Oh hello there!

Happy 20 days since my last blog post! Woah! A ton has happened in these 20 days. Let's see...

• I've danced a ton
• Worked a ton
• Pushed myself in all my classes
• Filed my taxes (that's always fun...)

Hmm... is there anything else...? Oh that's right... I had my first audition for college. 

Woah.

It really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was in and out in about an hour and a half. I haven't decided if that was good or bad for my chances yet... But nonetheless, I sit and wait. This whole college process is just waiting. "Oh you've waited your whole life to apply for college? Waited your whole life for the chance to leave your boring town? Sorry. Need to wait just a little bit longer." Cool. 

I don't mind too much. I fill the days with homework, work, dance, and music. It's really wonderful.

So here I am on the eve of my second and final college audition and I can't help but reflect back to last Saturday.

10:30am - Dance. All ballet. The other 5 students = years of ballet. Courtney = none. Awesome. I tried my hardest. I really did, but I just knew all the other kids were nailing this with ease. Oh well. I went, did what I could, and left. 

11am - Rehearsal. My accompanist was really nice. We worked well together and all moved smoothly there.

11:15am - Vocal Audition. That was interesting. I didn't expect the vocal director to work with me a little bit afterwards. But she did. I think my songs were okay. I could have done much much better. Hopefully it was just nerves and they understand that :/

11:30am - Monologues. If there's one thing I know I can do it's acting. I've been acting longer than I've been singing and I have worked so much on characters and voice. But my first monologue was too fast and quiet. Again, hopefully just nerves. My second monologue was sad, but I needed to project. I think I did fairly well at keeping the emotion the same while just increasing the volume. 

Overall, I think my audition was okay. I just need to know whether they want me or not. Because I want them. There are so many conflicting things in my brain, but the one thing that stands out clearly is where I want to go to school. Who knows though? I may re-fall in love with Pace this weekend, but Wilkes feels comfortable. Wilkes feels wonderful. 

So with that, I go to rest up before leaving for New York City in the morning. I just hope there is a letter waiting for me when I return home...

xoxo Courtney 

This is going to be difficult.

For three years, marching band was life. It took over theatre, it took over my job. It was everything that I did. My grades began to drop, my job barely gave me hours, and the dream was not being focused on. That being said. Something had to go.
Unfortunately, it was marching band.
I feel as though a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Soon, hopefully, a new weight will be added with dance class and vocal lessons. But that is a burden I can handle. I wasn't focusing on my dream. It really hit me at rehearsal on Wednesday. When our drill instructor said "You're here because you want to be. You cant put marching band on your resume." And he's right. No one is going to care that I spent most of my high school life marching around playing an instrument I was not very good at. Colleges will care how well I can sing and dance. I have no training. That realization came to me in New York City this weekend. But more on that in a moment.
Band. I loved it Freshman and Sophomore year. But things were slowly declining. The quality of the band was becoming bland, the instructors were yelling more, you weren't allowed to have fun. If you risked having fun, you got yelled at. I was sick of it. Not to mention the people. I can't stand most of them. I know that is an awful thing to say, but it's true. I used to be so invested in the band. I was always there. It was the biggest commitment I had ever made. But all good things must come to an end.
So I quit. I turn in my uniform on Monday and then I'm done. I feel as though a part of me will be missing for quite some time, but it will get easier. I just don't want to be talked about. I really don't. I just feel as though I've let people down. But it's too late to change it. I don't want to change this decision either.
So on to my dream.
I want to be able to perform this.
Chorus or lead. I want to perform. I get the biggest adrenaline rush every time I'm on stage. I'm crazy. Most theatre people are crazy. I fit there. I'm not fit for marching band anymore.

NYC!
On Sunday August 7, 2011 my mother trusted me and my good friend Kevin to go to New York City for the day all by ourselves :) I'm sure she was a nervous wreck all day but that's okay. She will get used to her baby being in NYC soon enough. We had a lovely time. TKTS in Times Square was a life saver. We were able to get Anything Goes tickets for 50% off! And they were amazing seats! Row 14 left orchestra, you can't really beat it! Then we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. It was really cool in there! Then we headed over to see the show and were blown away. Then of course we hit up the stage door! We met someone from California and she was pretty cool, we chatted at the door while waiting for the magical Sutton Foster. Who of course... did not come out :( But that's okay, I have a plan :D
Then we just kind of did a walking tour to find some theatres and see who was at other stage doors still. Then we went to a small diner and had dinner. And off to the bus we went. 2 hours into the 4 hour bus ride, the bus broke down. Awesome. It was absolutely awful, and I was terrified because we were on the side of the highway and giant tractor trailers kept driving by and shaking the bus. Sweet... Finally we got on a replacement bus and were homeward bound. We finally arrived in Boston at 3 am. Longest day of my life. Did I mention we took a 6am bus TO New York? Well, ya. We did. I slept from 3:30am- 3:30pm on Monday. My sleeping pattern was a bit messed up for the next few days. Thanks to sleeping pills and my comfy pillows, I am back to semi-normal. Because, let's face it, I will never be normal...
Here are some pictures from NYC!
Then I will be on another small hiatus seeing as I am going on a much needed vacation next week. But I will bring back lots of stories!

Times Square!!

 Daniel Radcliffe looking adorable in Times Square!

Kevin at the Hard Rock Cafe!

Anything Goes!

As close as we got to Sutton :/

:D

Kevin's first Broadway stage door!

Laura Osnes and I! She made a wonderful Hope Harcourt. 

Josh Franklin and I. Yum :P

So until I can write again, love you all!

Decisions and Plan Making.

I had a very nice night. After creating this new blog, I went out scrapbooking with my mother. I worked on a project that I have one month to finish. Ugh. It is taking quite a long time. But I am hoping the recipient will love it.
So, we just got home. Awesome. I was able to do some future planning for this blog. In the fantasy land called my brain, I would love to write on here everyday and make this a quality blog. But in this little place called reality, I know I will not be able to. So I have devised a plan. Three days a week. And then if I have something that I want to put down on Tuesday and Thursday, I can. This is mine after all. :)
So I have decided that every Monday I will post a gluten free recipe. This could be a recipe that I have found online, or maybe even something that I or a family member has created. I'm constantly on the go, so you can expect a few recipes that will be easy.
Wednesdays will be a catch up kind of day. Because it's the middle of the week, I feel like a quick catch up will be necessary. Wednesday.
Friday, when I have a spare moment between rehearsals and football games, will be a review. Whether it be of a product, or a restaurant, I will tell you my opinion. I'm very opinionated.
So that's all for now. I suppose I can go to bed? Look at me, a seventeen year old in the summer and all I want to do is sleep. Oh wait, that sounds pretty typical.
Decisions: Made.
Plan: Made.
Sticking to it: Hopefully?
Challenge: Bring It!