Thursday, March 22, 2012

Confirming Enrollment

Well, folks, I finally made a decision.
I'm going to Belmont University!


I am SO ridiculously excited.
How am I going to survive the last 8 weeks of high school? I have no friggin' idea.

After a loooong talk on the balcony of our condo at Pigeon Forge, my parents and I decided that every aspect of Belmont is perfect for me. I am so proud/excited to be a Belmont bruin!!


That's right!

MY NEW HOME.
Yeah, yeah, you know I couldn't get through my enrollment confirmation without taking some cheesy photos!

I am SO thankful to God for making this possible and to my parents for being so supportive! My parents never really made me feel like I had to choose another school because of the money. I'm so blessed  that they are letting me go to my dream school.

Thanks for following my college decision process, friends! I'm so lucky to call Belmont home!


Monday, March 19, 2012

Spring Break Update

Hello everyone! I am posting this blog from Pigeon Forge, TN, where my parents and I are spending our spring break. This is the second week of my school's break, and I am so glad to be spending it here. Well, the title says it's an update, so here goes.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, THS hosted the MTSBOA (Middle TN School Band and Orchestra Association) Concert Performance Assessment. Bands from southern middle TN came to THS to play their concert music and be graded on it. We had to have a LOT of student volunteers to make this work. We needed people to set up the stage for each band, people to work at the registration desk, judges' assistants, and band guides... Each band had an assigned warm-up time, performance time, and sight-reading time. Each of these activities was in a different location. SO, the band guides had to lead the bands to each room. That was my job. I loved it! I got to observe several band directors. I saw plenty of good things that directors did with their bands. I enjoyed volunteering, even though it took up an entire two days of my much-needed break from school.

On Friday, I went to my cousin Kacy's wedding rehearsal dinner. I got to meet the other bridesmaids, eat a great meal (Kacy had picked the menu and we love the same foods), and run through the wedding a couple of times. I had never even BEEN to a wedding before, and so the rehearsal was new to me! To be honest, I really had no idea what was going on for a really long time. By the last run through, though, I understood everything. Or mostly everything.

The wedding was Saturday, and it was beautiful. It was at the theater at Motlow State C.C. and the colors were dark red and black. The theme was Disney. All the bridesmaids and Kacy got to Motlow several hours early to chill and start getting ready. The other bridesmaids were super friendly and the time flew by. The ceremony was wonderful. I didn't legitimately cry, but I got teary eyed several times... when Kacy came down the aisle, when Jeremy sang to Kacy, and when someone introduced my cousin as "Kacy Wilson." That's definitely going to take some getting used to! I am so glad Kacy found her match. I'm super happy for them. I wish them all the best!
Sorry I don't have any photos of the wedding. I'll make another post after Kacy posts her pictures on Facebook so I can steal them, hehe! Here's a little picture my mom took of me before the ceremony.
I LOVE THIS DRESS. I can totally wear it to other fancy functions! And look! WE GOT TO WEAR FLATS!! Thanks, Kacy, for not making us wear ugly dresses and heels. And look at the adorable Minnie ears and necklace :)
College Decision Update
  • Do I have a college decision? No.
  • Do I have more scholarship information? Yes: a music scholarship from Belmont - and I'm almost positive my TTU music scholarship is in my mailbox at home right now.
  • Am I very, very close to making a decision? Yes.
  • Have I talked everything over with my parents? Yes.

    Right now, my parents and I have pretty much come to a conclusion about where I will be spending the next four years. We are extremely excited, but we don't want to "make it public" until after we have sent in an enrollment confirmation. Get ready for a cliche here... I feel as though the world has been lifted off my shoulders. My anxiety and nervousness is gone because the uncertainty is gone. Basically, I am 99.9% sure of where I will be going this fall, and the only reason I'm not screaming it from the rooftops is that I want to wait until everything is official. After that, I will be sure to make a new blog post.

    See you soon, everyone! Thanks for reading!
    Remember: Never give up; you never know who is looking up to you.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Keeping on the sunny side in early spring

Hello again, faithful readers! Sorry it's been so long, but I try to wait to post until after there have been several exciting events in my life. Gotta keep my posts exciting!

Well, first of all.. IT'S ALMOST SPRING BREAK!! Yeah! I have two exams: one Thursday morning and one Friday morning. Friday afternoon I have to stay to set up for a huge event at the high school... but we will get to that later. After that, though, I'm free for two weeks! I am so excited! It's a little bittersweet, though, because after break I only have about 30 days of high school left. 30 days with wonderful teachers, 30 days of mandatory attendance, 30 days with the greatest principal ever, and 30 days to be in the Tullahoma Band... Yeah, that last one makes me cry every time. Anyway, let's get to what's been happening in my life lately.

Right after my last post, I went to the Mock Trial regional competition in Columbia. We worked SO HARD and we did great, but we didn't come home with the trophy. Some members were disappointed and sad, but I felt indifferent. I wouldn't have been able to go to the state competition because of my cousin's wedding, anyway. And hey, you win some, you lose some. Tullahoma had won the regional competition 6 years in a row, so it was time for another school to experience the state competition! I am happy for Columbia Academy and hope they do well!
Sorry I don't have any pictures from the event; it was a busy day, and we didn't have much time for pictures!

