Nashville Part 2

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.