American Idol Auditions: The Impossible Dream

"No! I'm the next American Idol!", screamed 7,000 people this past sunday from the stands of Gillette Stadium. "Okay guys, lets do it one more time, louder, put down the umbrellas and LOOK at the camera!" yelled the producers as we took the 30th take of the same shot.  So naturally I'm aggravated, but the minute the camera pans our section of the crowd I jump up and down and scream so that come January, I can hopefully pick myself out from the crowd and get .05 seconds of stardom on national television. 

Okay, call me crazy. But when I realized two weeks ago that auditions would be held in Boston I knew I would try out. Not because I can sing, not because I actually think I am the next Idol, but because I need to know how this show actually works.  From January til May, for the past 8 years (with the exception of my semester in Spain) Tuesday nights are for American Idol. I'm not even big on reality TV, but this show has always fascinated me. I love watching average people become almost instantaneously famous.  And not to mention, you don't even need to be crowned idol; all it takes is a spot in the top 12 and you're golden. Look at Jen Hudson, grammy winner AND actress. And she has Idol to thank. Don't even get me started on Daughtry...

June 14th. I discover that THIS is the day that I will dedicate to American Idol. Immidiately, I tell the one and only Robert Hill that he needs to audition with me. Of course, his response is a natural "Let's do it baby!" The two weeks prior to auditions we would just jokingly talk about how great its gonna be when we're idols and how we have absolutely nothing to lose by doing this. Meanwhile, we have Lynchy calling us delusional, mom calling me insane, (at least Dad believed in me!) But the thing is, we are logical. How often do you have a chance to (for free) go see the behind the scenes of a great television program? I had nothing to lose but an evening out at the bars on Saturday night to rest up for the 4am alarm. 

Ryan Seacrest walks out onto the Pats field at Gillette Stadium. "Ok guys, the weather today absolutely sucks." No shit Ryan Seacrest, lucky for you, your limo just dropped you off at the gate less than an hour ago and we have all been standing outside since 3am.  Well, Bhill and I had strategically arrived at 6:30 because we were cunning enough to realize that there is no way that you had to be there by 5am. As we walked about a mile to the back of the line, where a lady approaches us and goes "Hi, I want to interview the last person in line". I look at Bhill and give the high five on account of the fact that we probably never have and never will be rewarded for being "last" at anything.  She continued to ask us about why were were there. "Are you a professional singer?" she asks. I just laughed in her face. I'm like "Absolutely not, I'm a shower singer". 

The interviewer then asks us about what we will do if we don't win Idol. HAHA. Honestly, this question is ridiculous. The fact that anyone will go into an Idol competition thinking that this is their Plan A, needs to be analyzed and seek help.  I realized this at 6am BEFORE entering the auditioning scene that commenced 4 hours later. Idol should be Plan D. You CANNOT bank on this show to launch your career.  Finally, the line moves along and two hours later we're inside walking around where you can only hear random people singing. Great voices everywhere. you walk into the bathroom and can hear girls rehearsing.  The show tricks you to believe that there are so many terrible audition-ers out there. False.  I know good singing from bad. I hardly heard any poor singing. This is when I realized just how much talent there is out there. 

We are completely fooled into believing that American Idol is a TALENT show. That is our mistake as an audience. We become so wrapped up into the show and compare ourselves to the contestants. We look at Kris Allen and think, hey, he looks normal, why can't I be the next Idol?

A typical episode of American Idol displays the most ridiculous and amazing performers. Sometimes, you'll watch a somewhat average singer make it through, but there's always a catch. They probably have some interesting/absurd story behind them. This is what people don't realize. If you're even remotely average, give up the dream. 

The stadium set up was as follows. 7,000 + people in the stands on one side of the field. Opposite, we have 12 tents set up. Each tent has one or two producers who listen to the audition-ers. They step forward to audition in groups of 4. The producer points to who they want to hear first and listens to all four then casts them all aside. Unless you are either the most talented or unique person of them all. Watching from our seats, every few minutes we would see someone across the field rejoicing with happiness that they recieved the infamous "you're going to hollywood" piece of paper. Even though, in this situation, the paper only means "you're going inside the stadium to fill out paperwork". 

