New Ink and a 5k

Hey everyone!

Although I’ve closed the gap between latest posts, I still haven’t posted as frequently as I would like.

After a long while of thinking about it, I finally made the move to get a second tattoo. The funny thing is though that it’s not necessarily what I thought my second tattoo would be. After my grandfather passed away last November, I had every intention of my tattoo being for him. I still have that plan. I’m going to get the exact same thing on my left shoulder blade that I have on my right, only with a different verse of the song.

But last Monday I woke up and decided I was finally going to make the move and get it done. I went to New Breed Tattoo after class, explained what I want (which I’ll get to in a sec), and got ready to get it done. I had pumped myself up all day for it, only to have to wait until Friday until my artist was ready for me. I scheduled an appointment for 4:30 on Friday, and once again had the week to get excited for the new tattoo.

So the week goes by, and 4:30 Friday rolls around. I head on over, and Ben tells me he’s not quite as ready for me as he was hoping and needed me to come back at 9:30. MORE WAITING!

It was finally time for the tattoo, and I was really pumped. Here is what I told him I wanted. I wanted the words “Thank God for another day” on my chest, but I wanted it tattooed backwards so when I look in the mirror I could read it. Initially I wasn’t sure if I just wanted it to one side of my chest, across, big, small. When he sketched it out small and in simple script, I realized that is exactly what I want. Here’s a few hours after he was done:

And here’s how it looks in the mirror:

After I took the bandage off it and really looked at it more in the mirror, I realized it was perfectly what I wanted. It’s small and simple.

The reason I wanted to get this was because sometimes I get overwhelmed and forget that my life could be worse and to be thankful for what I do have. This serves as a daily reminder for me that I need to be thankful for being alive. Every morning when I look in the mirror I see it, and I’m reminded. Sure, I shouldn’t need a tattoo to remind me to be thankful. But I think we all understand how crazy our day to day lives can be and sometimes we forget…I know I do.

It just reminds me that despite how difficult or complicated my life is, I’m going to get through it, and I need to be thankful for the life that I have.

I love it!

In other news, working out is still going pretty well. As of Monday, the last time I weighed myself, I’ve lost 25 pounds. Today’s another weigh-in day, so hopefully the weight loss has continues. I’m heading to work out in a little bit, so hopefully I’ll have good news.

Tomorrow is kind of an exciting day for me though. I think I mentioned it last post. When I initially started working out, it was just to be healthier and try to get fit and be a physically better person. I realized along the way I wanted a tangible goal, something that I could do to prove to myself that I’m getting healthier and fit. I decided to participate in the Purdue Center for Cancer Research’s 5k run, The Challenge. Tomorrow is finally the day. I’ve definitely been busting my butt for the past month and a half, almost two months, and tomorrow I’ll have the chance to show myself exactly where I am.

I’m not going to lie though, I’m kind of nervous though. Every time I drive along the roads in which the the 5k course is, the only thing I can think to myself is, “Wow, this stretch of road is REALLY long!” I’m sure I’ll be thinking the same thing while I’m running it too.

That’s all I really have. I’ll have to post shortly after the race.

Hopefully all of you have a wonderful weekend!

Getting Fit

It has once again been a little bit longer than I planned since my last blog post. There have been too many times I’ve said to myself “I haven’t blogged in a while, I should do that,” and then I kind of forget about it. My apologies.

Not too much has been going on in my life. Being on academic probation from Glee Club sucks pretty hard, especially with all of the opportunities they’ve had this semester. I was hoping to sure up somethings with my grades and have the opportunity to rejoin the guys this semester, but it didn’t quite work out.

All I can really say is this: after being given the chance to finish up some work and eventually receiving a grade that should’ve reestablished my eligibility, the university couldn’t change my academic status, and I was not given the opportunity to join the guys mid-semester. As much as I normally look forward End of Season, I can’t even express, in writing or spoken words, how much I can’t wait to get back with my brothers on stage.

Until then, I’ll bust my butt in rehearsal, try and focus as much as possible on my academics, work at the store, and work on me (more on this later).

School is just kind of school right now. The latter part of the semester is going as they normally do, and that’s slow. We’ve had some teaser warm weather here and there, and I think everyone’s just ready for the summer. My plan to pursue this second undergraduate degree has no doubt been questionable at best. I don’t particularly enjoy what I’m doing. Not shockingly at all, my favorite class is my communication class, an advertising class. I miss having those communication classes.

