My Shout-Outs: Last Semester/Graduation

Well, I did it y'all!

4.5 years after I left high school, I have officially graduated college!! And though it's been a very rewarding last semester, I still have to thank everyone who has gotten me to this point. But before I do that...

When I first left for college on that hot August day in 2012--my first day in the Blugold Marching Band--I did think that I was going to blossom into the person I always wanted to be. I thought that I was going to find my "people" in the music students at Haas Fine Arts Center. If you've already been reading this blog, you don't need to guess that I indeed found wonderful human beings at my university...just not in the places I expected. I have spent much time obsessing over how differently I wanted my experience in the music program to be, but once and for all, I think that I need to just lay out my one true regret about my time there. I know that my communication skills are still being perfected, but there is one part of me that wishes that I could've been more myself in HFA. I wish that they would've given me a real chance to show that I definitely was there with the best intentions. I could've shown them more character, and they could've shown me more patience. I don't know if I ever will see any of them past this point, but I do think that everyone I've met (and myself) will achieve what they were meant to achieve. This isn't necessarily an apology to them, but I am recognizing that there was a lot that didn't come out. And as much as I've been misunderstood, I wish that I could've understood more about where they were coming from--mentally and emotionally. Maybe it was a lost opportunity, but I know that this was an experience for me to learn from. 

Regardless of what I didn't accomplish, I've grown to appreciate the fact that I've made it this far. This one door has been closed for good, but now I can knock on 100 more until someone finally says yes. 

And, with all of that said, I will take the rest of this time to list every one of those special people that made my journey worthwhile. 

Lauren Hintz, Zack Bartsch, Lacey Kroll, Lucas Brawdy, Logan Kaduce, Alex 'Plato' Plaetzer,
Alycia Crowe, Alex Herrera, Sam Zimmerman, Rosie Evans, Becky Olson, Andrew Nicholson,
Haley Reichardt, Kelsie Hines, Paul Soulier, Angie Coyle, Autumn Schacherl, Bobbi Freagon,
Sam Olson, Gage Donkers, Chad Mantey, Trent Spatenka, Deidra Gibson, Mariah Kewin,
Marie Kaczmarek, Lexy Henkleman, Emily Spence, Bryan Kujawa, Makayla Chandler,
Sarah McAlveen (I hope I spelled that right), Sarah DiPiazza, Karlie Korish, Christi Ladwig,
Ashley Sukhu, Alex Exworthy, Mitchell Marten, Josie Peterson, Anne Sandell, Courtney Mensink, Hunter Jeske, Summer Underwood, Amanda Koval, Quinn Reinhard, Gaby Calawerts, Siri Stensberg, Alex Knoepker, Heather Jones, Karlie Hansen, Kristine Mienke, Michael Lindau, Brielle Cummings, Garrett Aalfs, Nathalie Burmeister, Courtney Walin, Matt Strom, Forrest & Clarissa Cleven-Peterson, Adam Accola, Nalika Nom, Rachel Burtman, Madeline Reilly, McKenna Heintz, Britany Chartier (now Turinske!), Joe Poncelet, Cody Norling, Grace Luebben, Molly Jones, Mackenzie Palmer, Rachel Battles, Rachel Eckwright, Anika Reinighaus, Nicole Karlove, Christine Lasee, Jasmine Hanson, Michael Dellutri, Megan Skrbec, Carlee Schneider, Sara Rieke, Leslie Hoffman, Jordan Jenkins, Matt Halverson, Hannah Steig, Heather Colwell, Abby Schultz, Brady Scafe, Shelby Moore, Anastasia Rauland, Tyler Tolan, Annie Jackson, Emilie Zamarripa, Elizabeth Brunner, Hannah Nennig, Alyse Weber, Melissa Ruhbusch, Alli Wilmes, Brandon Hoege, Andy Michor, Sierra Joswick, Brianne Ackley, Bronte Stewart, Sam Kelley, Eli & Spencer Webb, Kristen Heller, Nathan Cicero, Shalaine Buehl, Jake Sabel, Jess & Emily Ecker, Sarah Leppert, Peter Beckwith, Maggie Donovan, Briar Swann, Rosie Moua, Kirsten Miller, Shannon Durley (now Schield!), Jenn Peterson, Tyler Stromquist-Levoir, Judi Johnson, Courtney Yeager, Allison Litke, Melissa Erath, Joel Paltzer, Kara Metzger, Sarah Faste, Grant Sachs, Marc Cain, Adam Wysocki, Mariah Sands, Heather Jordan, Dominic Meinke, Jenni Nueske, Jacob Brunnquell, Alyssa Gorell, Amanda Nieman, Emily Bacon, Lara Bockenstedt, Kelli Gasparka, Amy Whiteman, Hannah Hodgett (now Holman!), Rose Mish, Hayley Kubler, Lexi Meier, Megan Schuknecht, Meredith Enjaian

Damn that's a lot of people! (146 to be exact), but I still have a few more! 