BHill and I were seated exactly at the 50 Yard line, which meant that we would audition half way through the day. (well, more than that if you include the time it took to sing "when I grow up" as a group. not gonna lie, that part was awesome) Seated around us (Section 131 shout out!) were some great people. I think people were laughing at me half the day for how ridiculous the things I would say were. But man, these people were all crazy too! We sat near 3 girls, all of which not affiliated, who just so happened to be auditioning for the 2nd or 3rd time!  A long day of discussing why they were trying again, I came to the conclusion that Idol is the same as playing the lotto; if you don't buy a ticket you'll never win and if you don't register and stand in line all day, you'll never be an idol.  I knew some of these girls didn't stand a chance. One of the girls seated near us was a 16 yr old (who thought she was way cooler & older) but she was a damn good singer. After talking with her a bit, you could tell that this was her dream and she had been waiting all her life to audition. She was singing "Let it Be" by the Beatles.  I was quite curious how that song would go for her but figured I'd never actually hear it. At 2:30 pm our section is finally down on the field about to be divided up to the assorted tents. The Beatles chick and I got put over at Tent 3 with two others. BHill luckily was only one tent over. 

The Audition. Well, I was happy with it. My song went well and I wasn't even remotely nervous. I sang "Sittin on the Dock by the Bay" by Otis Redding but I prefer the Sara Bareilles version to be honest.  I was the first to go in my group so none of my competition could get my confidence down. My judge was two British peeps who were so intense and you could tell instantly. Bhill's tent was moving much slower. Once I sang my tune, and the rest of the girls went, we were all told "you may all go, we will not be putting any of you through, thank you" we proceeded to the section behind the tents. "Let it Be" girl was shut down and I felt so bad because you could tell she thought she was golden. As I waited for Bhill to go, I was just observing all of the other tents in action. One after another, I saw talented people get shut down. And people that had a true passion and skills for singing. It really broke my heart seeing these people exit the stadium crying. But had I invested more of my life in this, I suppose I would be too! Oh but wait, this dream was only alive for a few weeks and didn't take too much of a toll on me. Ok, Bhills turn now. I watch him approach his producer and he starts belting out Sam Cook's "Bring it on Home". He did well and the passion in his expressions were priceless. I looked at the producer's face as it lit up and he started bobbing his head to the tune. Then he requested Bhill to sing a second song. He switched gears and went with "Thunder Road". This is when I knew he was gonna make it... and then when his group of four finished, they only kept BHill.  Such a great moment. I hadn't seen a soul in about 10 minutes receive a yellow sheet of paper until Bhill did and made me so proud!  

Anywayyys. The point of my post. TV production has a code and a process that needs to be abided by and regardless of how much talent there is out there, an agenda will be followed even if it's wrong.  People had their dreams crushed on Sunday while others were given false hope that they could be the next idol on account of their crazy hair do or fairy wings that they so cleverly wore for the audition. BHill deserves to go to the next round. His voice is truly unique and he showed a passion for music. But you can't help but wonder what was going through the producer's head. He was clearly a nicer man than my anal british dude that didn't put a single person through from my tent but a long haired freak (who we then discovered will have a bio done for the show in january).  Each judge cannot possibly be programmed the same to judge based on the same factors. So you just can't help but wonder.. Or to reference the recent film "He's just not that into you", I think that Bhill could be the exception to the rule. 

When Bhill finished up, he told me all bout the paperwork he had to fill out for the show. I never really thought about it but the confidentiality aspect of the operation is very strict. For 8 years I have been completely deceived into believing that when a contestant auditions they go right to the judges. I knew there had to be some form of prescreening but never quite that intense. I didn't show up on Sunday thinking I'd be meeting Paula, Randy & Simon but I thought some people may? Wrong. That doesn't even happen til August from what I understand. But I must say that Fox has done a phenomenal job of making sure that the real auditioning process doesn't leek out to the public. Even a news article released from MTV claims that the people "who received golden tickets on Sunday" would proceed to Hollywood! But that's either a mistake or a ploy to support Fox. When Bob Hill goes to Boston for the next round of auditions in late july (hopefully I can be his guest and take a day off work but that's another issue) we will get another inside look at how this television program deceives Americans...which is precisely why I don't feel bad that releasing this blog is probably entirely against the restriction of the release forms I signed the other day. And to the (less than) 200 people who got through this past weekend, I wish you all the luck because I'd love to see the next idol come from Boston! 