I’ve decided that if grad school isn’t in the cards for me for next semester, as I’ve reapplied for next fall, I’m going to take some time away from school. Grad school at Purdue may just not be for me. There are other programs out there that I may consider in the future. I just think for right now, if I’m not admitted to grad school for the fall, I need some time away from school. I’ll come back some other time and finish up those handful of classes, but I’ve already earned my one degree, and I’m proud of that.

This semester I’ve had the opportunity to work a bit more without weekend performances and obligations, and that’s been kind of refreshing. I am excited though for the summer because I’ll be able to work full time, and hopefully in a more advanced position. Yes, even in the meat department at your local grocery stores we have levels within departments. I’m hoping eventually work my way up into store management, and I think this is just another step.

I think one way this blog will change a bit is with a new endeavor/hobby I’ve taken on in my life. Just down the street from where we live, they put in a gym called Snap Fitness. One day I decided to go check out it and get a membership. They had a membership $20 a month (no long-term contract), and the facility is open 24/7. I figured I’d give it a shot.

That was about a month and a half ago. Since then, I’ve probably worked out literally just about everyday since then. I can’t even explain why it’s happened. Maybe it’s because I want to be healthier. Maybe it’s because I might as work on my physical health when my mental “health” is questionable. Maybe I just needed something to fill my lack of Glee Club obligations. I don’t know. I’m sure there are plenty of reasons, conscious and subconscious.

Regardless, I’ve started working out 5-6 days a week, and I’ve also started eating better, significantly better. I’ve basically cut out all fast food, with the only legit exception being Tuesdays when I get lunch with Joe and Kels, though I do try to eat well when we do. I’ve tried to bring my lunch with me to campus instead of getting food on campus. I’ve shopped better, buying better and healthier food, and I’ve started cooking a little bit better. I’ve tried to limit all eating to before 8 PM. And, I think most importantly, I’ve substantially cut out the amount of pop I drink. I allow myself one a day, although many days I don’t drink it at all. I’ve started to drink milk: I think I’ve drank more milk in the past month and a half than I have in the five and a half years I’ve been in college.

Now, unfortunately I did not weigh myself before I started working out, and that was probably a mistake. I have an application on my phone that allows me to track my weight, my calorie intake, my workouts, etc. By putting in my goal weight, it creates a daily calorie plan for me to reach my goal. I had to take a guess at my starting weight which, and there’s not a chance it was under 265. I guessed my starting weight to be 268. As of today, I’m at 247.4, and I’m pretty proud of that. My goal is to get to 215. I’m just trying to live a healthier life, get fit and feel better about myself.

I think I may turn this blog into a workout/weight loss blog. I’m not necessarily looking for feedback, but I just think this will be a good way for me to stay accountable, and maybe “inspire” other people to give it a try.

Thanks for reading. I’m hoping to update it a little more frequently and keep up with the weight loss. Have a good day!!

-J. Chance

Fix You

Music has such a profound impact on our lives, I think sometimes we take it for granted.

Sure, I’m a little biased because of the role music has played in my life, but I believe even the non-musically-gifted individual feels the impact of music.

It could be the theme song to your favorite tv show or movie. Maybe it’s the newest song on the radio or that hidden gem on your favorite album. Or maybe it’s a memory associated with a seemingly random song.

Music draws at something special inside all of us. It pulls on those proverbial heartstrings. In my opinion, one of the greatest characteristics of music is that there’s a song for any mood or any situation you could be in. If you’re happy, there’s a song for that. If you’re upset, there’s a song for that. If you really have no idea how you’re feeling and you can’t really describe it, there’s probably a song for that. Music is the international language. We identify with music.

This probably seems like a really random post, so I’ll explain where this came from.

Have you ever been so moved by a song, it actually moved you to tears? Have you ever heard a song that was so beautiful lyrically, harmonically, you became emotionally attached to that song?

I can’t really explain why, but Straight No Chaser‘s cover of Coldplay‘s “Fix You” does this for me. I’ve recently come to appreciate the immense talent that is Straight No Chaser, discovering their unbelievable Christmas album a few months ago. I downloaded their album from iTunes and heard this song.

I honestly couldn’t really tell you why this song has impacted me the way it has, but I think that’s the beautiful thing about music: we don’t need a reason to be moved by talent.

Check it out for yourself:

What songs move you?

Posting once a week in 2011

WordPress’ challenge: Commit to blogging and sticking to it. I’m in!

