Mission Accomplished: Kate Found

I finally found the legendary Kate Murphy. She's in my tap class! For those of you who don't know who she is...Karen, Elizabeth, and my friend Elissa told me to find her. She's from Southridge High School. She's a musical theatre major. She's really nice.

Speaking of tap class...it was fun. It wasn't too challenging as in the steps weren't new; however, the steps were put differently. Like we did some cincinatti's and slap backs crossing over as opposed to going straight back. I know that probably means nothing to most of you, but eh. Anywho, I like the teacher. Her name is Sue. We did a fun combination. I caught on pretty quick, which is cool because I don't usually catch on to tap combos that easily. I think I'm going to like dancing here.

Tonight Breanne and I took Phaedra out for her birthday. She doesn't turn 19 til Sunday, but she's busy Saturday and Sunday, so tonight it was. We went to Red Lobster. Here, I found a new talent. Magnetic silverware. I think I'll go on tour. What do you think? Ok...maybe not. Anywho, the knife was magnatized. It was really entertaining.

After dinner, we went back to the dorm, where we experienced our first fire drill. Not only was it really cold...but it was really cold. Once we warmed back up in our room, Breanne and I went to Hounddog's Pizza with Elizabeth and Lenny (Phaedra had gone to church). It was pretty good pizza. Then we went to the free movie night. The feature presentation? School for Scoundrels. It was funnier than I thought it would be.

Tomorrow is going to be jam-packed with fun activities including homework, homework, and writing papers. Woohoo. I can't wait.

Lots of Love.

Modern

I finally got to dance today!!! It was a lot of fun. Not to mention it felt really good to dance again. There were some stretches I liked a lot. I felt even more flexible after doing them. However, it felt more like a jazz class.....only with contractions. I liked the dance. And as for right now, I'll be in the Intermediate/Advanced modern class. Same goes for tap. I don't know about ballet or jazz yet, but I have until the end of the quarter to get that figured out with Stella.

I had my first consciousness of homesickness this evening. Actually about 10 minutes ago. I think if anyone calls me, I might cry even more. However, I don't know this for a fact. I have mixed feelings as to if I want to call anyone or want anyone to call me. I guess I'll leave that up to you.

A week from Friday Dad comes!!!! I can't wait!!

Lots of Love.

The Amish Adventure...plus a Fair

So Amish Country. Pretty cool. I love the food!!! Can we say delish? If ever you should come this way, eat at Dutch Valley Restaurant. You won't be disappointed. Sad to say there weren't a lot of Amish people roaming the streets. I saw a few buggies and 3 people riding bikes. Other than that, they were either at home or seeling things ina store. We went to an antique shop and a candel store. At the antique shop the cashier and I struck up a conversation. He had been to Oregon before...the Columbia River Gorge to be exact. I loved the antique shop. It was really neat.

After Amish Country, Breanne, Jordan, and I went to the Tusk Co Fair...the county fair that is. It wasn't much different than the Washington County Fair....only WCF is a lot bigger. We went to the rodio. It wasn't very exciting. I mean when something actually happened it was cool...but those somethings only lasted about 3 seconds. Then nothing would happen for a long time.

After the fair, we rented Stick It. It was good.

I'm not really looking forward to going back to school. I mean I am, and I'm not. Going back means we're on week 3 of school...week 4 for my 6 week block. Going back means Dad comes soon. Going back means Nathan turns 18 on Wednesday and Kirsten and Bubba do the same on Thursday. Going back means the cell phone epidemic will be over on Tuesday. Going back means a test on Wednesday in piano. Going back means a test in Theory on Tuesday. Going back means a voice lesson on Friday. Going back means maybe getting somethign in the mail from someone...or maybe not. Going back means sending something to someone. Going back means papers to write that'll be due on Friday (most likely). Going back means being back in the same boat as Breanne...being away from home and the ones I love. Going back means I can have my cell phone charger. Going back means I can finally dance on Tuesday. Going back means it is the end of a weekend....my second weekend. Go me!

Lots of love.