As for me, will I audition again? Who knows. I have 7 years left of eligibility and god knows that if i do, I'm wearing my halloween costume and just doing some ridiculous song. Let's hope my career in finance never makes me that desperate. 

My accomplishments from Idol auditions were a new perspective, soaking wet shoes, and a quote in this article. 

 http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?&articleid=1178981&format=&page=1&listingType=tv#articleFull

Good Luck in the next rounds Bhill! Make the Tyngs proud! And if you become the Idol, I'll be damned if your first song released isnt the Ken Gordon song!

The Not So Real World

So the post college vacation has been one of the most enjoyable times of my life. I feel no stress. The only minor stress I have is that I'm pressured to optimize every single day. I need to make the best of the freedom that awaits me in these last four weeks of the "not so real world". 

Up til now, the maximization of the freedom is going so-so. (still looking for places to go) 

It kicked off strong with a road trip to Outer Banks, North Carolina, only hours after I graduated college. After only sleeping 1hr and a half the night before grad, I survived Commencement. Made my way back to McCullough where I plopped down on the lovesac with the girls, and just felt brain-dead. Up til that point, I had been tearless. But still, only shed a few and I think it was moreso from being overwhelmed. I tore down the remainder of my room and left McCullough after 3 wonderful years there.  Soon we were on the road to tyngs for my grad party. Around 8, people head out and I had to scramble to pack for OBX. By 8:22, Clauds, Liz and I were on the road to N.C.  Leaving Tyngs, I promised my parents that we'd just find a random hotel in NY somewhere, and crash there for a few hours to rest up for the rest of the drive.  Driving up Virginia Rd, I look at my GPS that says "Arrival Time: 6:45 AM". So I say "hey guys, imagine if we just kept driving and REALLY were to arrive at 6:45". HAHAHAHA. yea, that's not happening. Wellllp. Driving thru CT and then NY, we are all amped. And on my 1 hour of sleep, I'm like, umm lets do it! luckily, clauds and liz thought the same thing...we could make it there. Fast forward like 8 hours, and you'd find us having breakfast at Waffletown USA, delirious as can be, and then napping in a Wal Mart Parking lot. (the yaris is much roomier than you'd expect.) Keep in mind, we didn't kill this time by choice; if we had it our way, we would have been lying on the beach already. But we're good people, and decided to help out our friend Kevin who needed a ride from the Norfolk airport to the beach house.  At this point, Clauds and i were bickering like crazy (at the time, I though it to be due to exhaustion, but the trend continued, cough...SCRABBLE...cough. but nbd) Long story sort of short, we arrived to our gorgeous house in OBX by 10:15 am where it was hot and sunny.  Unfortunately we didn't see this hear or sunshine for 2 more days into this trip. In retrospect, that really didn't matter since I would definitely have got like 3rd degree burns with 7 full days of NC sunshine. ANYWAYS. Fantastic time in OBX. There is much  more to be talked about, but I tend to be long winded and I'm trying to avoid any more complaints. 

The past week of post College and OBX insanity has been a complete change of pace. Being home is amazingly relaxing. I'm finally feeling thoroughly grateful to be living at home this summer. Course, I'd love to be in the city, but this isn't such a bad gig. My parents aren't on my nerves quite yet. The pool is all set for the summer. And the I also forgot how nice it is to run around here. Which leads me to my next new endeavor. Triathalons. Tyngsboro is having a summer series of Triathalons. First one is June 11th. Who's with me!? It's going to be a great way to get started. It's a Mini Triathalon. So 400m swim. 10 mi Bike. 2 mile run. Totally do-able. Maybe someday I'll work up to the ironman in hawaii (2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26 mi run) HAHAHA. Hey, a girl can dream. 

Hmm, better go take my bike out for a spin. 

The End of an Era

Preschool. Winslow Kindergarten. Lakeview. Norris Road Elementary. Tyngsboro Jr./Sr. High. Babson College.  17 Years of School has come to an end today.