Here’s a description I’ve borrowed of the challenge:

I’ve decided I want to blog more. Rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting right now.  I will be posting on this blog once a week for all of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy, but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to make use of The DailyPost, and the community of other bloggers with similiar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.

Hopefully I’ll stick to it and have plenty of interested readers. I plan to include other aspects of my life, and not just the inspiration of WordPress. Just saying, stay posted.

-J. Chance

Hope and My Resolution

Happy New Year to all of you!

I realized I haven’t posted since the summer, and that’s pretty embarrassing. I apologize for my lack of updates.

There has been entirely too much going on in my life since the last time I posted, and I really don’t have the time or the desire to write about everything that has gone on in my life. Even though I generally am an outgoing individual, I’ve realized I keep a lot to myself; part of me apologizes for this, part of me doesn’t have anything else to say about it.

Because it’s been such a long while since I’ve updated, here’s a refresher:

• I earned my BA in Public Relations and Mass Communication in May.
• Grad school at Purdue Attempt #1 did not work out, and after already having committed to the Glee Club for this school year, I began the pursuit of a second undergraduate degree in professional writing.
• I worked a hell of a lot over the summer at the grocery store.

That should do a pretty solid job catching you up to the beginning of the fall semester.

So there I was, beginning my sixth year of college (how silly does that sound?) and fourth with the Purdue Varsity Glee Club, and I had overall probably one of the absolute worst semesters I’ve ever had, for a number of different reasons.

Because I had already earned my degree and was really taking classes only to be eligible to be a member of the Glee Club, I started the year with a very negative attitude toward my schoolwork. I was in a bunch of prerequisite classes, classes I wasn’t overly interested in, so I was off to a bad start before I even really got started. That bad start was followed by a less-than-favorable middle, and concluded with a pretty crappy ending. I struggled academically to an extent that I hadn’t in quite some time, and I found myself in an academic standing no Glee Clubber wants to be: Academic Probation.

Oh, it’s just as embarrassing to write as it is to have to tell anyone verbally. I’m embarrassed for a number of reasons. For starters, as a student leader within the Glee Club, I was elected to a leadership position because of exemplary leadership, service and SCHOLARSHIP skills, and simply put, I did not do my job. I feel as if I let my Glee Club brothers down. Although part of me thinks it might be for the better so I really can reexamine aspects of my life and get it together, I’m in the process of possibly changing that status sooner than later.

Amidst my academic struggles, I had to deal with the loss of my grandfather. The week prior to Thanksgiving, in the height of hours and hours of Christmas Show rehearsals, my grandfather had a sudden heart attack and passed away the next day. I don’t think anyone is ever fully prepared for the loss of anyone, but it was definitely sudden and unexpected with Papa. Beating myself up about spending more time at home or thinking about forgetting to call him on his birthday like I’ve done every year prior to this year isn’t helpful, and I’ve gotten past that kind of stuff, but there’s no doubt I miss him like hell.

I’ll share a secret with you all: I still have the voicemail he left me on my birthday saved on my phone, and I have a feeling I’ll be keeping that one for a little while. I know we all miss Papa. Any of you that had the opportunity to meet him and spend time with him know the kind of person he was, and he’s definitely missed, but I know he’s watching over us.

Now, I know I’m a very fortunate individual, and I wouldn’t argue otherwise with the experiences and resources I’ve been privileged to. However, this past semester I had a lot that weighed on me and ultimately culminated with landing on academic probation and being unable to perform with the Glee Club for the time being. We all make mistakes in our lives, as cliche as that is. I have admittedly done things that I’m not proud of, and I want to apologize to those of you who I have maybe been untruthful to or seemingly distant from over the past few years of my life.

I’m doing my best to accept my mistakes, learn from them and do what’s best and what’s right; I never knew it was so difficult  to have to choose between the two. With that apology, I want to thank you all for being a part of my life and dealing with me being a jerk, a butthead, or just not myself, whether you knew I was or not. I have been blessed with the greatest set of friends and the best family a man could ask for, and there are definitely times I haven’t deserved to have you in my life…I’m just glad I do.

With the beginning of a new year, people make resolutions, things they want to do or not do in the upcoming year. I don’t know that I have just one resolution or specific resolutions. I do know that I am going to have a better attitude about life and I’m full of hope for this year. I intend to get things in my life together and keep them together. For starters, I want to do a better job of making good life decisions wherever I can. I want to find a way to balance “what’s right” and “what’s best,” and make those decisions accordingly.