The Weekend

Doing laundry
About to visit Amish country
Going to the fair
Meeting Jordan
Red Lobster
Being really full with yummy food
Not gaining the Freshman 15!
Choir rehearsal
Seeing Elizabeth :)
Forgetting my phone charger :(
Almost done with the phone trouble (aka 26th we can talk)
Working on a piano piece that is actually somewhat challenging
Having 4 songs to work on....2 Italian (I like them both!), 1 English, 1 Musical Theatre (I'm in love with this one)
Not having homework
Wishing I could see my friends, but happy that I have Breanne and Elizabeth
Nutcracker blues, though I'm happy for eveyone who got a part
Wishing I was at home doing ballet (ok, mainly partnering, but ballet in general is good too)
Wishing I had someone to cuddle with...Breanne is taken by a certain someone named Jordan
Loving my Turning Points class
Hoping to teach my B and B pas when I come home
Looking forward to Dad's visit! (only 2 weeks away!!!!!!!)
Looking forward to my birthday (only 3 weeks away....wow!)
Looking forwasrd to Nathan and Joel visiting (about 6 weeks away)
Looking forward to Elizabeth performing (yes you should be jealous. I get to see Elizabeth act!)
Realizing that I'll be home sooner than I think
Can't wait for another voice lesson
Thanks to Karen, who taught me a lot (my current voice teacher thanks her for teaching me so well. She says a lot of frosh have to work on correct placement etc. but not me cus Karen taught me all that)
Wondering what life will be like in 4 years
Should I audition again for the musical theatre program or just stay with the music program? (i'm happy where I am, but could I be even happier with muscial theatre?)
Looking forward to a call from Charlotte in a few days!

Lots of love.

Mini Recital

For my opera workshop, we had a mini recital....aka we sang for each other. I sang Chi Vuol La Zingarella. It is the song I sang junior year at State. And, I volunteered to go first. Why? For many reasons. 1) I didn't want to listen to a bunch of people and think "they're so much better than me". 2) I wanted to get it over with. 3) I wnated to set the standard for singing. 4) No one else would go, so why not go first? The whole thing was pretty interesting. There were people with amazing voices, ok voices, and please stop voices. The please stop people just needed to get rid of the nerves and I think they would have done better. I know...easier said than done. Also, only like 2 songs were repeated, so that was nice to hear different songs. One girl sang the song Kirsten sang for Solo/Ensemble her sophmore year. I like that song. Another girl sang the song Elizabeth sang senior year for Solo/Ensemble. It was pretty well done too. Anywho, after this recital, I suddenly had a strong urge to go sing some Italian songs.

Tomorrow, Breanne and I are driving to Dover...after my voice lesson. Then the next day we're going to the fair!!!! I'm really excited to eat a bunch of fatty food. Yay for fairs. On Sunday we have to be back for a choir rehearsal. Mmmmmm.

Lots of love.

Wednesday Madness

Today was ok...except for teh part where my chest muscles decided to start hurting. Don't worry; it wasn't a heart attack....just my muscles in front of my heart tensing up for some reason or other. I've had this happen before and I've had it checked out. But it hasn't happened in a long time. I guess it was a sugar overdose. The result of my muscle attack was me skipping my piano class to go to the health center to make sure I wasn't haveing a heart attack. In the end, I just had to take some advil, wait out the pain, and go back to my room and rest. I could have gone back to class, but it hurt too much to sit up. After about 30 minutes of pain, my muscles gave it a rest and I stopped hurting.... Breanne and I went to Polaris Parkway to get some things we needed after the pain stopped. So yeah, that was my excitement for today.

I have found that I have 2 dreams a night. I have one, wake up to Breanne's alarm, go back to sleep, and have another one. Last night's dream I don't remember too well. However, the hour I had to sleep after waking to Breanne's alarm I remember fairly well. I won't go into details but I had to fight a bad guy who was made of fire and save Belle. I had already fought and won this fire guy before, but for some reason I had to fight him again. However, first I had to get rid of....Barney. That's right, Barney attacked me and was on the same side as the fire guy. I don't know if I won or not because I had to get up, but I think I would have won. Well, right before I woke up Barney was on the floor. So I think I would ahve won had I not had to wake up.

The results are in. Nutcracker 2006 cast list was posted today. Brooke called me with some of the results. Unfortunately, the website won't have the list until tomorrow. Boo. From the parts I heard though, I'm really excited to see the show. I'd much rather be in it, but I'm excited for everyone's parts.

I got a package from Brooke today. I say Brooke because it had her goodybags from her party and a card from her. Along with these wonderful items, I also got a picture of me and Nathan, DVD's from home (like Into the Woods, B and B, etc.), and.....a So You Think You Can Dance sweatshirt!!!

