One of the great things about Belmont is the number of opportunities the school offers to its musicians. Not only does the school have the usual recitals and concerts, but it also holds showcases for the local bands and performers in the Belmont community. Some of the most recent concerts that I attended were the Rock Showcase and the Commercial Showcase.
Both concerts were very impressive. The Rock Showcase featured four local bands: Sons of People We Know, Kristen Jauden, The Strangers, and The Delta Saints. Each group performed about three songs, one of the songs being a cover of a popular song. The show, which was held in the Curb Event Center, was very impressive. Because the entire show is organized and run by students there is a lot of time and energy put into it to make it perfect.

The Commercial Showcase was equally as impressive. The performers of the commercial showcase were backed up by a full band consisting of a horn section, backup singers, percussion, and many other instruments. Some of the featured artist of the showcase were Ricky Braddy, Lindsey Jones, Alvin Love, Sarah Silva, and Jack Young. Each musician brought a lot of energy to the stage, making a very enjoyable concert.

Overall, Belmont’s Showcases are definitely worth seeing. The combination of amazing musicians and impressive stage work, complete with flashing lights and a phenomenal sounds, makes it an worthwhile experience.

Well, I am finally back at Belmont. Having almost four weeks off for winter break was great, but I was really missing my friends in Nashville. It was nice being able to sleep in and not have to worry about school work for a while. I was so excited when I got back to Belmont, I missed being in such a warm and friendly environment.
Things have certainly changed while I was gone over the break. Many of the debate ’08 decorations have been
taken down and they changed the layout of the cafeteria so that it is more convenient for the students. Even my friends looked different than before, they sported new haircuts and clothes. It was nice being able to hang out with them over the weekend. The picture in this blog was actually taken while I was hanging out with my friend Raven in front of the frozen water fountain outside of the Curb Cafe. We also had a lot of fun bowling and we saw the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop. If you haven’t seen Mall Cop, I would highly suggest you see it because it is really funny.

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So I must say, my Christmas Break was excellent. I got to spend time reading great books like Jonathan Safran Foer’s, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” and Daniel Taylor’s “Tell Me a Story.” Both really fascinating books, one a novel about September 11th and the other a non-ficion book about the power of stories. I also got to hang out with some friend and family, and my friend Julianne came to visit, so now we’ve both been home with each other.
Aside from having a great break I’ve had a pretty interesting return to school. My classes are all great and I’m really excited about the Justice and Prison class I’m taking which meets in a minimum security prison and some of my classmates will be prisoners (who we call insiders–we’re called outsiders). I have a couple of friends who’ve already taken the class and they said it’s an extremely powerful learning experience, so I’m excited to have my life shaped by the stories of people I most likely would never get to know or hear from.

The past few weeks have been quite hectic. I am swamped with papers to write for interpersonal communication, newswriting, business law, and strategic management.
Sound crazy? Believe me. It is. Welcome to senior year.

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Yesterday my friend Jesse and I decided to knock out a couple of convocation credits. Freshmen need about 60 credit hours in order to graduate, so whenever I get some free time I like to go to a convo. I love how Belmont has so many different convos to choose from. There are several different categories, such as personal growth, Christian development, and culture of the arts. For each category you need 10 credit hours. They are fairly easy to get because there are over 1000 opportunities to receive convo credit. The people that Belmont brings in to speak are experts at their field, and many of them actually graduated from Belmont. It is fascinating to listen to the speakers because they really know what they are talking about and the stories they share are thrilling and lively.

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Wow! I can truly say that I have never had an experience quite like I had last night! I was one of the lucky few who received a ticket to the Presidential 2008 Town Hall Debate at Belmont!

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Check out this behind the scenes look at the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate which will take place next week in Belmont’s Curb Event Center. For more information about next week’s debate, check out the Belmont Debate 08 website.

I cannot believe that a month has gone by already. My freshmen year has been amazing thus far. I have met so many new people this past month alone. I must admit, I was a bit nervous about coming to Belmont. There is always the thought of not having any friends, but I quickly realized that it almost impossible not to have friends because the people here are very friendly and welcoming.

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If you come to Belmont you will…
Experience real, honest friendships.
Engage in out-of-the-ordinary coffee nights.

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Wow. I have to say, I was not in the least prepared to be as busy as I am this year. Those older than me always seem to say how Junior year is so much more difficult than Senior year. I am finding this to be true, especially as I look at my calendar (I’ve never used a calendar before, now I am all about it) and see how packed my days are. Of course there’s a bit of room in there for hanging out, but its very difficult to even find friends who are free at the same times as I am. I’ve been to a lot of meetings, done a lot of planning, been to several convocations for the Humanities Symposium (I’m in the course of the same title, so I have to be very involved in i), and of course there’s class.
While I am enjoying my time being busy, I also enjoy my time being unrushed. I’ve taken to sitting in the belltower and praying for at least a half hour. While I try to do it every day, a few times a week is more like it. But I love that there is a peaceful center to our campus admist all the craziness going on.

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