Daniel Steiner-my first roommate, who I still love to this day
Crystine Adams-the person who got me through orchestra, and took me to DQ for smoothies!
Kelly Noltner-my first friend from music theory, who is always nice to me and is forever on my side
Hannah Zirbes-my world music buddy who is also a BAMF at flute
Teresa Wolfe-my music history study partner and soul-mate
Jesse Kozak, Trevor Kent, and Katie Lane-my lit squad fam from Haas, who always made me laugh and happy that I got out of bed that morning
Shane O'Neil-my best guy friend who provided me with plenty of moral support and life advice
Katelyn Klevgard-my lunch buddy, MacDons buddy, and horn studio friend that is hilarious

And now, some love letters:
Nathan Gilger, Jake Kavinsky, and Dom Faraglia-The best roommates in the entire world
Andrea Ranzau-My soul survivor sista, continue to fight
Briana Buchholtz-The first friend I ever made in college, and still kicking ass today
Emily Watkins-Probably my bestest friend in the entire universe, I honestly can't thank you enough

Everyone I've mentioned here is special to me, and I'm glad to have known every single one of you. Goodbye for now; I know I'll see you around when we've reached the top of the world that is opening up to us with each passing day.

Peace out.

Albums and Songs I Liked in 2016

Now that I got the worst songs out of my system, I'll move on to the music I actually liked in 2016. 

Rachel Platten-"Wildfire"
Track Picks-"Astronauts" **Favorite Song of 2016**, "Better Place"

Sia-"This Is Acting"
Track Picks-"Bird Set Free", "Alive", "Cheap Thrills", "Broken Glass", "One Million Bullets", "Move Your Body"

Foxes-"All I Need" **Best Pop Album of 2016**
Track Picks-"Better Love", "Body Talk", "Cruel", "Shoot Me Down", "Amazing", "Money", "Wicked Love", "Feet Don't Fail Me Now"

Shura-"Nothing's Real"
Track Picks-"What's It Gonna Be?", "Indecision", "Make It Up"

Pet Shop Boys-"Super"
Track Picks-"The Pop Kids", "Groovy", "Undertow", "Burn" 

Rihanna-"Anti"
Track Picks-"Kiss It Better", "Never-Ending", "Desperado"

Empire of the Sun-"Two Vines"
Track Picks-"High and Low", "Friends", "There's No Need", "First Crush", "Ride"

Tove Lo-"Lady Wood"
Track Picks-"Influence", "Lady Wood", "True Disaster", "Cool Girl"

Kristin Kontrol-"X Communicate"
Track Picks-"White Street", "(Don't) Wannabe", "X-Communicate", "Skin Shed", "Going Thru The Motions"

Ariana Grande-"Dangerous Woman"
Track Picks-"Into You", "Side to Side", "Thinking Bout You", "Be Alright", "Greedy"

Tegan & Sara-"Love You To Death"
Track Picks-"That Girl", "Faint of Heart", "Dying To Know", "Stop Desire", "U-Turn", "Boyfriend"

JoJo-"Mad Love"
Track Picks-"FAB", "Honest"

Melanie C-"Version Of Me"
Track Picks-"Anymore", "Numb", "Blame"

Gwen Stefani-"Make Me Like You", "Used To Love You", "Rare", "Splash"

Britney Spears-"Glory"
Track Picks-"Better", "Clumsy", "Invitation", "Coupure Electrique", "Man on the Moon"

AlunaGeorge-"I Remember"
Track Picks-"Mean What I Mean", "I'm In Control", "Hold Your Head High", "Jealous"

Banks-"The Altar"
Track Picks-"Gemini Feed", "Trainwreck", "Poltergeist", "To The Hilt"

Carly Rae Jepsen-"Emotion: Side B"
Track Picks-"Higher", "Fever", "Body Language", "Cry", "Roses"

Deadmau5-"4ware", "Let Go"

Katy B-"I Wanna Be"

Miranda Lambert-"The Weight of These Wings"
Track Picks-"Runnin Just In Case", "Highway Vagabond", "Ugly Lights", "Use My Heart", "For The Birds", "I've Got Wheels"

Swimming With Dolphins-"Let You Love"

The Veronicas-"On Your Side", "In My Blood"

So, what were your favorites of 2016?