I think that's about it. Tomorrow is my last day for sleeping in on the weekdays. Next Tuesday I go to modern to audition. From then on, my days are thus: MWF=9:30, TR=9:00. In the words of Amber Kraft....Woot.

Lots of love.

A Change in the Weather

As muh as I like changing weather, it's getting colder here. It's still September yet it's cold. If it gets cold this quickly, I wonder how winter will be. Will it be this cold...or colder? Probably colder. Oh well.....colder means snow, right? Hopefully :)

I registered for my winter and spring classes. I'm slightly irritated because I can't take an acting workshop for non-majors due to a conflict with a required music class. If I wanted to take the acting class, I would have to leave it on Thursdays early so that I could go to the music class. Unfortunately, both classes are only offered winter quarter. Oh the unfortunateness of it all. Yes that right...I made up a word.

All My Sons is a good play. You should read it, if you haven't already. Aurther Miller really knows his stuff. Well, that's about it.

Oh....I put some pictures on my myspace. You should look at them.

Lots of love.

Listen to This Song

I am in love with the muscial theatre song my voice teacher gave me. It's called Nothing Really Happened from the Broadway show Is There Really Life After High School?. I love it....a lot!!!!! Michelle, I think you'd like it a lot too. And just think, for once I'm telling you to look at a song, instead of you telling me about one. :) Anywho, I can't wait to sing this song for my teacher.

Today was interesting. I woke up at 3:45 AM with a horrible headache and neck pain. And....I had a really weird dream. Neil and Amber were in it...as was my family and a random guy that I don't know...like the brother I never had. Oh, and I can't forget about the alligators, swamps, and lots of teens. Anyway, after taking some advil, I went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30AM (like I was supposed to). I went to my classes, which were ok for the most part....I was still really tired. We had our first Camerada rehearsal. I think we sound pretty good. For my turning points class, we're reading All My Sons. From what I've read so far, I think I'll like it.

I'm at a wierd point right now. My head doesn't hurt like it did this morning, but it is on the verge of hurting. It's kind of...throbbing, I guess. Oh and Phaedra's sick...so I'm trying not to get her germs.

I'm excited for next weekend. Breanne is taking me home with her. We're going to go the Amish Country and the county fair! I can't wait. Not to mention I finally get to meet Jordan (her boyfriend).

Well....I should do something productive....haha...like that's going to happen :)

Lots of love.

Weekend One: Mission Accomplished

I did it. I survived my first weekend of this college adventure. Speaking of adventure...Breanne and I had another grand adventure today. We went to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was ok. Definitely more traditional than the 8:30 service at home :) And, one of the professors (Dr. Eckenroth) goes there. Anywho, I don't know if we'll go back next Sunday or if we'll try St. Paul Lutheran. I guess I'll wait and see. After church, we went to Old Navy (where I bought a jean jacket and a green...not pink....green shirt) and Barnes and Noble (where Breanne bought a dictionary and I bought Ella Enchanted). If I already had Ella Enchanted, why by it again you ask? Well...I've torn up the house numerous amounts of times trying to find it. But to no avail. I think grandma might have taken it with her 3 years ago when we let her read it. Oh well. Now I have a copy to read here. I love that book.

Elizabeth, Lenny, and I had Linner (dinner and lunch combined). It was good times. We ate at a pub, which had a lot of wonderful choices of food to eat. It was quite the dilemma as to which item we should choose. It ended as such: Lenny with the Fettucini Alfredo, Elizabeth with the gumbo, and me with the chicken tenders...oh and an appetizer of chicken quesadillas (or however you spell it :)).

Tonight, there was a faculty recital. It was pretty good. I enjoyed myself. One of the singers was a guest...and boy did he have a nice voice. Wow. I could listen to him all day. He sang many songs, though my favorite ones were The Impossible Dream and Bring Him Home. Another favorite of mine was the trio song from Gillbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinnefor. Oh Gillbert and Sullivan.

Well, I should get some sleep. I unfortunately have to wake up at 8:30 tomorrow. Boo.

Lots of love.

Adventures in Easton

Well ladies and gents, Breanne and I took our first adventure on the road. We drove (well, Breanne drove and I rode along) to Easton shopping center. What compelled us to do so? Well, we wanted to see a movie. So we drove to Easton and saw The Illusionist. I reccommend it highly. It was really good. I would see it again.

