CONVENTION!!!

Convention...was...AWESOME!!!

I wish i could go back and do it all over again, just to re-experience the feelings!

Before we all left for Bowling Green, everybody met at the bank in Westmoreland to have a little meeting thingy where we all listened to Mr. Counts. After the long meeting, we got our room assignments. I was roomed with Kaitlin and Abby (Abby was sick, so it was only me and Kate the whole week). We then had to get all our luggage and get in a car to leave. I got in a car with Becca, Ashley, and Bethany. We mainly just talked, sang, and goofed off the whole way there!

So, when we actually got to the convention everything was so new! I felt slightly out of place though, knowing that almost everybody with me knew just where they were and what to do. When people said some stuff like "Let's go to the DUC building!" i was left with a question mark over my head. Luckily, i now know where most everything is. We sat in the lobby messing around and being bored for probably an hour and a half before we had to go get our clothes checked and get our nametags (which are really awesome by the way!). Then we had lunch. Oh. Em. Gee. Lunch was like the best thing ever! They had so many things to choose from i was just in shock! I finally decided and then went to sit with some friends to eat. After lunch, we left for the hotel to unpack and do whatever we wanted for an hour. We left from there to go back to the DUC building to sing our Small and Large Ensemble songs. After that, Rally. Rally was really cool! They had these two HUGE nets filled with balloons over us and a bunch of confetti! We sang, popped balloons, collected confetti, and then listened to the sermon! The preacher for that week was so cool! After rally, we chilled at the DUC building for about 20 minutes before going to get something to eat. We all ate and headed back to the hotel. It was about 9:45 when we got back and we were so tired, we went to bed at 10:30.

The previous night, i told Mrs. Jones and Kaitlin (Mrs. Jones being our chaperone) to wake me up at 5:30 (they got up at 5). Well once they got up, they made too much noise which woke me up. I got up and got ready by 6:45 i'm guessing. We went to other rooms and chilled with people before heading down for devotion. Mrs. Collins did the devotion, which was a good one, and we left for the campus at 8.
When we got there, i had nothing to do that day. It was just a day for instrumental stuff, certain sports, and track. So i just chilled and watched different stuff! It was a pretty boring day, so i can't really remember anything that went on. Basically, i just watched stuff before going back to the hotel for
an hour to chill before going to eat dinner. After eating, we left to go the Rally again, which was yet another awesome Rally. After Rally, we went to Baskin Robbins, not telling anybody (even the boys) that it was the "A dollar a scoop" night there! When we got back to the hotel, it was about 10:45 or 11 i think.

The next day, i got up at 5 again to get ready. I think i was always the first girl ready to leave in the whole hotel. I'd be ready and then go to someone else's room, to find them just waking up. -_- laaame. But that was fine with me. That day was definitely the most hectic! It was the singing day, which always has EVERYBODY busy! That morning, i was SCHEDULED to sing at 8 (the very first singing event of the day), but Joanna didnt get there until 8:30, and the girls had to go play volleyball at 8:45, so there wasn't enough time to do it before the game. After the game we went back to the DUC building to sing our female quartet. We did well, but not our best. After that, we basically just chilled until lunchtime. Lunch, again, was awesome. After lunch, the hectic-ness started again as me, Ellen and Ben were going crazy trying to find Joanna and a place to practice. We got in maybe 2 minutes of practicing before having to go and do it. I think we did fairly well in that one. Apparently we messed up in one tiny part, but i didn't hear it. After that, a bunch of people went to watch track, but i just stayed in the DUC building and chilled with Naomi, Timmy, Andrew, Carey, Stephanie, Jessie C., Mr. Counts, and Jonathan A.. During that chilling out time, me and Mr. Counts decided we were gonna have a bowling match against eachother on Thursday (i was just kidding at first, but he thought i was serious -_- ). We were there for what seemed like forever, just doing nothing! It was so nice! haha! After that, we went to Subway and ate before going to the hotel and then Rally. After Rally, we just went back to the hotel to have FUN!! I went into Becca, Amanda, Naomi, and Annie's room, and we had a BLAST! We did skittle catching contests (which i won), and played cards, and were pretty much laughing the entire time!! Oh yeah, and we got called by the security cuz one of the neighbors gave a noise complaint...oops! lol!

