Choir Fest :)

Yesterday was the day of the All Conference Choir Festival, Choir Fest for short. I had begrudgingly waited for a week for the day to arrive and when it finally did I was in foul spirits. I tried everything I could to avoid it even going so far as bribery. “Mommmmmmmmm!” I whined, “Can I please just forget to set my alarm?” I asked as I crawled into bed Monday night, her answer was a less then loving eye roll and a “go to bed”. The next morning I tried again saying “If I can stay home I will clean the house!” but still, she wouldn’t take the bait. I had no choice, I had to go to Choir Fest.

Why was I dreading it so much? As far as I was concerned it was going to be boring and about as awful as visit to the dentist where you discover that you have a cavity the size of Jupiter. I had been to previous Choir Fests in the past and each and every time I had almost fallen asleep of fainted from heat stroke (400 kids in one gym equals about 400 furnaces set to high in one room). I hadn’t had any fun and why would I want to do something where I wasn’t having fun? I definitely did not. I would have rather gone to school and that says a lot.

As I said though, I had to go. My mother had revoked my constitutional rights and I was doomed to spend 8 hours of my day and night singing until my throat hurt. So I walked onto the bus, took a seat by some of my fellow choir kids and away I went. Something strange happened though between the time I got on the bus to go to Guthrie Center and when I got off back home in good ol’ Van Meter: I had actually had some fun. Not jumping around in a bouncy house sort of fun, but it still counted! I hadn’t wanted to crawl under the bleachers and take a nap more then once and I hadn’t sat frowning continuously all day like I had assumed I would. I had sung better then I ever had before and I had laughed out loud throughout the day! All in all, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had assumed it would be.

I learned an important lesson from my experience with Choir Fest. Things can surprise you. People can surprise you. Experiences can surprise you! Therefore, having a negative attitude gets you nowhere. Its better to approach whatever you do with a smile and good vibes in your belly. Something I am going to try my hardest to do from now on! ☺

Memories :)

I cheered my last sporting event ever this week. It wasn’t the last time that I was to put on my uniform and adorn my hair with my bow (that will come this Saturday), but I felt the impact of that moment all the same. I didn’t cry, I didn’t make a scene, I just stood there; and remembered. I remembered how when I was a sophomore I was as pale as a ghost and as loud as a firework. I remembered how happy I was performing on the UNI Dome field as a part of Honor Squad and how excited I was to throw a basket toss with two of the funniest girls I have ever met. I remembered how cold it was last year and how Ben and Nic would turn around and make fun of my very red and very frozen nose. Most of all though, I remembered all the times spent with my favorite people: the girls I cheered with.
Sometimes we fought, sometimes we got cranky but it never lasted because more often then not someone would do something dumb and we would all start laughing as if nothing had ever torn us apart in the first place. We are the girls who made “dike” an affectionate term. I fell on my ass with these girls. I have laughed until I have cried with them and shared pretty much every boy drama I have ever had with them. Not one of them knows how much each of them mean to me. Then is when I started tearing up. Not because I was no longer a cheerleader though, but because I have made more memories as a cheerleader then during any other time in my life. I’ll always have those memories, even when the uniform is gone. :)