Before the movie, we went to Macy's and tried on some clothes. It was quite fun....especially since homecoming is around the corner so there were a bunch of dresses to try on. I ended up buying 2 shirts and a dress. I don't exactly know what I'm going to do with the dress, but I'll think of something. I'll probably wear it to go to a concert or something like that.

Breanne also had her first experience with Grader's Ice Cream. If any of you come out this way, you'll definitely need to try Grader's. I'm not kidding when I say it is the best ice cream I've ever had.

Just an FYI for anyone who wants to call me, I can't use my phone right now. So if you want to call me, find someone in my family with a cell phone. I can only talk to those on my plan (aka Mom or Aunty Bette). Oh...and you can use my dad's phone if you find Nathan. Don't worry; Mom's fixing this problem...we just don't know how long it'll take to fix. Dumb phone company.

So funny story. A friend we have made (we meaning Breanne and myself) has a crush on Breanne. Problem.....she has a boyfriend who she doesn't plan on breaking up with any time soon....well unless Tarzan comes and sweeps her off her feet. :) Oh Tarzan. Anywho, we'll see how things unfold :)

Well, tomorrow Breanne and I are going to church, then I am going to hang out with Eizabeth, and then I am going to go to a faculty recital.

Lots of love.

Hooray for Dnace Classes!!

It has been decided, by Stella Kane and myself, that I shall be taking dance classes on Tuesday andThursday this fall...and in winter and spring I'll get to take the whole thing....aka ballet, tap, jazz, and modern. This time around, I only get to take Modern and Tap...but that's ok. I'm still looking forward to it. Not this Tuesday, but next Tuesday I get to "audition" for her. I'm going into the Intermediate/Advanced modern class and she'll be there watching me. Then, with 20 minutes left of class, the teacher and Stella will check out my other technical skills. From there, I'll be placed in a level and that's what I'll sign up for in winter and spring. I'm soooooo excited!!!!

In reguards to Michelle's comment.....yes I have made friends. Go me!!!! My roommates are really cool. I'm friends with Kimberly (previously mentioned in another post). And of course Elizabeth is my friend. I've met a lot of people too. Like today, I talked with a guy named Lucas, who walked me around Battelle at my audition last June. He remembered me from the audition. So we ended up talking for a long time. And in my piano class (which is really easy right now) I met a girl named Alysia, who's taken 5 years of piano but is in this class because it's been awhile since she's played. I thikn that everyone here is pretty friendly. I like it here a lot.

Well....I should get some sleep. I have class tomorrow at 9:30.

Lots of love!

Jekyll and Hyde

I love this music. Thank you sooo much for giving me a CD, Kirsten. It is amazing. I love it!!! I'd love to sing something from this musical. Maybe I will...hmmm.

Well, today we had Women's Chorale for the first time. I don't knwo how I feel about it. I didn't really like how I couldn't hear my voice. I mean, I don't mind not hearing solely my voice, but hearing it a bit is a good thing. However, my voice was drowned in the sound of other voices....especially the crazy vibratos. I think that's one reason I'm not looking forward to college choirs. Yay for crazy vibrato.

Ooooo!!!! Good news! I can be talkative! It is possible. Today in Turning Points we had to say our favorite parts in teh film we watched on Monday. I raised my hand to go first. And I commented a lot on whatever we were talking about. I really like this class. We formed a circle so that we could talk easier. I think one reason I talked so much was because I actually enjoyed this subject...as opposed to like history, which is facinating but I'm not a history buff so I don't know a lot and therefore don't comment a lot. Anywho, I talked a lot and am sooo proud of myself for it.

I wore my Team Wench shirt today. It was so nice walking around and being teh only one who understood what "TW" stands for and why I have "Gregory" on my back. Yay TW!!!!

Tomorrow I have my first Opera Workshop. I wonder what it'll be like.

Tomorrow I also finally have a meeting with Stella Kane (the dance director). Hooray! So I might be able to take a dance class this quarter. Also, I'll hopefully be placed in one of the ongoing dance classes (the one that has levels and has 5 different classes we take...one each day). I'm excited.

Lots of love.

