Top 10 of 06-07

So I was sitting in Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls (probably one of my favorite places in good ol’ Soo Foo), and I was thinking that there were a lot of good highlights from this past school year.

So here they are. They aren’t in any order, however. I don’t know that I can do that ranking thing, and people will always disagree. Each have their own value (that sounds so cheesy, but it’s true). Bear with me; I know this is long. If you don’t like it, write your own.

1. Student Alumni Council
This actually started before classes did. Right after my summer tour with Phantom Regiment was over (I’ll explain that in a later entry this summer, I can assure you), I returned to St. Paul for a Student Alumni Council retreat. It was a lot of fun meeting up with some old friends, but mainly making new ones. We had a lunch with etiquette training; it was a blast. Throughout the year we worked with students and alumni on a variety of events. This summer, I’ll be working closely with Alumni Relations, planning this year’s summer/fall retreat and some Homecoming “stuff” (like the All-Choir Alumni Reunion).

2. NATS
I started formal singing lessons last spring and continued them this fall (and hope to throughout the rest of my undergraduate years). In the fall, there is a NATS (National Association for Teachers of Singing) event in Minnesota, and singers at the collegiate level are grouped in different age brackets and sing three songs. It was difficult work because two of them (I believe) had to be in a different language other than English. I tried my hand at some Italian and German. It was hard work, but I went on to the semi-final round! It was a welcome surprise and challenge for my fall semester.

3. Guster Concert
In midst of the NATS fun, I foolishly went to a concert late Friday night with some friends from high school. We went to the Guster concert at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. It was AMAZING! I haven’t been to a concert in a long time, and it was certainly nothing like this before. Guster is one of my favorite bands, and they are a lot of fun to see live. Their encore performance was “Jesus on the Radio”—completely acoustic. No amps or microphones. The theatre was in stunned silence and then erupted once the song was over. I need to see more concerts (unfortunately, they can be quite pricey).

4. Theatre (Stage Management)
The CSP Theatre Department had a superb year. I was able to be actively involved in all four productions—three of those as an actor, and one as stage manager. Stage managing for The Fantasticks was a blast. The role requires you to know basically everything about the show. When it comes time for performance, the stage manager is in charge of running everything, the cues, the calls, and working on any flubs that may occur. This was a great experience and something I’d like to do for other productions. I love acting, and it will remain a focus in my theatre studies, but this is also a fun way to be involved in the theatre world. It’ll keep my options open, I believe.

5. OT II
It takes a few months away from this class before I understand how much I appreciate and will miss taking classes from Dr. Trapp. Old Testament II focused on the prophets and writings of the Old Testament. It’s a tricky mess of work that many are afraid to jump into, I believe. But these stories and writings show the wonderful unfaltering promises of God. Dr. Trapp’s classes are rigorous, and I’ve yelled at my computer while doing the homework on many occasions. But I’ve learned so much about God’s word and personal discipline with this class.

6. London
This was my first out-of-the-country trip. A handful of students from the theatre department went over to London to soak in the sights and history of the city and to take in some amazing shows. I loved it. Everyone needs to travel somewhere overseas with their friends during college. I have only done it for 8 days, but there are some other trips in the works, and I hope to take advantage of them. You should too.

7. Florida Choir Tour
My past experience in Florida has not been the best (although Orlando in the middle of July and August isn’t the best way to judge Florida). I was a little skeptical. That shattered once we arrived. Florida was beautiful, and I met some incredible people (like Frank—he’s the man!) and we sang a powerful concert (albeit, it was a little long). Once again, it was another opportunity to travel with friends and get out of the snowy Twin Cities. We swam in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Coast (Twice) along with the refreshing pools in our host families’ backyards. Even got to pet an alligator and see the St. John’s Bible project.

8. Lost
It’s hard to keep up with television shows in college. Okay, not everyone will say that, but I’ve done my best to remain loyal to Lost. It’s the best show in the world. I’ve had so much fun yelling and screaming at the TV with my friends. Recently, I’ve gotten really behind, but I hope to catch up and return watching the end of season 3, which has been incredible! For those of you who need catching up, we can arrange some marathons possibly at the beginning of the year. I vow to have all of the seasons on DVD.

9. Opera
I never thought that I’d enjoy opera. It seems elitist and stuffy to me—or it did, rather. Opera is awesome though. I began enjoying it more when I had to sing some arias in my voice lessons. Then I saw the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath. It’s difficult to express how grand that experience was. I continued having fun with opera during the Opera Workshop class. We learned a lot, and were able to move around and get inside some of the minds of the characters. I was even lucky enough to transform into “birdman” Papageno in The Magic Flute. Most recently, I snagged a $90 front-row ticket for The Marriage of Figaro for only $20 (due to an online rush system offered by the Minnesota Opera). I sense that I’ll be attending more operas in the future. You have to see it live to truly get the experience.

10. Applebee’s/Green Mill/Dunn Bros—wherever
I know I spent way too much money at these places, but they’re so good! Applebee’s kind of wins because they have the cheapest appetizers after 9p.m.. I have spent more time with my friends at these places. It’s a blast (although I just found out that Applebee’s on University and Snelling is closing at the end of this month), and I will remember a lot of good quality hang-out time with so many incredible people. I’m excited for that to continue next year. We can explore some other great places in the Twin Cities, I’m sure.

So that’s the list. It’s not exhaustive of my year. I did have other classes and homework to worry about. Now we’ve got an interesting summer planned. Stay tuned.