the book as fast as I possibly can. I try to read a chapter or two every night before I go to bed, and I read during school whenever I get the chance. Let me just say this: if you have not yet read The Hunger Games you are seriously missing out. It may take some time out of your schedule, but overall it's a pretty fast read and it is soooo worth it. Read it. Seriously. Or I will come find you and make you read it.
Other than that, not much is new. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy of Madwomen, a book in response to the TV show Madmen. Because let's face it, I must return to non-fiction at some point. And, I have to write a book review/essay on it. Ugh. I'd rather not think about that part.
WPA is this week. That is, Women Pay All, a dance at my school in which the girls ask the guys. And pay for everything. Including dinner. Oh my goodness, that is this week. And I have not yet gotten a headband, ordered my boutonniere (yes, I did have to look up how to spell that), or made sure my dress fits right. Ah, and golf starts TOMORROW and I have not yet put golf balls in my bag or put my bag in my car or any of that fun stuff. Ugh, why do things things approach so fast? I don't understand. I guess I better put down The Hunger Games and start checking things off my to-do list.
Other than that, I don't have much to say. So good night all, and have a great week.
Other than that, I don't have much to say. So good night all, and have a great week.
Show Choir, Show Choir, and more Show Choir
Alright, so the show choir season is beginning to wind down, but this weekend we sure went out with a bang. My school attended the Jefferson Show Choir Invitational. On Friday, our jazz choir competed and placed 2nd in the jazz choir competition. Then, on Saturday, all three of our show choirs competed and achieved success. Our freshman show choir got fifth place in the prep division, competing against our very own prep group and being the only freshman group competing. Our prep group took first place in the prep division during the day, also taking all caption awards: best band, best female soloist, best male soloist, best choreography, best vocals, and overall grand champions. We also made it to finals. Our varsity group received the award for best female soloist during the daytime rounds and, not surprisingly, made it to finals as well.
During the night rounds, our prep group took 5th place out of 6 (still good considering we were the only prep group competing against 5 varsity groups) and our varsity group took grand champions as well as best choreography and best vocals. We took home roughly 15 trophies this weekend, a great addition to our already plentiful abundance. But for us, it wasn't really about the trophies. It was more about doing what we do best: entertaining our audience. Those people traveled, some of them hundreds of miles, to see us. And what would it be if we simply said, "We've got this competition in the bag, no need to even try"? We knew beforehand that we had a good chance at being very successful this weekend, yet we still put on the best shows we've done yet. Because we know that our number one job out there is not to win every award and trophy, but it is to entertain our audience and give them everything we've got. And that is why we are so successful.
During the night rounds, our prep group took 5th place out of 6 (still good considering we were the only prep group competing against 5 varsity groups) and our varsity group took grand champions as well as best choreography and best vocals. We took home roughly 15 trophies this weekend, a great addition to our already plentiful abundance. But for us, it wasn't really about the trophies. It was more about doing what we do best: entertaining our audience. Those people traveled, some of them hundreds of miles, to see us. And what would it be if we simply said, "We've got this competition in the bag, no need to even try"? We knew beforehand that we had a good chance at being very successful this weekend, yet we still put on the best shows we've done yet. Because we know that our number one job out there is not to win every award and trophy, but it is to entertain our audience and give them everything we've got. And that is why we are so successful.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Back to Blogging: What is This KONY Deal?
Hello, all. It is good to be back after over a week without blogging. It was a nice break, but now my schedule is back to normal and I'm ready to finish strong in these last few weeks of show choir. Anyway, recently the KONY 2012 campaign has been brought to the attention of nearly every person that owns a computer. Literally.