I prayed for the first time the other night, like, legitimately got down on my knees before bed and prayed. I’ve always believed in God, but haven’t kept him as close to the forefront of my mind as I should, and I’m wanting to make Him a more focused part of my life. As I was talking to Him, I had the chills the whole time, and it was a pretty cool feeling. I don’t know how relevant that is…I just felt like sharing that. But I think with His help, 2011 will be a good year.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and successful 2011, an amazing Spring semester, and the best wishes!

Thanks for putting up with me…

Becoming an Adult…According to Burk

Fortunately for me, I’m not quite heading in to the workforce just yet.

I’ve still got a lot of schooling ahead of me. As Shawn put it last night, this was the first off three (I corrected him to four) graduations for me.

However, a lot of my really good friends graduated within the past 6 months, Shawn being one of them, and I know searching for a job and being out in the real world is pretty scary.

As I was logging in to WordPress.com, this featured blog post caught my eye.

“Signs I’m Starting To Become An Adult.”

First off, props to the writer. Well-written, brother, well-written.

It’s kind of scary to think about the little tell-tale signs that life’s starting to get real. It’s always funny to see people changing his or her name on Facebook from first and last name to first and middle name. I’d go from “Jeremy Chance” to “Jeremy Michael.” It’s kind of comical sometimes. There was actually one instance where I saw a name in my newsfeed, and I actually questioned who this person was and why I was friends with him.

It’s funny that he mentions weddings because that’s absolutely true. I know this is the third Shawn reference in this post alone, but Shawn is getting married in less than five months. A couple of Glee Clubbers are getting married this summer. One of the guys actually got married this past Sunday (congrats, Noah!). One of my best friends from high school actually got married last summer. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love going to weddings, and I’m beyond stoked to be the best man in another. Honestly though, for better or for worse, they make me realize I’m no where near ready myself to get married.

Being single helps delay that marriage process as well…one day, I suppose.

It’s funny to hear (or read, really) people talk about “punk-ass kids.” I’ve been out of high school since 2005. I’m a Purdue alum (kind of), so I’ve seen and experienced a lot through my five years as a Boilermaker. It’s funny to see the shift in habits and hobbies throughout the years. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still like to go out and have a good time rocking out on Chauncey Hill. Sometimes I would rather just sit at home and chill instead of going out all the time, and I think this is one of the most common themes I’ve noticed among other friends.

When I first turned 21, I heard a lot of people say you drink a lot less once you’re actually able to do it legally. Now, I can’t say that applied to me. I’ve still done my share of drinking. I have noticed a decent amount of my friends have started to slow down on the going out. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there’s definitely a different demeanor about them even when they do go out.

Because those last two paragraphs weren’t really where I was wanting to go with that point, I’ll digress to that point.

I see the way some kids behave nowadays, and I don’t to sound like an old fogey, but I honestly wonder to myself if that’s the way I acted when I was that age. I said that to myself when I went from middle school to high school when looking at the way those middle schoolers behaved. I said the same thing to myself after graduating high school and moving on to college. Did I really act that in high school? And now that I’ve had my number of years in college, I say the same thing when I see freshmen around campus and at parties.

Like I said, I’m pretty fortunate to not be thrown into the real world just quite yet. Congrats to all of my fellow Purdue graduates though. It’s kind of crazy to think how far we’ve come in the four of five years since we started college in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Reading Burk’s post about becoming an adult makes me realize how fortunate I am to have had all the experiences I’ve had in my life that have hopefully prepared me for the real world when I get there.

I hope those of you who may be feeling down you’re in the real world and don’t have a job yet, no worries. Things will work the way they’re supposed to work. And as much as you wish you could go back to college (Avenue Q, anyone???), just wait…the right job’s out there.

Yeah, this post definitely falls in the “random thoughts” category…very little direction with this post.

Thanks, Burk, for the inspiration though!

Life Update Part 2 (Glee Club)

Hello again!

I think I made the right choice to split up this blog in to two parts. Check out Part 1 for an update on the end of the semester and the upcoming school year for me.

The past three weeks for Glee Club were a pretty crazy few weeks. We had finals week off, which is always nice. I didn’t really have any finals, so it was a week full of working for me.

The weekend after finals we began recording a new CD. As the year and semester went on, our group sound became pretty refined, and with about 12 seniors moving on, Bill wanted to take advantage of that and record a CD with some of our new music and a few of the classics.