As I left Tomasso today, I didn't feel the exuberance I had expected to upon completion of my undergraduate career.  Don't get me wrong, it's exciting. But knowing myself, I thought I'd be dancing in the streets.  Three finals stand between me and graduation.  It's the easiest finals have ever been but it's the lowest my motivation has ever been as well. What's keeping me from feeling this excitement of the impending graduation...hmm maybe its because starting June 29th I give my soul up to corporate america? That's got something to do with it. 

First, I must give a shout-out to all the people who have made my "lasts" of college more memorable by haunting my life these past few weeks.  Some of the "lasts" hit home while others were poor attempts to get the waterworks going.  Sure, I'll have my last trim sits in the next week or so. Ya, that's sad and all but my digestive system will thank me for ending that.  I already had my last track practice. and the last time I got ice bags for my shins. and the last set of strides on the upper fields. and the last 1500/800m races of my life.  Looking at these lasts individually, not so upsetting. It's the package deal. I'll know when I'm sitting in a cube for the rest of my life that I'll wish I was out at practice.  These last few nights in McCullough A6 will be painful. Three years of memories in this suite with a different group of girls each time. Not many Babson kids can say they've had that experience. 

Secondly...well that's soon to come.

slacking, even in blogsville...

now I know my blogs are so amazing that people have been like wtf sully, why aren't you posting anymore? (JK. obviously, sarcasm but some of my friends wouldn't put it past me to say such a thing) But from the bottom of my heart, I'm sincerely sorry for being a lazy bum these past 5 or so weeks that I haven't posted. But believe you me, it was not for a lack of bloggin subjects. It's because I have so much to say that I don't even know where to begin. 

brief life update. 

-it is now t minus 39 freakin days! but that's not even the worse part...according to my calculations, i have um SIX days of school left?! how is that possible. well easily, due to the fact i have two workdays a week and there's marathon monday coming up. but good lord. time is flyin. if only i could hire someone to do all the papers i have due btwn now and may 16th.. 

-as most of you recall, last week we had spring break part two: the norovirus vacation. basically, there is a rare virus that started spreading around campus and i'm going out on a limb and saying that it's just some fool that got the disease doing god knows what on spring break. that fool in return probably touched every door nob and cookie at trim dining hall and spread the germs all over campus. now babson looks like a school of kids that don't know hygiene, far from the truth...i hope. the media was all over campus last week (i put in a solid effort to make it on camera but failed, i just wanted to meet someone from Channel 5, is that too much to ask?) the noro soon spread to about 150 kids. 

-what did i learn from the noro? that my immune system is friggen relentless.  my suitemate was one of the first victims of the noro and we live in such close quarters that i have no clue how i dodged it. even about 8 kids on the track team got the noro. according to momma sull, our fam doesnt get stomach viruses easily, which is great news (even though its not even news, its just the facts, that i failed to notice for 21 years). i also learned, that after you wash your hands you must "vigorously" dry your hands with a paper towel (its on every sign around campus). who knew air drying isn't good enough?

-the noro also gave me the opportunity to continue the addiction which began on sb '09. the office. not that I wasn't in love w/ the show before, but my obsession is out of control. started during some jetlag recovery in AZ..and is still going strong.

-spring break: i could write a book on spring break. but im not a great writer so that isn't necessary. quick synopsis: fantastic vaca. katie and i took the vw golf & drove from phoenix to san diego to LA (stopping in laguna, newport beach, el segundo (possible future worksite), bev hills, and stayed in santa monica) we stayed in the "banana bungalow" in san diego right on the sand of pacific beach. it was my first american hostel experience. and in retrospect, it was a great decision. dirt cheap. ocean views. great people, minus a few exceptions. (just a roomate from the marines that sleeps with knives and gets beligerently drunk and a old snoring mexican, nbd) but seriously, go to the banana bungalow if you ever find yourself in PB sd. so worth it for the continental breakfast of sliced bread and peanut butter. after we finished the roadtrip through cali, we soaked up the AZ rays by the pool for a few days. 

-lent update: i'm so close! only 5 more days of no-shopping-hell. It's been a tough 6 weeks and probably the longest amount of time i've gone without a purchase. it's taught me a vital lesson though.  all you have to do to avoid shopping, is shield or divert your eyes as you walk past storefronts and don't take a single step into the shop. easter '09 will be more glorious than ever.

