The End of the Beginning of the Rest of my Life

     As I told the class, I was a Teacher Cadet my senior year. Taking this class was possibly the smartest and most rewarding decision I could have possibly made. I was able to go out into the field and experiment through teaching different grades, and teaching different subjects. When I knew that I could not see myself teaching anything else besides music I set up my practicum with my mentor and high school chorus director, Rusty Keesler. He opened his class of all freshman guys to my observation and experimentation. (And yes Dr. Vaneman, they did love me.) I was allowed teach the class about IPA and to conduct on the Christmas concert and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I realized at this moment there was nothing else I could do to make myself happier without performing. So, for my project I chose to reflect this in a foldable that I learned to create during this class. One of the many projects we had to do was to turn the state standards of our chosen subject into “Foldables” as a way of relaying the information. I had to make foldables on sight singing and solfege. Fun, huh? SO for this project I decided to “teach the class” about the progression of my life thus far using a technique I know I will use in the future.
     In my past I was not eager to take risks or chances in any aspect of life. I didn’t try to make friends of music of my own. I did not try out for a solo or a part unless I knew I had it in the bag because I was afraid of failure. While I got my mom’s taste in music, I inherited my dad’s cynical mindset. I lived in the theory of “what’s the point of making friends or looking forward to things: I will only be disappointed or hurt in the end.” Quickly, I figured out that college would be the worst experience of my life if I continued to live this way. So just as quickly I tried to change and become more optimistic. And while my defining sarcasm still remains, I have found myself secretly meaning the things I say less and less.
     This semester has certainly been one of the wildest rides of my life. In one short semester I have already seen more changes in myself than I can count. I am more sociable, more willing to forgive others, more open to criticism and advice, and more willing to just complete the project without stressing for an hour and half about whether or not its good enough. I am less likely to revert back to my hermit days of staying home and studying, and only truly caring about spending time with family and my very, very, very small group of friends. I made the choice when I came here to branch out and actually try and be that girl that fits in. I hope I have accomplished this goal.
       In my voice lessons I have been more open to criticism and more likely to just go practice it and take it as advice on building upon what I am already doing well rather than a slap in the face. Dr. MacPhail has become the most helpful person in making this transition from high school and the Lawson Academy less stressful. I have seen a huge improvement in the things I can do with my voice since I’ve been here. Already, I have learned so many essential skills in one semester. MacGamut is getting a little easier, piano is becoming fun, and music history is helping me find the words I could never think of before. While fright singing and fear training still scare the living daylights out of me, and theory still gives me a very distinct headache above my right eye, I can say its not as daunting as it once was. In addition, I know these things are imperative to making my dreams come true. Teaching a class that involves sight singing and key signatures and pianos would be extremely difficult if I had no idea how to do any of that. I have to go through this torture to get to the end, and as Megan tells me all the time, “if it were easy everyone could do it.” I am looking forward to the rest of this roller coaster and finding where it takes me.

Let's Make 1889 Truly a Spirit Week!

            To me, the history and tradition behind Converse College are what makes it so beautiful. I have never in my life toured a school that talked about so many traditions. On the first day I officially visited was for a scholarship contest, and they were giving walking tours of the campus. Even though I grew up on this campus, I was still curious. On this tour they talked up all of the thousands of traditions this place carries out every year. Among these were peppermint ball, founder’s day, Big Sis/ Lil Sis week, and of course 1889 week. The tour guide made this week sound like a blast, like our spirit weeks in high school but much more fun and involved. But to be honest. I was slightly disappointed. I expected this week to be insane and filled with social activities around the clock. Even Dr. Vaneman said the week would be crazy and to be prepared to decide what social events to attend. Turns out, I had no problem at all prioritizing my time because there was really nothing to do. I expected the school to be completely decorated like it was for Big Sis/ Lil Sis week. (I actually felt more pride during that week). I figured 1889 week would be so much bigger.
So, I am suggesting that 1889 week actually live up to its hype. The school should be ten times more decorated than it was for Big Sis/ Lil Sis week. Along with the other class competitions, I think that each class should decorate a part of campus, as well as their banners. I can imagine streamers and chalk everywhere and classes up in the middle of the night to decorate in secret.
I also think that 1889 week should have theme days, with class competitions of who had the best costumes for each day, which would be added in to the final tally. The theme days could be anything, dress up like a valkary, dress up like to match your twin from Big Sis/ Lil Sis week, and so on. There are endless possibilities to the themes and the fun. Each theme day could also have an event that went along with it, either at lunch, dinner, or later in the evening to bring all members of the college together. For example, on twin day we could hold three legged races for each set of twin, with one or two groups representing each class, and the winners get points, or just having a movie showing on the quad each night. Also, the dance at the end could use a little renovation. Having the event off campus makes it difficult to attend or even find the dance. I know I had a hard time. Perhaps next year the dance should be in a more accessible location.
1889 week is about class competition, fundraising, and service, but ultimately about bringing the school together for some collegiate fun. Having little to nothing to do during this week makes it, frankly, a dud. I’m suggesting that we should add a little pizzazz to 1889 and accomplish that goal. Adding social events each day, rather than on the weekend, will help 1889 live up to its reputation and will be a lot more to look forward to.