Saturday was the specialty recording session, and I have to admit, I felt like a rock star. Each specialty group had 45 minutes to get two tracks down. We met down in the studio in Pao Hall. The recording room was soundproofed and engineered to be awesome. I’m obviously no sound engineer, but the only way I can explain the room is that it was awesome. For Voiceovers, since there are six of us, there were six microphones set up. Each of us had our own set of headphones with all the audio feeds in our ears. It was pretty cool. I think we all pulled the superstar recording artist with one headphone ear on and the other off.

It was a pretty cool feeling, and I think any guy in a specialty will agree with me. I’m specifically looking forward to hear how those tracks sound. We recorded “Trashin’ the Camp (at minute 4:30)” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” Those were definitely two of our better songs, and I’m definitely excited to hear how they sound. I know all of the other specialties put down some amazing stuff too, and I think we’re all looking forward to hear how we sounded.

Sunday began the full group recording. If I recall correctly we started at 2 PM. We recorded in one of the small theaters in Pao, but it seemed just like any live show. We had our full set-up: risers, mics, monitors. All we were missing was the audience.

Sunday we recorded from about 2 til 8 (just in time for the Blackhawks game), and Monday we were back at it again bright and early in the morning. Monday we recorded from about 10 til about 7. I think if I recall correctly, we recorded 26 tracks in about 15 hours. The crazy thing was our voices seemed to be in pretty good shape the rest of the week. I figured we would definitely be running low Tuesday and Wednesday for shows, but I think Bill did a good job pacing us and we were in good voice by the end of the day Monday.

Thankfully we had our voices for Tuesday because we had a pretty important show Tuesday night…well, at least for me. Tuesday night we performed at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.

Anytime we perform in the Region is great, but because there’s no show in Hammond, the Munster show serves as somewhat of a home show for me. Each Glee Clubber, in his senior year, has the opportunity to honor with a lavaliere two very important women in his life, the woman he intends to marry and his mother. Trust me, I’m no where near the former, but my mother definitely deserves it.

Even though I’m coming back to Glee Club next year, there was a period of time where I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with next year, so there was a slight possibility this Munster show was going to be my last. Plus my mother helped to “sponsor” the show, so the Munster show was going to be the show I lavaliered my mother.

During the “first half” of the show, I brought my mother on stage. I explained to the audience what the lavaliere is, and explained my song selection. I picked “A Song for Mama” by Boyz II Men. They performed a free concert over the summer of 2009 in Hammond, and before they performed this song, they told everyone to get out his or her cell phones, “call your mother and tell her you love her.” I actually decided right then I was going to sing this song for her.

If you’d like to see it, check out this video that Shawn filmed using his camera at the show. Like he says, it’s not the best quality, but it gets the point across. I’ll let the video speak for itself.  Don’t judge the singing. It’s a lot harder to sing to your mother than you may think.

It was a really special moment for my mother and I, and I’m really thankful for the opportunity to do that. I know she’s glad she gets to wear her lavaliere for another year’s worth of shows.

So Tuesday was special. Wednesday night we had an hour performance at the Westminster Village, an assisted living community, in West Lafayette. Wednesday night was the Old Man party, a party the new men throw the old men…and that’s all I’m really willing to say about that night.

Thursday we had a quick morning rehearsal and had the rest of the day free. Let’s just say I needed the rest of the day to recover, so I’m thankful for that time off. We had most of Friday off too, which was really nice. Friday night began the marathon of commencements, one of four.

Saturday was a marathon in its own right. The day began nice and early at 8:45 for commencement number two. Commencement number three was shortly there after. Hearing the same speeches three times, it’s hard to fake a laugh at the same pop culture reference over and over again.

After the third commencement, we had a short break before meeting over at the Long Center for our End of Season show.

This show is always a bittersweet moment for us. It’s the last show the current group performs together, and like years before we’re always performing our best by then. This show always signifies a changing of the guard, the celebration of the departing seniors and anticipation of a new year for the returning members.

This year we’ve had one hell of a class of seniors. Honestly, the guys that made up this senior class are probably some of the coolest guys I know. Like we’ve said, they will be missed but never forgotten.

To Aaron Strand, Andy Wirtner, Barry Helfrich, Ryan McLean, Randy Sarnowski, Kyle Sutton, Andy Seibert, Connie Baltzell, Ian Hyman, Jeremy Clifford, Jim Giberson, Patrick Brown, Dan Gardiner and Noah Demerly, you guys truly led us by example and we are grateful for all you’ve done for us. We only hope to make you guys proud in the following years.

This year’s show was honestly one of the best shows I’ve performed in as a member of the Purdue Varsity Glee Club. The song selection was perfect. We were focused and in sync with Bill. Nobody was trying to over sing. We were 48 distinct men, but we sang with one voice.