-track update: two meets down. 3 to go. next stop. umass lowell. running the a wonderful 12.5 laps. should be interesting. so this is for you tyngsboro'ers. if your in town for easter, and don't come to ulowell, the whole 10 minute drive it is, i will personally kill you. jk thats dramatic. but seriously. if the sun is shining, then what better place to be than the ulowell track? 

that's enough for now. word on the street is that long blogs are snorer's so i'm cutting down my ramblings as much as i can. (this short enough for your attention span clauds?) until next time folks...

Having the Best Time in the Worst Times

So I can't help but feel a bit guilty. Every morning we wake up and the news is announcing another massive layoff, first in the banking industry now its happening everywhere.  If it's not thousands of people losing their jobs, it's stories about thousands of houses being foreclosed or maybe its even a legend like Buffett announcing that he thinks our economy "will remain in shambles for 2009 and beyond."  For the world's richest man to make a claim such as this,  how depressing is that? And he's obviously an optimist, or he wouldn't have the confidence to make the risky investment's that he has. But what I'm trying to say, is that amongst all this terrible-ness we hear every day, we are actually in the best position in the market.  Ignoring the fact that finding a job is next to impossible right now, we are very fortunate to be on our college campuses, isolated by the misery existing in the world around us. College is like living in a bubble, (okay, not for all schools, but yes, at Babson. Even when you leave the bubble, your in the idealistic town of Wellesley where everything still seems perfect). But here we discuss the news and what's happening to our economy, but we aren't directly impacted. We don't have 401K's that are plummeting everyday, we don't have families to feed, we don't have worries about paying our mortgage. So, how convenient it is to be graduating when our economy has hit rock bottom? It needs to turnaround eventually.  Maybe this is just the optimist in me speaking, and regardless of Warren's claim, the market WILL turnaround!  People can't lack confidence forever. And let's not forget, we have OBAMA who promised us Change.  But I don't want to get deep in a discussion of politics because that happens way too much at a college full of McCain lovers, and it just gets ugly.  (sidenote, I LOVE TINA FEY! she is my hero. she should read my blog and not Babson Lacrosse.)

With Ash Wednesday being this past week, I spent a day or two agonizing on what to give up for Lent.  Everyear I go through the same dilemma because I try to mix it up, be creative, and not just do the stereotypical giving up of candy or soda, which most people do.  I also love how whenever I'm trying to settle on an idea, there is some asshole saying "uhhhh I'm giving up homework this year haha.." or what my brother has done every year of his life, he gives up oreos, as if thats hard!? Mom probably buys Oreo's once a year at most. But he just thinks it's funny because of how random it is. But I actually do respect the tradition of Lent. I think it's the least we can do as Catholics and its only 40 days out of 365. Nothing should really be hard for that little amount of time.  So as of Tuesday, I had decided to give up facebook. I was thinking that would be the perfect sacrifice because I really could live without a newsfeed staring me in the face with useless information about people I probably haven't talked to in years.  But then it dawned on me, I need to read the messages and that's social suicide if I ignore those. That's like going forty days and not checking your email. So I nixed that idea. Next consideration was coffee. Wednesday morning I was doing my law homework in Reynold's before class...and I'm staring over at Woody's and I'm like BE STRONG Alison, you don't need coffee. But then I started viscously yawning and I knew I had 3 classes and a midterm that day, so how on earth could I give up coffee?  God wouldn't want me to fail out of school.  He also wouldn't want me to be a miserable human to others, which could be possible without my daily Woodychino. So that idea was just unrealistic. At practice, I was debating the possibilites and my coach suggested I give up drinking. I laughed in his face. So I carried on with my day and didn't realize til that night that I had the perfect idea. 

