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