I wanted to include a few clips from the show, thanks to Mrs. Conte. The first two are from my specialty group, the Voiceovers. The first was Aaron’s lavaliere for his girlfriend, so that explains the dialogue to begin.

“Love You Forever”

“Folgers” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”

“Ambassadors of Song”

“Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel”

These are just a few of the clips from the show. Check out Mrs. Conte’s YouTube page for more videos.

Sunday morning was the fourth and final commencement. Read Part 1 to find out about my diploma debacle. The sad thing is that after the commencement ceremony all of the guys just kinda disappear for the summer.

Now that the school year is over, both academically and with Glee Club, I slip back into roughly 40 hours a week at the grocery store. I almost forgot how exhausting it was to stand at work for 44 hours in 6 days. If you’d like to find me over the summer, just head on down to the Pay Less on Greenbush in Lafayette and head back to the meat department. More likely than not that’s where I’ll be.

So that’s the update. This one is 1500+ words. Good thing I separated them into two posts. One post of almost 2700 words would probably be a little bit much.

Well, I hope I have information to update you all on over the summer. I’m not exactly sure what kind of information I’ll have over the summer…but I’ll keep you all informed as much as possible.

I hope you had a great year for those of you who had a school year wrap up a few weeks ago. For those of you who didn’t have school year finish up, I hope you have a fabulous summer and I hope you have enjoyed following my posts over the past couple of months. It really is my intention to update every so often. I love writing…I just hope you all love reading!

Take care!

Life Update Part 1 (Academics and Graduation)

Hello friends!!

I promised I’d try and reduce the time between blog posts…I didn’t do THAT bad of a job. However, I do apologize for the delay between posts.

A lot has happened the past three weeks. (After starting this blog, I realized it was probably going to be way too long for one post. So, I’m going to split it into multiple posts. I hope you read all of them, but I’m splitting them up just in case you aren’t THAT interested.)

For starters, the semester ended! Semester number 10 for me ended for me, and I have to say, it was definitely my best semester! As a refresher, I only needed 5 credits/two required classes to graduate. I took an intro to music theory class, intro to new media, communication and social networks, and wine appreciation (yes, that is in fact a course offered at Purdue University).

I decided to take wine appreciation as a pass/no pass, meaning I only needed a 70% to pass. I took it more so as a cool experience, and I will admit, I do have a new found appreciation for wine (try a traminette if you get the opportunity).

My music theory class was alright. I definitely learned a little bit, enough to make me a better musician anyways.

My other two classes were my two favorite though. My intro to new media class was awesome. We got to explore all these new media and work with them. Because media such as blogging, tweeting, video and audio messaging are relevant in today’s day in age, it was cool to learn how to use all of these more in depth so I can be awesome when I get a job down the line. This was the class I got to write my bar blog for, just as a reference for how awesome the class was.

Communication and social networks was cool because it wasn’t just about Facebook, Twitter and all those kinds of things. It was about social network theory and how it applies to other disciplines. It sounds nerdy, but it was actually pretty cool.

Besides the fact the courses were all pretty interesting and freaking sweet, I did the best, grades wise, that I’ve probably ever done. I ended up with a 75% in my wine appreciation class, and I was okay that. It equaled a P for passing, so thumbs up there.

I ended up with an A in my music theory class, but I have to give a lot of the credit to the people who took the class with me. Let’s just say we really worked together, and I’d say we all earned collaborative A’s.

I also earned an A in my new media class. All that bar hopping really paid off!

My social networking class was really my finest work. After getting a 97.5% on the midterm and earning all of the points on a couple of lab assignments, I made it a personal goal to earn an A+ in the class. I had never gotten an A+ before, and definitely not in college. Maybe it was just me trying to be an overachiever or trying to be a really big nerd. Either way, I thought it would be really cool to earn in A+ in my graduating semester. Drum roll please…

Mission accomplished. For a recap, one passing, two A’s and an A+. That’s a 4.0 GPA in the final semester of this degree! I was really excited when grades came out. Now, I know I’ve never had the most demanding course load compared to my PMO friends majoring in engineering, nursing, etc., but I definitely worked my butt off this semester, and I’m glad I have something to show for it.

With a 4.0 GPA this semester, my cumulative GPA jumped up to 3.11, and I’m pretty proud of that. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in terms of my academics throughout the past five years, so it’s pretty cool to finish this degree on a high note.