Shopping. I don't think I've gone forty days of my life without purchasing an item of clothing. Two weeks ago, Claudia and I went and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic".  I must say, it was a pretty awful movie, so save your $9.50 and watch it when its on TV in a year. But the movie did get me thinking. Am I addicted to shopping? The red headed chick who was the main character had an addiction like no other, so she's obviously the extreme. But while she is addicited to Gucci handbags and Prada shoes etc, I am addicted to the bargain. I could pretty much careless about the brand. It's all about the thrill of a bargain.  I will buy about 20 shirts for the amount that the girl in the movie paid for a pair of freakin socks.  That's just absurd.  My Mom is definitely to blame for my addiction to shopping for the bargain, especially at TJ's and Marshalls.  How can you resist buying designer jeans that are $14 when the tag is still on from the department store and its listed for $75 bucks!? That's the thrill I crave from shopping. (It must be the business nerd inside of me.)  But anyway, I can and I will be giving up clothes shopping for lent. People have responded saying "but clothes are a necessity"...but if you look in my closet, I don't think any item of clothing will become a necessity unless I'm robbed.  

So why am I talking about the economics and religion? People all over the world are having to sacrifice something to make ends meet in today's economy.  Nothing about my life drastically changed after the collapse in September. I'm so incredibly fortunate to be graduating this spring with a job lined up so that's why this year has been so wonderful. I have no real stresses right now. I'm just basking in the glory of senior year.  So the very least I can do is give up something I enjoy so much.  Ironically enough, I'm giving up the very thing that this country needs to do in order to recover but that's besides the point.  I'm also going to save a boatload of money not shopping for forty days which is a beneficial repurcussion of torturing myself.  

When I told Katie about my plan, she goes "are you CRAZY". With Spring break less than two weeks away, Katie Strauss and I are headed on a roadtrip from Phoenix to San Diego and LA.  So yes, call me crazy. I will have to walk down Rodeo Drive and not purchase anything. That's not going to be pleasant but its just unfortunate timing.

Well, it's four days down, thirty six to go. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. And as for the economy, I don't exactly have the credibility to make any predictions... but, give it a year or two, it can only get better. (knock on wood).

I would also like to add, that I generalize a lot of things, so as with everything, take what I say in these posts with a grain of  salt (cough, BHill, cough).  Oh and yes, Poker Face is not really a lifechanging song. It is just very catchy that's why it has made this weeks list. I'll probably hate the song once it's played on kiss 108 two times per hour. But for now, its a great tune to rock out to. 

That's enough for now. Happy Trails kids. 

Senioritis

"We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds." -Warren Buffett

I, Alison Sullivan, have a serious case of senioritis. But is it justified? 

The first day of kindergarten, we get on a school bus (the legendary, 5 Orange) and from that day forward you become a student for the next seventeen years of your life. There is no choice in today's society. School is from kindergarten until college. Stressing over how to master long division, or cursive, or algerbra...and your teacher claims that without these things you'll never be a success. These stresses will soon fade away as the end of college nears. 

I'm agonizing right now. I have a finance midterm tomorrow that my professor claims "we cannot study for" because this is the way it is in the so-called "real world".  But, I know deep down there's a way to study. I can go through all the lectures we've had so far and refresh my mind as to interest rate risks, hedging strategies, or how to buy an option. Have I done this yet? No. Because I have Senioritis. And it's intensified by the fact that my professor doesn't want us to study. He wants to see if we sink or swim in a situation of pressure. Just like the "real world".

Sometimes the sound of May 16th sounds oh so sweet. The day when seventeen years of schooling comes to a screeching halt. The miserable feeling of dread for tomorrow's exam will be no longer exist come May 16th. Yet, it will only bring about a new dread: the sound of the 6am alarm clock, five days a week for a redundant work schedule...for the rest of your life. (ok a bit dramatic). 

For most, earning a college degree is something tedious and just necessary. I am absolutely shocked when I meet someone who hates college, just goes through the motions, and wants to take that diploma and run. It astounds me because I have enjoyed four years of Babson so much. (Granted, for the tuition this institution charges, it better be damn good.) So in the end, the process of attending college has been quite enjoyable. While I have a great job lined up, the proceeds can't possibly be more enjoyable than this process. Sure, a steady pay check doesn't hurt. But life right now is simple (...especially right now with this 2 days of class a week gig I've got going.) So how can I moan and groan bout a silly exam tomorrow? It's a small price to pay to live this lifestyle.