The Saturday after Mock Trial (last Saturday) was SUPER busy. My cousin Kacy had a family luncheon at Miss Mary Bobo's in Lynchburg to celebrate her wedding. It was the last time we would all be together before the rehearsal dinner! It was my first time to go to that restaurant. The food was INCREDIBLE, but I couldn't eat too much because I was in a pageant later that night. Here are some photos from the luncheon...
Kacy, our grandpa, and me.. He is the best Papa ever!
Me, our grandma, and Kacy. I love you Nanny!!
I can't wait to go back to Miss Bobo's when I can eat as much as I want! The food was so yummy. Fried chicken, okra, potatoes, chess pie, baked apples... If you haven't gone, you definitely should plan a trip there soon.

That night, I competed in the Miss Tullahoma pageant. This year was not nearly as stressful as last year because I wore the same dress and shoes that I wore last year. Also, I basically replicated my spray tan, make-up, and hairstyle from homecoming, so I was really comfortable with the way I looked. Here are some pics!
This is me after my make-up and hair appointments. Spray tan: Sunshine Shack, Make-up: Merle Norman, hair: JP Designs, and nails (which, sadly, aren't in any of my photos): Cali Nails.
This is me and my good friend Kaitlyn. She got 4th runner-up!! Congrats Kaitlyn!
This one was taken by Mrs. Jo Todd. Thanks Mrs. Todd! 
Well, I had a blast at the pageant! I was thrilled when I was chosen to be in the top 20 (there were 32 participants), and ecstatic to be in the top 10!! The top 10 had to answer an on-stage question. Thankfully, we had received copies of the questions the day before the pageant. My question was, "What do you think schools can do to encourage healthy lifestyles for teenagers?" My answer was something along the lines of, "Schools should offer physical education classes and healthful food. Your lifestyle isn't just the way you live at school, though, so parents also have a large responsibility in encouraging healthy and active lifestyles for their teenagers." And then some kind of concluding sentence. I honestly don't even remember answering the question... I was just trying to remember to breathe! I am so thankful for my experience in Distinguished Young Women (formerly known as Junior Miss).. without it I would not have been able to answer that question.
I got several compliments about my answer, but I guess the judges didn't think it was too great. I didn't get in the top 5. I probably should have stuck to answering the question instead of giving my opinion... But I really don't think schools can do that much to keep kids healthy; parents have to do that at home. Oh well. I really like the girl who won Miss Tullahoma.. She is a great friend and she will represent well.

My next big event was last night (Tuesday night). It was the Middle Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association Concert Festival. Wow, that's a mouthful! Anyway, the THS Symphonic Band (the higher-level concert band at THS) traveled by CHARTER BUS to MTSU to play our concert music for judges. We left school right after rehearsal. We got to MTSU and watched 2 or 3 bands perform, and then the chaos started! Well, it wasn't really chaos; they pretty much have it down to a science. We had 30 minutes to warm up. This included tuning, individual warm-up, and running through difficult parts of the music. Then, we got on stage. We performed Grade 6 literature. Band music is rated on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being the most difficult. Needless to say, our music was pretty hard! We performed really well, though.
Then, we went to the sight reading room. There, we got folders with music inside. When the judge said OK, we took the music out of the folder and got to look at it for the first time. We had 8 minutes to look over the music - we use some time to look at it individually, and then our director runs through it with us. During the 8 minutes, we can do anything EXCEPT play our instruments. After the 8 minutes, we play the music.

Well, we knew that we did well on our prepared music, but the sight reading was pretty shaky. We got all superior scores, though!! Superior is the highest score you can receive, and we got it in every single category  (including tone, intonation, accuracy, etc.) Today we listened to the judges' tapes, and they hardly had any criticisms! I am super proud of this band for putting in so many hours of hard work and for being completely dedicated to these pieces of music. If you're curious, we played Valdres (a Norwegian march) and The Hounds of Spring.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, my school will be hosting the 3rd week of the MTSBOA Concert Festival. Several bands will come to THS to go through the same process we went through at MTSU. I'm eager to work at this event because I want to meet band directors, see my friends from other schools, and hear other band programs. It will be a lot of work, but it will get our school on the map. I'm excited to show off our amazing state-of-the-art auditorium! :)

Sorry for the lack of photos in this blog.. But here's a nice picture I took of myself this morning! Hehe.

Okay, so no, Bisby didn't win the mayoral election this year. But I still support him and I love this shirt my boyfriend gave me!
COLLEGE DECISION UPDATE!
My latest piece of information was an acceptance letter from Belmont's School of Music. The acceptance didn't come with any scholarship notification, though.
Both TTU and Belmont will let me know about music scholarships around March 15. Hopefully I will receive the letters before leaving for vacation! I am just beyond ready to know which school I'm attending. I want to start planning my dorm room decorations, housing situation, meal plan, etc. 
Thank goodness for Pinterest! That site helps me immensely with dorm room ideas!
So basically, this college decision update isn't much of an update. This process is painstakingly slow! I just continue to pray for patience and the ability to be happy with whichever school I have to attend.
Keep in touch; scholarships and decisions should be happening very soon.

Thanks for reading, friends! And keep smiling!