I guess all this talk of school begs the question: did you find out about grad school?

Yes, a few weeks back I got an email. The letter said there were no more spots available in the communication graduate program.

Having read “no more spots” I should’ve been okay about it. It’s not like they said no because I wasn’t good enough. Still, I know I procrastinated with getting everything in, and I think that’s why there were no more spots. I’m really disappointed in myself I let it happen.

Good thing for back up plans, right?

So, next year I will start to pursue my second undergraduate degree, but I have the opportunity to reapply for the 2011-2012 year. Now my GPA is better. I plan on retaking the GRE. I’ll get another letter of recommendation. I’ll get all of this in ON TIME!

I’ll make sure they have no option but to offer me a position.

Speaking of the undergraduate degree, I did in fact earn my bachelor’s degree this past Sunday. Well, kind of.

Here’s a little background information. As a member of the Glee Club, we perform at all four spring commencement ceremonies. We sit up on stage and sing a handful of songs throughout each of the ceremonies. Even if you have earned your degree, you don’t walk with the rest of the graduates. You sit on stage with your brothers in song, and after ceremony is over, President Cordova personally delivers your diploma.

I mean, yeah, it kind of takes away from that graduation moment. You don’t wear a cap and gown. You don’t walk across stage. But, you still get to stand when your college stands for the conferring of your degree. You still receive your diploma.

So, it’s Sunday morning, and it’s finally my commencement. We sit through our fourth commencement ceremony. I stand with the rest of the College of Liberal Arts (by the way, congrats to all of my fellow CLA graduates!). The ceremony is over, and Pres. Cordova delivers diplomas for the band graduates, and I see her walking toward the Glee Club, without a diploma. She thanked us for being a part of the ceremony, but was completely oblivious to the fact that she should have my diploma.

Word gets down to Bill that they should have a diploma for me, and to make a long story short, they didn’t have it at hand. So basically this moment that I’d been working toward for the past five years was a flop. Bill had the guys cheer for me, but I was still pretty embarrassed. I had no explanation for why I wasn’t receiving my diploma like I was supposed to.

To save you a lot of the boring back story, Shawn and I met with Dr. Tom Robinson, VP of Student Services at Purdue, and Bill to receive my diploma Wednesday morning:

Here’s what the inside looks like:

Even though I didn’t receive it until Wednesday, it was still pretty cool to receive it. Even though I’m not done with school by any means, it’s cool to have something to show for all the hard work I’ve put in the past five years.

Yeah, 1200+ words…

Check out Life Update Part 2 for a wrap-up of the Glee Club’s end of the year.

A Sigh of Relief

No, unfortunately that doesn’t mean I’ve heard back yet about grad school. That’s still as up in the air now as it was 2-3 months ago. However, there is a plan at least in place for next year…even if it is a back up plan.

One of the things I’ve learned many, many times throughout my life is to have a back up plan, just in case things don’t go as well as you’d like to go.

As the weeks have gone by and my status with grad school remains up in the air, there came a point where I realized I needed to start considering some other options of grad school doesn’t turn out the way I’d like it to. I needed to realize there’s a very distinct possibility that I will not get in to grad school. Because there’s no interview process for grad school here at Purdue, my acceptance is based on only on all of the pieces I submitted with my application.

I have to be honest with myself…on paper, I may really not be that impressive. My GPA is .04 points above the 3.0 minimum. My GRE scores were pretty terrible (not that there was a minimum score or anything, they just weren’t great). My transcripts and resume aren’t too sparkling. There is a very real and distinct possibility I may not be good enough, on paper, right now, for grad school here at Purdue.

As most of you may know, I have already expressed my intent to Bill and the group to come back to Glee Club for next year. I’ve already gotten pretty involved for next year, despite my status being up in the air. As a returning PurduSir, I will be heading up the Advancement committee for the 2010-2011 school year. Last week we had specialty auditions, and I’m hoping to be involved with one or more of those next year as well.

I would feel like a real jerk if I couldn’t come back and fulfill my duties as a member of the Glee Club. Well, I don’t know that jerk is the correct word. I would definitely feel like I’ve let a large number of people down…including myself. I know a lot of people are counting on me to get in and come back next year.

So, the “big news…”

If I don’t make it into grad school next year, I will be taking more undergraduate classes and picking up a second degree. That’s my back up plan for next year. I will still receive my B.A. in Communication in two weeks, but I will be starting another degree if I don’t get into grad school. I’ll be a professional writing major, an English degree. I wanted to stay within the College of Liberal Arts because I would already have all of my CORE requirements (because of my COM degree), so I can just focus on my major classes.