The Second Day...(refer to title below for the rest of this title)

So today wasn't that bad. I woke up at 7:30 and hit my head on the ceiling (my bed is against the slanted part of the ceiling). Then I went back to sleep and woke up at 10:30. It was weird waking up to no one in the room. Then I ate a little breakfast (for I knew that I would be going to lunch shortly after the class). Then I headed off to Music Theory. We took a pretest to see how much we knew. I think I did ok. I mean, I knew how to do everything on the sheet...now whether I did the questions right or not is the real question. Yeah, yeah, I used "question" twice in one sentence, but who cares? I'm not taking English :) Anywho. After the test was over, we were free to leave. So I left with an hour more to do nothing (the class is an hour and a half). I ate lunch with Breanne (roommate for those of you who don't know). We had Quizzno's. It was delicious. Then I made myself a planner, since the one the school gave me has mysteriously disappeared. Then I played the computer and watched TV. Then Phaedra (other roommate) and Breanne and I went to dinner. Then I came back and went to a practice room to sing a bit. Then came back and talked to Aunty Bette for an hour and a half. And now I'm writing a blog post. Pretty productive, huh? Basically Tuesdays are my homework days...or slack off a lot days.

Well, I have really nothing else to say. So...

Lots of love.

The First Day of My Newest Journey in Terms of School

Today was the first day of classes. Not as easy as I thought. Intro to Music may seem easy, but we have to read Ch 1-6 by next Monday, while listening to stuff in class and prepare for a quizz at any time. Sight singing/ear training is different than I thought it would be. I like the teacher, but we have homework in that too. I mean really. Who gives homework for sight singing? Then I had Turning Points. We watched Cinema Paradiso. Good movie so far. We had to write what the turning points were (up tp where we had gotten that is) and explain them and say what our favorite moments were. Then I made an appointment with my voice teacher for a lesson. My lesson is on Friday at 2:00. Kinda like highschool all over again. :) My other class I had today was beginning piano. I guess it's really beginning piano...like for people who have never ever played in their lives. Today, the prof assked if any of us had played piano. 4 of us raised our hands. All had had at least 4 years. So after class we discussed whether or not we should test out of it. I decided to stay because a little review never hurt anyone. And after all, I'd rather be a little better than the others than be really behind because I moved up. Not to mention I haven't actually studied piano for at least 9 years. So this class will be a nice reminder.

This evening we had a dorm movie night. We watched Gladiator. Near the end the weather outside turned into rain. I decided to do a rain dance...aka dance in the rain. So I got up and ran outside, barefoot, and danced around. It was glorious. However, the rain stopped soon after I went outside. It was fun while it lasted.

Tomorrow, I don't have to wake up until 10:00. Hooray for an 11:00 class.

Lots of love.

Internet Finally

For the past few days, I have been without internet access on my computer. So where have I been getting the internet from? From the computer lab downstairs in my dorm. Finally I can use the internet in the comfort of my own room.....well almost comfort. The plug is on the other side of the room adn my cable isn't that long. So as for right now, I have to sit on the floor near the plug so that I can get internet. Why not use wireless you say? Well I'm not allowed to use wireless in my dorm. I can't remember why. But in any case, I now have internet access in my room. Hooray!!!!!

Last night I spent the evening with Lenny, Jennifer, adn Elizabeth, It was a blast. We went to Easton shopping mall and ate at Max & Erma's. Really, really good.....especially the cookies. Then we saw Little Miss Sunshine. Good movie. Then we hung out for a while and then I had to go home cus I was tired and needed to take out my contacts. It was great seeing Jennifer and Lenny and Elizabeth. And, I get to see Lenny a lot. He's staying for a month here.

Last night, I also had a mental break down. First one....so I've done pretty good so far. I thoguht I'd be crying the first day I got here.

I can't wait for school to start. That way the days will fly by and before I know it, I'll be home. For right now, I'll take it in small steps....6 week chunks.

Welll, I need to go eat something.

Lots of love.

Social!!!

Yes ladies and gents. Yet another miracle from Crystal Carlisle. Today we met in our JAM teams again. In this larger group of people (for there were more than just the 10 of us this time), I met some girls named Annastasia, Pam, and Sam. We ate our picnic dinner together along with 2 other girls named Melinda and...I don't remember the other girl. However, this is where the social part comes in, we saw a boy sitting by himself, so I volunteered to ask him if he wanted to join us. He seemed relieved and unsure when I asked if he wanted to eat with us. In any case, he did join us. His name is Justin. After dinner, Melinda, Justin, Annastasia, and I went to a park and swung on the swings. It was quite fun. Then I headed back to my room and organized some more. At 8:30, we had a dorm meeting where we got to know eachother better. Then more organizing occured. Anywho, that is my exciting story for today.

