One year older...and wiser too?

Well, it's been another year and I'm 19, baby! Yesterday was a BLAST! Being my first birthday away from home, I was curious as to how it would turn out, but it was definitely a fun day. At exactly midnight, me and my roommate ate a bite of ice cream to celebrate the beginning of my birthday, and it just went up from there!  I made a birthday bucket list that my roommate helped me accomplish! Here are just a few of the items on my list:

• Rent a puppy
• Hold a strangers hand
• Climb a tree 

 Rent a Puppy

Yes, we did get to rent a puppy. His name is Bruno and he's ADORABLE. He was delivered right to our door and we got him for an hour. :)

 

As you can see, he was kind of a stinker.  Haha:) He was a playful biter, and kept crying..but he was still fun and adorable! Boarder Collie puppies are so cute. 

Hold a Stranger's Hand

This one made me pretty scared! But I thought it was hilarious and really wanted to do it! So first I'll tell you the story, and then you can watch the video :) So me and Aubrey (my roommate) walked around campus looking for cute guys without rings on their left hand..haha;) When I found one that wasn't walking too fast, I casually started walking next to him. Then I started talking to him.  Here's how our conversation went:

Me: "Hey, how's it going?"

Boy: "Good."

Me: "Cool! So, it's my birthday, so I was just wondering if you would hold my hand."

Boy: "Oh, are you playing assassin or something?"

Me: "Nope, it's just my birthday."

Boy: "Wait, really? This isn't for anything?"
Me: "Yeah, it's my birthday today and it's on my bucket list, so.."

(Then the boy held out his hand, and just as I started reaching for it, he kept lifting it away from mine, and said):

Boy: "Wait really?"

Me: "Yeah!"
Boy: "Non e vero?" (or at least that's what I think he said..) "Uh, I mean, seriously?"

(I think the fact that he started speaking a different language means he's probably fresh off his mission hahaha)

Me: "Seriously."

(Then he let me hold his hand! *Success* He swung our cute little hands around and said):
Boy: "Should we skip or something?"
Me: "Yeah, sure!"

(Then he had to go into the building his class was in so I said goodbye.)

Thanks for being a good sport, random guy! Haha! Even thought it took a little convincing, he let me check something off my bucket list!;) :) Here's the video!

So we decided to try this one more time, just for the heck of it.  The second guy was much faster to just hold my hand. I asked him, and he said sure right away! He then guessed my motives, however, and asked if this was for Candid Camera or something, turned around, and spotted Aubrey recording! Haha, whoops! Here's the video of that one! And a shout out to Aubrey for getting all the footage and partying with me!:)

 

 Climb a Tree

This was a very simple thing, but I love climbing trees, and there is a fantastic one not too far from my apartment! So Aubrey and I climbed the tree and took a couple pictures!

 After our bucket list excursion, I then got ready to perform with my Social Dance class at a party/dance lab/thing for all the Social Dance students! We did the cha cha to "Daftpunk" by Pentatonix, and we had a little hip-hop section at the end! It was a ton of fun! It was also exciting because we got to put random colors in our hair and try to look like robots.. :)

  The girls of our class! Plus 2 of the boys...shhhhh

 Wardies!

 Here's a video of my class doing our routine! :)

 

I then finished off the night by going to Noteworthy rehearsal and getting treats from all my Noteworthy girls! The day was very busy but super fun! Thanks to everyone for making my 19th birthday a great one! :)

A Slice of the Sun

In January I had to opportunity to have a little time away from the snowy cold and travel to California with my Noteworthy girls!  We competed in the ICCAs, or in other words, the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, or in other words, the competition on Pitch Perfect. Yes, that is a real competition. Needless to say, we quoted Pitch Perfect quite frequently on our trip. :)

 First we hit up the beach and recorded part of our music video! So get excited for that! ;)

 Then Diana fixed my hair and gave me something somewhat similar to dred locks ;) It was fun:)

 The finished product. #selfie

 The show was completely sold out, including many people who stood against the walls without a seat!

 We pretty much live Pitch Perfect...to an extent ;P

And then, of course, the performance!  Adrenaline was high as we performed our 12 minute set and sang our hearts out!  Shortly after everyone was done performing, the awards were announced, including an amazing group called The Beat getting 1st place, and Noteworthy getting 2nd!  This meant that we would be continuing on to the next round of the ICCAs!  We were so excited, as shown by the next pictures:)

Performing was an amazing experience.  Our hearts were pounding, faces were flushing, and we were so excited.  The most meaningful part of our performance was when we sang a hymn, "Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide."  This song really has a special meaning to our group, including myself.  The message of the song is one of our Father in Heaven's love for us.  The lyrics to the song are a plea to Him to not leave us at hard times.  Something I especially love about our arrangement is a part of "How Firm a Foundation" in the middle of the song. These lyrics are from the point of view of our Heavenly Father and go like this:

"Fear not, I am with thee

Oh be not dismayed

For I am thy God

And will still give thee aid.

That soul, though all Hell should endeavor to shake

I'll never, no never, no never forsake."

The message of this song is incredible, and so true.  God will never leave us, even when it feels like everything is fighting against us.  How incredible is that?!  The most incredible and powerful being in the universe loves us and wants to help us be happy!  I love it :)  That song will always have a special place in my heart.

We also sang "Parachute," by Ingrid Michaelson (I was the beatboxer for this one:)), "Feel Again," by One Republic, and a mashup of "This Girl is on Fire" and "Firework."

If you want to see our performance, here ya go!:)

Noteworthy has been such an amazing part of my life, and I have grown to love those ladies as sisters of my own.  We're so pumped to perform in the Semi-Finals of the ICCAs!:D
ALSO. Save the date for April 12th because we're having a concert!  Booyeah!  Be there or be square!
:)