First of all, I officially have over 900 views on my blog. Back in September, when I began blogging, I had the mindset that no one would ever look at my blog. While 900 views is nothing compared to the number of views on Youtube videos and millions of views of the KONY 2012 video in just a few days, it feels great to be recognized and to know that someone out there is reading. So thanks, to those who a regular viewers of my blog and also to those who have just stumbled upon it somehow. Maybe this is your first time reading it, that I don't know. But thank you for your support :-)
So what is this "KONY 2012" thing? I'm sure you've heard about it--it's all over Facebook and Twitter. You may have watched the 30 minute video about it, about the children fighting in the army in Uganda and the evil man, Joseph Kony behind it. The campaign is a great idea and a great charity project: to raise money for projects to help solve these problems in Africa. But one of the most controversial problems is that this LRA army has been going on for a long time, like decades, and it is just now coming to the world's attention. This truly exemplifies the power that social media holds on the public. Don't take this the wrong way--I am not against the KONY campaign or any of the values and goals it has. But the problem is that this organization, the Invisible Children, hasn't given the true facts. The majority of the money raised by this organization does not actually go to directly help children in Africa. They made the 30 minute video to show the brutal side of the situation, which indeed is brutal, but it doesn't show where the money goes. So people continue to buy the kits and the T-shirts to support this cause, when what the organization really wants is a US military intervention. We sent 100 military officers there in October, which seems worth it to end the motives of one man, Joseph Kony, the mass murderer. The biggest issue present is the question of what the United States should do, as well as what the entire international community should do about Kony. The reason critics are against this campaign is their advertising--perhaps social media wasn't the way to raise awareness. Another reason is the the organization only spends a little over 30% of profit for direct intervention in Africa. So all these combined factors makes for a organization that appears a little...well, shady. So yes, something must be done to stop Kony. Support, but only in the correct ways. And social media...arg. Not the best way to raise awareness, for there are tons and tons of ignorant people on the internet. I'm not rallying support against Kony, but more against the Invisible Children organization. It's just smart to know the facts, people.
Sources for this post:
Jezebel.com
Csmonitor.com
Google Images
First of all, I officially have over 900 views on my blog. Back in September, when I began blogging, I had the mindset that no one would ever look at my blog. While 900 views is nothing compared to the number of views on Youtube videos and millions of views of the KONY 2012 video in just a few days, it feels great to be recognized and to know that someone out there is reading. So thanks, to those who a regular viewers of my blog and also to those who have just stumbled upon it somehow. Maybe this is your first time reading it, that I don't know. But thank you for your support :-)
So what is this "KONY 2012" thing? I'm sure you've heard about it--it's all over Facebook and Twitter. You may have watched the 30 minute video about it, about the children fighting in the army in Uganda and the evil man, Joseph Kony behind it. The campaign is a great idea and a great charity project: to raise money for projects to help solve these problems in Africa. But one of the most controversial problems is that this LRA army has been going on for a long time, like decades, and it is just now coming to the world's attention. This truly exemplifies the power that social media holds on the public. Don't take this the wrong way--I am not against the KONY campaign or any of the values and goals it has. But the problem is that this organization, the Invisible Children, hasn't given the true facts. The majority of the money raised by this organization does not actually go to directly help children in Africa. They made the 30 minute video to show the brutal side of the situation, which indeed is brutal, but it doesn't show where the money goes. So people continue to buy the kits and the T-shirts to support this cause, when what the organization really wants is a US military intervention. We sent 100 military officers there in October, which seems worth it to end the motives of one man, Joseph Kony, the mass murderer. The biggest issue present is the question of what the United States should do, as well as what the entire international community should do about Kony. The reason critics are against this campaign is their advertising--perhaps social media wasn't the way to raise awareness. Another reason is the the organization only spends a little over 30% of profit for direct intervention in Africa. So all these combined factors makes for a organization that appears a little...well, shady. So yes, something must be done to stop Kony. Support, but only in the correct ways. And social media...arg. Not the best way to raise awareness, for there are tons and tons of ignorant people on the internet. I'm not rallying support against Kony, but more against the Invisible Children organization. It's just smart to know the facts, people.
 |
| Basically sums it up. |
Sources for this post:
Jezebel.com
Csmonitor.com
Google Images
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