This morning Mom and and went shopping for the rest of the things I needed. It took a lot longer than we thought it would. Finally, we found everything.

Tomorrow, we are being kept pretty busy. And Elizabeth comes!!!!

Lots of love.

Orientation Day

I woke up this morning feeling pretty tired. I got 6 or 7 hours of sleep,yet jet lag ruled still. As we drove off to Otterbein, my body became awake. Suddenly I became aware of my surroundings and what was to come this afternoon. We reached Otterbein and the Campus Center shortly after 8:15 (the time check-in started). After a quick continental breakfast, all of the students and parents were herded to the main theatre (I forget what it's called at the moment). The President spoke, as did the coordinator and a few other orientation leaders. This talk was informational, but not that exciting. Then the students went off with thier respective JAM (Just Ask Me) Team leaders while the parents stayed for more talking and informational sessions.

While in the JAM meetings, I was social. That's right ladies and gentlemen. It is possible. I can talk to people. Go figure. Anywho, the people in my JAM team were pretty cool. I met a musical theatre major (Tina) from Billings, Montana. For those of you who don't know my family history, my mom was from Montana and actually graduated from the same high school as Tina. Her mom also knew my uncle Steve (Mom's older brother) and graduated with him. Her dad's brother works for Sarah's (my cousin's wife) dad in Albany, Oregon. Small world. And, Tina's drama teacher knows John Steffano (the drama deptartment head hancho). Crazy huh? Tina's really nice. I like her. Also in my group was an exchange student from Sweeden. Her name is Anna. She's only staying for fall though. I met a girl from Pennsylvania and one from New Jersey. The Pennsylvanian is styuding to be a horse doctor. Another girl in my group is a vocal performance major. I think we'll be taking a lot of the same classes. Her name is Kimberly. She's a 1st Soprano. I also met a guy named Manny, who wanted to be a Theatre major but couldn't make it to any of te auditions. So as of right now he is studying Creatvie Writing

We had an advisor meeting today. We checked our schedules and fixed them if needed. Mine needed to be changed for sure. For one thing, they had me as a Bachelor of Music (aka Vocal performance). Wrong. I am a BA Music major. Funny story. Kimberly was supposed to be a BM. Instead they had her as a BA. When she corrected him, he said that she needed to check her letter because they only offer a select group of people into the BM program. So here I am not wanting a BM but getting into the program anyway, and here she is not in teh program but wanting to be. So she's going to check her leter tonight so that she can prove to them that she is a BM. Anywho, I also found out that I needed to sign up for a choir. Someone had said that the Opera workshop would cover the first quarter. Wrong. So we signed up for that. I also found out that I didn't need a language calss. I scored so well that for a BA I don't have to take it. So now dance can fit back into my schedule...hopefully (if I amke it into the minor program). Also, I don't need a math class because my IB scores cover it. And I unfortunately had to drop my Theatre Scenery class because it was cancelled...aslo I think we had signed up frot e wrong class. The one I had conflicted with choir, when on teh paper that Aunty Bette and I mapped out it didn't. Oh well. I guess I'll just volunteer my time instead. So as of right now, my fall schedule looks like this:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
9:30-Intro to Music
10:20-Ear taining/sight singing
11:00-Comp/Lit:Turning Points (5 scripts, 5 movies dealing with world topics of today)
12:30-Women's Chorale (Monday adn Wednesday only)
2:00-break for lunch of snack
3:00-Beginning Piano
4:00-Camerata (select vocal choir from women's and men's)

Tuesday, Thursday
11:00-Intro to Music Theory
7:00-Opera workshop (Thursday only)

Voice lessons (whenever works for my schedule, so probably Tuesday at some time)

And speaking of IB scores, I finally found out what I got. I can't remember if I posted them or not, so here I go (again if that is the case):

Physics-3
French-5
Calculus-5
English-5
History-5
Theatre-5

Oh and a D on my EE and a "satisfactory" in TOK, so no points awarded there. But hey, it doesn't matter because I got 28 points adn I didn't fail Physics!

Ok, so it's pretty late here. So I'm going to goto bed.

Lots of love.