But I would have to say, this case of Senioritis is justified. I have lived such a hectic lifestyle, cramming as much into my schedule as possible, since about 5th or 6th grade. (I remember my dad forced Brendan and I to do Karate thinking it would make us more diciplined, not to mention I was probably playing two or three other sports at the time). And it finally paid off. Surviving a crazy schedule for so many years built the character I needed to persevere through four years of Babson's miserable course curriculum. So I can't beat myself up when I have a day like today, sleeping til 11 am and relaxing until practice. It's glorious and I know days like this are limited. 

This theory that my buddy Warren has suggested has also put my Cross Country career in perspective. The process at first glance, quite frankly, it sucks. Who wants to run for fun? Who wants to go to preseason for 10 days in the heat of August, run at 5 am, pool workout at 6am, then another long run at 3pm?  Lunatics, thats who. Endorphin-craving lunatics who love the challenge. And I am proud to admit that I am one of them and always will be.  And sure, I haven't set any records. Nor have I won any titles. Or even set a new XC pr. It really doesn't matter. Being on this team was the most enjoyable process of all: making lifelong friendships and memories while building character through the challenges running long distance presents. At times, I will forget the proceeds, but never the process.

December 30th 2004 at 5pm: I ran to the computer to find out if I was admitted to Babson. It read "Alison, Welcome to the Class of 2009!". It was easily one of the happiest moments of my life.  I had been admitted to my "reach" school. That kicked off my case of high school senioritis. Nothing bad came about from slacking a bit that last semester of my life at THS. This past November I was accepted to my "reach" job opportunity. Enter the college version of senioritis...and in the big scheme of things, it's justified. 

PS. Happy Half Birthday to Me! Only 6 Months left to be the glorious age of 21! 

blogging one year too late...

I've never been one to admit that I was wrong or have regrets. But boy oh boy. If only I took the time to write a blog when I spent 5 months having the adventure of a lifetime studying abroad in Spain. I only knew a few kids keeping up with a blog and it seemed like it was homework for them. But, what I wouldn't give to be able to look back and follow my experience through a blog. Traveling all over Europe, even to Africa, with some of the most amazing friends was definitely worthy of documenting. Even my mom has a blog about her time in Spain which was only a week! Now that over a year has passed and I've finally decided that starting a blog is necessary.

Necessary indeed. I have 82 days left as a college kid! This is absurd. Today is the 4 year anniversary of my overnight at Babson as a senior in H.S. (Happy Anniversary Claudia!) I remember it vividly and returned back to THS for basketball practice, I told everyone I knew I was meant to go to this college.

Eighty Two days left of college. Not to mention, the fact that running track simply increases the speed of life. People question why I'm running track as an employed, second semester, graduating senior. What they don't see is that this is the first time in my life I can do something that isn't for the resume or to get a step ahead, and its solely for me! I'm finding this to be more motivational than ever. Track is simply fun this season. Granted, I'm injury free at the moment (knock on wood) so that always makes running more enjoyable. But ultimately, running is great to clear the mind. And I can't take the ability to go outside from 3pm to 5pm for granted ever again since soon those hours will be spent behind a computer screen.

So maybe in retrospect, my time spent in Spain in which I was not "blogging" behind my computer screen was well spent? Granada was such an eye opening experience. It slowed the pace of life down. Here I am, preoccupied over how fast these 82 days will go. And a year ago, that was the farthest of my worries. I would wake up and have nothing on my agenda but to go explore something new about the city of Granada, or even learn some more Spanish simply by striking up a conversation. I would go wander through the trails behind La Alhambra and not have a care in the world how long it took. Everyone needs an experience like this. Babson teaches us how to manage stress. What they fail to teach us is how to embrace boredom and entertain ourselves. That is why we are constantly on email, cellphones (rarely ever used one in Spain), facebook, you get the jist. You reorganize your priorities when exposed to how another culture lives.

Okay, maybe I don't mind so much that I didn't blog my time in Spain. I do have an incredible memory (& thousands of pictures to accompany it). And our newfound obsession in this world with surrendering our privacy and let others get sneak peeks in our lives is essentially what a blog allows. And that, I can live without. So the intention of my blog is for others to learn from as I live these last 82 days of college to the absolute fullest.