I can finally relax after removing a lifetime worth of clothes from my dorm. Surprisingly, I didn’t take that many clothes to school. I accumulated them while I was there. The malls are better here haha. Plus, you can never have enough black clothing. Anyhow, my uncontrollable spending habits are not what I came here to discuss. After a rough first semester, I was determined to make the second one better. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that, or what that consisted of. I just wanted to sing. A lot. I decided to audition for my school’s Jazz Ensemble and a shift started to occur. They say if you want to be a great musician, you should surround yourself with other great musicians. Well, that’s exactly what happened. I have never met such a talented group of people that are so humble and encouraging. Music rehearsals are not that fun to attend, however, every Tuesday and Thursday I find myself counting down the hours until practice starts because I am so excited to see the ensemble, and sing, of course, haha. We had performances for about a week back-to back, and it still wasn’t enough time with such a great group of people.
The Jazz Ensemble also went on a fabulous trip to Kansas City. It was the most fun I’ve ever had. I honestly think my life has been changed forever. Just being in an atmosphere with so many talented people made me want to be better and go practice. There’s just so much you’re capable of doing with Music… ugh… I can’t really explain that better. We even went to a real live jazz club, just like the movies. I sat there and sipped on my lovely glass of water… and wrote down every song I heard. This trip was probably the most educational experience I have had since I’ve been in college. We won “Outstanding Ensemble”. Torential downpours don’t stop no show. #Where’sJohnny #drdn
Along with joining the Jazz Ensemble, I started taking voice lessons. Jazz voice lessons…. Prior to taking voice lessons. I knew one jazz standard, and that was by accident. Even with my lack of jazz knowledge, I felt excited. I liked what I heard. I found somewhere I could grow, and transpose songs to my key!!! (low) (very low) (extremely low) Plus, I LOVE my teacher. She’s hip, AND stylish!
The second semester of the University Chorale changes into Broadway music. I had no idea that consisted of a showcase, and lots of preparation. Dreamgirls is one of my favorite movies, and guess what? We did a Dreamgirls medley. I auditioned of course. However, I auditioned with “Move, Move”. When the result sheet came out, it said “Carlehr: And I am Telling You”….. Uhh..
So if you watch talent shows on tv, you know that song can either make or break you, literally. That was a song I avoided like the plague. What if I messed it up? The black community would never forgive me. I prayed a lot on that song and it turned out WONDERFUL. Not because I’m that great, but I really worked hard to be able to sing that song, and I did it. The actual performance was the easiest part. Oh, all the rehearsals for this started when I got off the plane from Kansas.
Things were even great in my non-music major life haha… I really enjoyed my small group. No matter how stressed I felt throughout the semester, the time I spent in my small group made me slow down and appreciate what was going on. I even joined/ was placed on my school’s church hospitality team. Thanks, Liz! I’m basically the first lady. Seriously, that’s my dream job. Oh, and how could I forget the awesome conference (ONE Conference) I attended at the beginning of the semester. Watching college students from all over the country come together to praise the Lord is beautiful. It was even more beautiful watching some of them get saved and baptized.
Next, My African American Studies class. This class drove me CRAZY. So crazy, I decided to minor in it. I question everything now. What is White? What is Black? Am I a Women? What makes me a women? Is Olivia Pope a Jezebel? Is Madea a mammie? Why is the Popeye’s lady black? These questions haunt me at night because of this class, and now I need answers. This class helped me find myself, though. Crazy thing is, I thought I found myself a long time ago. The title is African American Studies, but its just a people class. You simply learn to analyze everything you see critically. I’ll never be the same because of this class.
Corey. I love him. That’s all.
I have never met a boy like this. He’s been to every performance no matter how boring it is. No matter how many times I say, “I have to practice”, he never gets upset. He’s always there!!! He listens to me talk about things over and over. (people he’s never met, songs he doesn’t like, anything really) Just recently, I had a cold and he brought me soup. I tried to make him feed me, but he claimed I wasn’t that sick… ugh. Please don’t find him on social media… we’ll block you.
God has been good to me this semester, even when I didn’t deserve it. My GPA is just as poppin as I am despite unforeseen circumstances haha. Last semester I prayed, that He would give me something to do, a song to sing… something… And he gave me much more. He gave me two great group of friends and wonderful voice teacher. I am truly thankful for all the people he placed in my life this semester. I am also thankful for my super encouraging Mother. She’s been at every performance this semester, which was almost every weekend. Whether I was singing a solo or on the fourth row, she was there. She also made sure my black clothing was poppin. This summer is going to be lit in Jesus’s name. Thanks for tuning in. Catch me here. The same place. The same time. Stay Solid.
Carlehr Swanson 