Last Sunday I was eating dinner with Joshua and Brittany, and Joshua actually was the one who suggested it to me. Monday I set up a meeting with my advisor. Wednesday morning we met and planned some things out. I scheduled classes Wednesday afternoon, and thus solidified that I’ll be here next year.

Now, I have no idea what I’m doing past next year. There are about 36 hours I need to take to fulfill all of the major requirements for the English degree. I haven’t decided how I want to split that up. Do I cram it all into a year, year and a half? Do I extend it to two more years? Do I stay involved with Glee Club for two more years, not just next year?

Honestly, I have no idea.

But I will admit, I’m not quite as anxious now. I know I have a plan that will at least keep me here through next year, and I can still perform with my brothers and sisters in song.

My life will happen the way it’s supposed to. I know God has something in store for me, and at this point I’m just letting things happen and take them as they come…

I can take a breath a sigh of relief…for now anyways.

Still Waiting

As the weeks of my final undergraduate semester slowly slip away, I have to admit, waiting to hear back about grad school at Purdue isn’t getting any easier.

If I’m correct, I have 38 days until my commencement, which blows my mind. Where have the past five years gone??? It’s pretty crazy to think that I’ve been here five years already. It’s been a lot of fun, that’s for sure.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t heard back about graduate school, and I don’t think I will for another couple weeks. I asked one of my professors who is involved with the grad program how long it generally takes to hear back. Her response was slightly disheartening actually. She told me the first round of offers went out about a month ago (I didn’t get all of my stuff in til March 1), and those people have until the 15th of April to decide yes or no. Then it works its way from there.

The good news with that is I guess I’m still being considered. The bad news is I won’t find out for a while, so that’s kind of a bummer.

I did notify our director Bill of the situation. I think I’ve mentioned in here that I would come back to Glee Club if I’m accepted into grad school. Next year would be my fourth year with the group, and that makes me eligible for one of the managerial positions for next school year. That was one of the deciding factors that made me decide to come back to Glee Club if given the opportunity.

With not hearing back about grad school yet with manager selections and sir selections coming up, I wanted to make him aware of the situation. I asked him if to still consider me for one of the positions even though my status is still up in the air. I told him that I would rather operate under than notion that I’m coming back and turn down a position if I’m not accepted to grad school than to proceed as if I’m not coming back, miss out on an opportunity to hold one of the positions, find out I can come back and not have it be too late (I hope that makes sense). He did say he would still consider me, so that was a relief.

I would love nothing more than to hold one of the manager positions with the Glee Club next year. I think I’m a well-qualified candidate and I’d like to think I’d do a good job leading the group. Initially thinking I was only going to be in club for three years, I never thought it was a possibility. Once I considered grad school and considered coming back to Glee Club for a fourth and final year, that opportunity became a legit possibility. I hope to get the opportunity to be in one of those positions. I love being a member of the group and I would do my best to lead the group in the right direction.

Even if I’m not selected for one of the positions, I just hope to be able to come back and perform for one more year. To have the opportunity to sing and travel and spend time with some of the coolest guys would just be icing on top of the cake for getting in to grad school.

Next year could be a pretty exciting year. The word “could” is the operative word though. All of it is contingent on whether or not I get into grad school.

I’m just as anxious as most of you are to find out about it.

Things are starting to wind down though around campus, and that’s pretty sad. Classes are all going pretty well. Projects are finishing up. Classes are gearing up for final exams. It’s kind of crazy to think I just have a few weeks left as an undergraduate.

Glee Club is winding down for the year too, which is really crazy! Phenomena is  tomorrow night! Unfortunately due to my evening class schedule and work schedule I’m unable to be a performer in this year’s show. It’s kind of weird not being involved as a performer. I’ve been trying to help out with as much behind the scenes as possible (which is why I’ll be at the Cactus tonight repping the bright orange “FREE SHOW” t-shirt tonight!).

Graphic designed by Shawn Dildine!

Next weekend is Mother’s Brunch, which is the equivalent to our awards banquet. We just have two more full-dress shows before End of Season, which you should all go to.

It’s been too long since I’ve posted, so this is just a little update on my life. I’ll try and post more often. It’s been a really long time since I’ve experienced Senioritis, but it’s been hitting me pretty hard here the past few weeks. I haven’t been motivated to do too much, including blogging.

I promise to keep up with this though! Have a good day everyone!