Moving In

I left my house this morning for the airport at 3:00 AM. Strangely enough, I didn't cry. I just didn't feel. I was a big pile of blah.

The plane ride was pretty boring. I slept a bit, but not much.

I became more excited about this whole college thing when, as we were driving along the highway, we saw a sign for Otterbein. As we pulled into a parking spot, more excitement flowed through my body. The somewhat familiar campus became more familiar with each step I took towards the Campus Center...where I would get my room key. A table of dorm names greeted us. As I stepped up to the sign that said "Dunlap-King" a friendly face energetically asked, "Are you in DK?" Assuming that DK stood for Dunlap-King, I answered, "Yes." She was extrememly happy that I would be joining her in this dorm. After swearing not to lose my key, Mom and I walked towards my new home. Hearing horror stories about 3 girls in a 2 person room, I wondered if my room would suffer the same fate. One other question popped into my mind. Would there be an elevator, or would we have to lug all of my luggage up 3 flights of stairs. It's pretty safe to say that I worked my arm muscles today. No elevator. However, this shock blew far from my mind when I saw my room. It was pretty big. I think it's bigger than my room at home. So me fear of being cramped into a 2 person room subsided. Even though out of staters were only supposed to move in today, I noticed that one of my roomates, Phaedra, had already moved in. She's in band, so she was able to move in early. Mom and I unpacked my suitcases and then headed off to the Hsu's (my relatives).

Tonight , I am sleeping with the Hsu's and Mom. Tomorrow, I think I'll do the same. Thursday evening, I think I'll sleep in the dorm, since both my rommates will be there.

It still hasn't hit me that I'm in college. As Brooke put it, "I feel like you're just going away to Long Beach again." I feel like that too. However, this Long Beach trip is 2 and a half months, not 5 weeks. As Dad said, "Put it in 6 week chunks. Every 6 weeks something happens. In 6 weeks it's your birthday. In 6 more weeks you come home. In 6 more weeks you go back to school. In 6 more weeks it's my birthday. In 6 more weeks nothing happens...that's the long one...In 6 more weeks you come home for the summer." So I'll just take this in 6 week chunks.

Well, orientation is tomorrow. I suppose sleep is in order. Good night all. And remember I'm 3 hours ahead of you, so if you want to call, think 3 hours ahead.

Far from the Home I Love

This will be me in a day. I will be far from the home I love. Away from my friends, family, teachers...the familiar. Quite frankly, I'm scared. I mean, I'm looking forward to leaving...I really am. But I can't help wondering what college will be like. I'm scared of making new friends. By that I mean truly making friends my senior year. If I look back on my high school career, freshman year I had Elizabeth. Sophomore year I started to come out of my box and I met more people, though I was still pretty shy. Junior year I had a few more good friends, and a few more acquaintances. Senior year I was the most friendly I have ever been. I wasn't scared to meet new people. I made so many new freinds and renewed old friendships that had slipped away fro a few years. I don't want to wait until my senior year to have friends I'll have fun with. I know, I know....it's up to me to take that extra step to meet new people. However, being in a new environment and being so far away from my family will make it more difficult....at least I think it will. You know, come to think of it, maybe it won't be harder. Since I only have a cell phone and internet to talk to Oregonians, I will have to be more social or suffer from depression. Hmmm....maybe this going far away thing will work out after all.

I am really excited to be at school with Elizabeth again. I can't tell you how pleased I am. I know I will adjust much better having her there than if I was on my own. Having a link back home will be wonderful. I can't wait to be able to talk a lot with her about many things that only she and I will understand because no one else is from Oregon. I know she will help me when needed and I her when needed. Plus, she knows the campus pretty well...if not really well by now, so if I have any questions, I can always ask her :)

I'm also looking forward to having relatives in Columbus....just a short 15 minutes from campus.

Another excitement is having Neil in the same state. Yet another link to home.

I know this fall will be extremely tough emotionally for me. However, I will try my hardest not to let this knowledge ruin my fall term. If I think about it enough, it really is only 2 and a half months until I come home for a month. So really, it's not that long....right?

I most likely won't post another blog until I'm in Ohio. I haven't packed yet. Yeah, I know, I'm bad, but hey...I have all of Monday to pack. Come on over if you'd like to visit before I leave. I know I'd like to see you!

Well...here I go....one chapter has ended. Let another one begin.

Lots of love!