Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Short post because I feel obligated to post about Halloween.  My best friends and I went as crayons.  My mom made the costumes and they are seriously killing it.  We looked cute and didn't freeze our butts off!
Halloween was fun, and I can't wait til next year!

#tbt

A little throwback for my return to blogging.  College has been crazy, and I am getting so stressed.  I have actually started working out #wut, just to help with my stress levels.  Its a lot of work to have the Marching Illini, classes, homework, clubs and other activities to do.  It really gets to be a lot.

Sometimes, I wish we could all just go back to kindergarten...or middle school when we all got along, and I wish I could bake a cake made out of rainbows and butterflies...sorry guys I just have a lot of feelings!

But actually, I wish I could go back to Kindergarten.  Where I'd wake up and eat some cereal with my family, then sit on my mommy's lap while I continued to wake up.  Then, once I was awake, I would work at my own desk in Mommy's office.  I would cut shapes out of paper, I would color, or I would find some craft or activity to keep me (hopefully quietly) occupied.  After lunch, I would get on the little yellow school bus for afternoon kindergarten, where the toughest part of my day was whether or not I would get to play at a certain station.  When I got home,  I got to play with my dolls, eat dinner, "get married" (a nightly ritual involving my whole family), then go to bed.

I didn't have to worry about what grades I was getting.  I didn't have to worry about making sure I got enough sleep.  I didn't have to stress about relationships.  I didn't have to worry about when I should do my laundry. Life was simple.

AUSTIN MAHONEEEEEEE

OH EMMMM GEE!  A week ago from tomorrow, I won tickets to see Austin Mahone in September. That was literally the highlight of my summer.  Well, maybe not, but it was a pretty awesome experience!

When my friend Lexie (shout out to her for introducing me to this God of an artist) told me there was a contest on 103.5 KISSFM, I figured there was no way we could win.  Nooooo way.   A big Chicago radio station? We were just going to be one in a million (well maybe not a million), and we would never be the call that got answered.

But, I still held on to hope, and listened to the Top 5 iHeart radio countdown, and when Eric said to call in, I had my dad start dialing his phone, and I started dialing my phone and my mom's phone.  All of sudden, my dad goes "Emily! Emily!"...Eric had answered his call!

"Hello there! Who is this?"
"This is Emily"
"Well, hey Emily! Now, lets play a little word association, I said AUSTIN MAHONE, you say?"
"YAYYYYYY!!!!!" (I literally scream this...)
"Okay..."yayyy"....Hahahahaha.  Alright, well it sounds like you might have some idea of whats going on here.  I am going to pick a random number from the countdown tonight, and all you have to do is tell me what song it was, and you get two tickets to see AUSTIN MAHONE!"
"Okay! I am so ready" (I am also shaking!)
"Alright how about...hmmm...number 3?"
"That was Break Free by Ariana Grande!"
"And....."
"And Zedd!"
"Emily, you just won two tickets to see Austin Mahone on September 14!" (I actually didn't remember what he said, I was too much in a daze.  Luckily I was on speakerphone and my dad was able to fill me in.)
"YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" (I imagine my entire neighborhood heard me yell this time.)

I was then put on hold so that they could get my information in a minute, and I began skipping around my house in circles.  Then, my dad started to receive another phone call.  And the call dropped! I immediately began tweeting the DJ and calling them back.  Luckily Eric remembered me and took down my information.

I mean this was such an exciting experience, and I am so excited for the concert this September!

Also, if you haven't heard of Austin Mahone, here is a link to his Youtube Channel.  My personal favorite songs are "Banga! Banga!" and "Shadow", but all his music is really great!

https://www.youtube.com/user/AustinMVEVO

Attention! Attention! ATTENTION!

My college plans are panning out perfectly.

First of all, I received notice on December 13 (Friday the thirteenth...oooo scary), that i was accepted to both Purdue University and the University of Illinois.  I of course, had to make my dad sweat a little, and considered my options.  But only for about a week.  I accepted my offer from the University of Illinois as a business unassigned major on December 20.  It was pretty exciting.
I then received an invitation to interview for the Business Honors program! It was pretty exciting.  My interview is this Saturday, so keep your fingers crossed.
On February 1, I auditioned for the Marching Illini.  The following Wednesday,  I received an email from Professor Barry Houser inviting me to join the band for pre-season camp in August.
College is only 6 months away, and although I'm nervous, I'm glad all this is happening and that I am getting so many incredible opportunities.

Easy, breezy, beautiful...Florida

I am currently riding a boat...wait no...I'm sitting in my office at home. I just feel like I'm on a boat, or a roller coaster, or a simulator.  The world is spinning around me.  I can probably blame this on the fact that I spent around 20 hours on a bus driving home around Florida.  The band (and me!!!!) took a trip to Disney World to perform in a parade down Main Street USA, and to participate in a clinic.  The trip was so much fun.  I managed to fulfill a life-long dream of mine (at least since I was a little girl), of meeting Sleeping Beauty.  It was so great.  I finally like roller coasters and simulators, and so I rode every ride possible, and I had so much fun.  My only issue is the sleeping on the bus part - definitely not my cup of tea.
Another the reason the trip was sooo much fun is the people I was with.  They were my neighbors for the trip.  We were seat partners, roommates in the hotel, and just people to spend time with.

This is my bus partner. He was my cuddle buddy, ride buddy, and my pillow for a lot of the trip.  He stood in line for forty five minutes with me waiting to meet Sleeping Beauty.  He hugged me, he let me sleep on him on the bus while he stayed up all night, and helped me to have the best trip possible.

This is my best friend, bus neighbor, and sleeping buddy on the trip.  She and I never stopped.  We were there to ride the rides, even if we weren't always tall enough.  We experienced some awkward moments sleeping together...but hey, we made it through.

Here some of my other pictures, from the beach, from Magic Kingdom, and of course, meeting Sleeping Beauty.  Spending six days with these people was great, and I'm so glad that they were my neighbors.

Anxiety

This past weekend, I auditioned for the Marching Illini. It was nerve-wracking and I am so anxious waiting for the results of my audition.  My audition went really well, and my brother made a point of saying it was better than his.  He’s one of the two marching section leaders for the trombone section, and will hopefully be my section leader.  He has a good connection with the Marching Illini director, Barry Houser, and I want him to ask Proffesor Houser about my audition.  In my head the conversation would go like this:
Aaron: Hey Professor Houser!
Professor Houser: Hey there Aaron! How ya doin’?
Aaron: I’m good-except for that awful loss last night.  That game was just plain bad.  This team seriously needs to improve.   Have you sent any emails this week?
Prof. Houser: I know they need to step up their game or we’re definitely not going to the Tournament this year.  Emily is pretty anxious isn’t she?
Aaron:  Ya, she’s just sitting around waiting for your email.
Prof. Houser: Well I’m sure she doesn’t have anything to worry about

My BFFL

So I have the awesomest friend ever and her name is Kelli.  She listens to my endless number of rants about everything from band to food to people.  She is the best and I don't know what I would do without her. My life would be completely over.