It is finally summer! Everything is starting to settle into place. I will be staying on campus this summer so that I can
take classes. I am going to be taking Medivial History, Third-Year Writing, and my Junior Cornerstone: Intro to the New Testament. Overall summer is looking great. I recently moved from my dorm room in Kennedy to a really nice apartment in Hillside. I also get the apartment to myself this summer, which I have loved so far.
I am really happy that Belmont remains active during the summer. The music buildings are open so I can continue to use the practice rooms. Also many of my friends stayed for the summer so I actually have people to hang out with.
I have been searching for a job for quite a while and I finally got one yesterday. I will be working at Belmont in the Office of Development over the summer and hopefully in the fall as a student worker. There is a lot to do with this job and at times it is going to be challenging. I look forward to good challenge this summer.
Summer will be excellent. I have already created goals for myself this summer to prepare for the fall. For instance, I
plan on working out a lot and I am continuing to practice saxophone and clarinet this summer. I would really like to make the orchestra on clarinet this fall and be in the classical performers recital in the spring on sax.
Well I must be going for now, but I will keep you all updated on my activities during the summer.
Category Archives: Summer
Summer at Blue Lake
15
I am finally back at Belmont after an amazing summer. It is great being able to be with my friends once again and I have enjoyed meeting the new students. I now live in one of the upperclassmen dorms, Kennedy Hall, which is completely different than living in a freshman hall. This semester if going to be great.
This summer I worked as a cabin counselor at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. It 
was an amazing experience. I learned about Blue Lake through a poster hanging on a board in Wilson Music Building here at Belmont. I looked into the camp I decided that this would be a great experience over the summer.
I left for Blue Lake in mid-June and would return to my home in Missouri three days before school started. I was there for a total of ten weeks, but the experience was well worth it.
At Blue Lake my primary job was to be a cabin counselor. I lived with twelve campers in a cabin. There were four 
sessions of campers during the summer, so every twelves day I would get a new set of campers. The first two sessions I had incoming freshmen in my cabin, then the last two sessions I had incoming 7th graders. It was great getting to know the campers personally and seeing the develop musically. At Blue Lake the campers could choose a major, wheither it was Band, Orchestra, Choir, Dance, Theater, or Art. In each major they had major ensemble rehersals throughout the day, but they also had sectionals and tech classes where they could study their specific instrument in depth.
Along with being a cabin counselor I was able to perform in the Staff Concert Band and Staff Jazz Ensemble. This was a great opportunity for me to keep playing in an ensemble over the summer and to have the experience to play with some amazing musicians from across the country. I was also a rehersal assistant for one of the camper concert bands. My duties were to take attendance, run broken instruments to the repair shop, and to help the campers with their music. At times, the directors would allow me to teach sectionals and even conduct the entire band.
Overall Blue Lake was a great experience and I am hopefully going back next summer. I look forward to this school year. I am in several ensembles and have some excellent classes. This is going to be an amazing year.
Pictures: The cabin that I lived in (top picture), shot of the counselors in the unit
Packing Up, Moving Out
So with a week left to finish all my packing, hang out with friends and family and get everything in order, why am I feeling so peaceful about returning to school? Last year at this time I was super hyped to go back to school. This time around, I’m definitely excited, but I’m a lot more reluctant to let the summer grow. I’ve definitely grown a lot these past 3 months. I’ve become more serious, more thoughtful, and hopefully more loving. I’m not quite sure what this year holds, but I am looking forward to it.
Leading a Tower Team will be awesome fun, I think. And so will being an SLA again. But other than that, I’m really in the dark about what my life will look like. My only confidence is in knowing God has something far greater than what I imagined lined up, and I can’t wait to experience it.
Counting Down
It’s so hard to believe that this will be my sophomore year of college. Every time I say it out loud it sounds so strange! The past year has truly been all about transition, and I’m so happy that the unfamiliarity of college is no longer a concern or source of anxiety. At the beginning of the summer, I remember feeling like four months at home wouldn’t be enough; I thought that August would come too soon and that I would still long to be with my family…
Party Time
My mom celebrated her 50th birthday last week. A pretty exciting time for our family. We had a big party at the church and stayed up all night. Quite the good time.
Other than that I’ve just been working and reading. I’m really enjoying Thomas Merton’s book, “The Seven Storey Mountain.” He’s probably my new favorite author. I’m really looking forward to going back to school. Only 3 more weeks. I’m really excited to be a Tower Team leader. I can’t wait to meet some of the incoming Freshman!
Summer Vacations
One week from today I will be laying on a sunny beach in Key Largo, Florida, and (hopefully) getting a nice tan. Summer trips to Florida have been a family tradition for years, but this year, instead of going to Marco Island, FL (our usual destination), we’re mixing it up and going to Key Largo! I don’t quite remember how we decided on that location, but it’s referenced in the song “Kokomo” so it’s gotta be pretty good, right?! My only concern is the weather. You never know what to expect when it’s hurricane season, but hopefully the rain will clear off so that we can enjoy some of that beautiful, sunny Florida weather!
Boundary Lines
The Fourth of July went off with an exploding bang. The fireworks lit up the pitch-black sky with showers of glowing confetti. This year, I spent the 4th with a few friends. We grilled out, ate scrumptious food, and of course – capped off the night with a spectacular fireworks show.
Catching Up
Slightly Surreal
When I went to Nashville two weeks ago today, my friend, Julianne, picked me up from the airport and it was hilariously awkward at first (but then we just have an extremely awkward friendship in the first place). Anyways, we were talking and I told her that it is weird to actually be living something you’ve been anticipating so much, and I think that kind of sums up my vacation. It was really great, but there was a slight element of the surreal attached to it just because I had been looking forward to it so much, it didn’t seem like it would really ever come. Hanging out with Julianne and Sarah and David and Irieon for most of the day was pretty fantastic. I love Nashville and getting to see Dan before he left for Africa was pretty awesome too.
At the Old Ballgame!
Ever since we have lived in Kansas City, Royals baseball games have been a summer tradition in my family. My dad, a dedicated sports fan, buys 40 home game tickets each season and proudly cheers the Royals on…no matter what their record is 
. We always have a great time at Kauffman Stadium (pictured at right), especially on Friday nights when they shoot off fireworks after the game.
I love spending nights at the ballgame with my family, and I hope that the tradition continues for years to come (which, knowing my dad, it probably will). The Royals take on the Seattle Mariners tonight here in KC -I’ll be at the stadium, cheering them on to victory!