Got up at 5...again. I went early when i could've slept until like 9. Dumb, i know. It was me, Kaitlin, Candace, Courtney, Ashley, Allison, and Rebecca who went early. Allison had archery and it started raining so we all (except Ashley and Allison) stayed in the van and slept. After archery, we went to the DUC building and me and Kaitlin had to sit and wait for the Bible Bowl team to get done with their round before leaving for the gym. It was the day where i only had 3-on-3 volleyball, or so i thought. I was doing volleyball with K-Bob and David A., but K-Bob was sick and didn't feel up to it, so Joe Counts stepped in his place. I was going crazy trying to find somebody's culottes to borrow, before finally borrowing Kaitlin's. When we were about to play volleyball, we found out that another team was playing, so we had to wait longer. During that waiting time, Emily and Allison needed another girl to replace Onnollee's spot in 3-on-3 basketball (because Onnolee had drama). So i filled her spot and played a game with them. We were playing these three girls who looked about 12. The one who i picked to stay on just happened to be the hardest one, but i didn't care much. It was 6-6 before the ref asked us if we wanted to play to 16 points or make it shorter. Our team decided to play to 16 because the other team looked so tired that we thought we could beat them! It was 9-8 i think when all of a sudden, one of the girls almost had an asthma attack, therefore, forfeiting the game. We won and i ran back over to do volleyball. In our volleyball game, we won the first one, because frankly, the other team sucked. The second one we almost won, but we lost. So we were eliminated and that was it for my day's events. The day just went on like any normal day after that and then we went back to the hotel to have some fun. Then we left for Rally. Rally was good, again, except for the game part. They had the banana game. It's so horrible, because if someone just walked in on the middle of the game without hearing how it goes, they would think that the convention would support homosexuality. EW!! yuck yuck yuck! anyways...yeah after rally we went to Culvers with our school and had a good time! Apparently i was really funny that night cuz everybody at my table was cracking up! I still don't think i was that funny. Anyways after eating, we sang some songs as a treat to the workers for staying late to serve us. We went back to the hotel, but the night was still young (11:15, anyways.) Most of us went downstairs and played cards until 12:30, before going to bed.

The last day. Awards ceremony.

Got up at 5 again, got ready, packed my stuff, and left for the awards ceremony. Before the ceremony, Hannah and Chelsea got there and we talked for a bit (well, they mainly talked about how girly i was becoming T_T ). My mom came, too. The awards ceremony was starting and they started with a command performance for a play. The play was...alright i guess. But then the awards started. I think the first awards were for academics, which i didnt enter anything in, so i just hunkered down and sat there. The next command performance was a poem, i think? It was really good, and then i think next came sports. I still didnt have anything. Command performance by Sam Pinzur for the "Give me liberty or give me death" speech! He did really well in it! Then came the Art. I entered one drawing but i didnt think i would make the top 6. Then my name came up on the screen and i was so excited! I had to get up and go around to the sketching section to wait to go on stage. I still didn't know what place i got until they called out my name. So i walked up with all the other sketchers in the top 6 and i was SO sure that i was sixth, so they said "Sixth place....(forever long pause)" and then called someones name that wasnt mine. (My thoughts are italicized) Okay, i got fifth then! "Fifth place...." NOT ME! Okaaaaaay...fourth! I got ready to walk up on stage cuz i was ENTIRELY sure that i was fourth. "Fourth place...." STILL NOT ME! At this point, i looked over to the guy standing next to me and said "This is weird..." and then they said "Third place...Kirstin Tucker!!" I got all happy and i heard the section where our school was sitting screaming and yelling and stuff and i had the hugest smile on my face as i walked up to get my medal. When i walked off and went back to my seat, i was still so happy! I forgot who i was sitting next to, but i remember i said to them "I wanna do it again!!" lol! Anyways, after that, i didnt have any awards until the singing awards started. In that i got third place in both of my Quartets (Female Quartet with Naomi, Ashley and Ali. And the Mixed Quartet with Ellen, Ben and JP). And then our school won the large and small ensemble awards. And then we went on to win the overall Music award for our school and the athletic award i think? But yeah, our school won alot of stuff!

After the awards ceremony we stuck around the campus for a little while and took pictures with people! After that we all went to Ryan's and filled our hungry bellies! lol! But yeah, that about sums up the whole Convention week!

OH WAIT!!! Funny, yet awkward for me, story!!!...Okay, so on Tuesday as i was watching the basketball games, i was walking by the court and this dude started talking to me. I was a tad freaked out and i asked, "What?" cuz i didnt hear him. Then he said, "Hey, you're Casey! Don't you remember me from last year?!" All i said was, "Uh...no." And i turned around and walked (more like power-walked) off!....Well i thought that was the end of him until Wednesday! It was the busy day and i had to go get Ben to ask him if he knew where Joanna was. Ben and Holland were talking to that same dude! So i just sucked it up and went to ask him, thinking the dude wouldn't say anything. Boy, was i ever wrong! I walked up keeping my focus on Ben so the dude knew i was ignoring him, when he was like, "You DON'T remember me from last year?" Then i just looked at him and was like, "I didn't COME last year!" He looked confused and was like "Are you sure?" Me and Ben were like, "Yeah!" Then he asked, "But your name is Casey, right?" I laughed and was like, "No!". Then he just said, "Sorry, you look alot like her!" Then me and Ben walked away, with me saying, "That was WEIRD!!"

So after a week of squealing girls, annoying boys, cute boys ;) , and getting in trouble...i'd say i had a pretty good time! Can't wait for next year, already! :D

Sincerely,
Jo