America's Got Talent?

I finally got the MacAvoy/Shalom package!!!! The slip for it was in the "I" mailbox and not the "J" because someone wrote the J looking like an I, but anyway, I went to pick it up (it's BEAUTIFUL by the way! It's a frame the Dr. Shalom made from sea glass she collected in Cuba with a picture of me and Sam in it) and Beth, the Student Life Coordinator, was talking to my friend Liz about how this semester is the most uninterested semester she's ever seen, i.e. only a few people had signed up for the talent show. And so as I was trying to get my packages, she was asking me, "so you're going to sign up?" and I laughed and said no, I have no talent. Beth told me that that was ridiculous and said I could sing something. Right, I only sing in the shower or the car. And Liz pipes up and says, "Well you know there's a 50E prize." And I jokingly said, oh ok I'll sing Christmas carols. And Liz lit up and said that she'd vote for me if I did sing Christmas carols. So Beth put my name down with "music" underneath.

Ok, so my idea was to find a guy to sing Baby It's Cold Outside with me, because, duh it's my favorite Christmas song EVER. Tim bailed, but he texted me wishing me good luck right before I went on. So did Andrew, who was my back up plan, but he's Jewish and didn't know the words anyway (JK Andrew you're the BEST!). But no surprise. So I was going with Santa Baby.

I recruited a handful of friends to come cheer me on, (Sarah, Sarah W., Liz, and Nora but she left early, and Hannah went home early from school cuz she wasn't feeling well so she the wasn't there either). So Sarah's giving me a pep talk as soon as I arrive, though I'd been sitting in my Leonardo class earlier and I was like, who am I kidding, I'm not winning anything, I just should go straight home, Anna wants us home early anyway for an early dinner, forget it. But I went downstairs and Beth ushered me right into the room, and there was Sarah and Sarah, as well as two other professors, one other student, and Beth. At that point I thought, well ok, maybe I'll be winning this by default, it'll be nothing, it'll be like singing in the shower. Then all the other 6:10 classes got out. And the room filled up. Most of them freshmen--good for them for showing up! And then the rest faculty members. Was I really about to do this?

Jim, the assistant director, warmed up the crowd as the official MC. The director (Michael) began with a lovely rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" on the guitar and singing, followed by a student who played his guitar (no singing though). Then a freshman girl got up and recited a Maya Angelou poem. Then it was me. Jim apparently knew the other three performers and introduced them nicely, he got up and said, "Next we have Stephanie. Stephanie are you here? I'm going to let you introduce yourself." Gee thanks. So I get up. "Hi, I'm Stephanie, though more of you may know me as Stevie. And I'm going to be honest, I've never sung in front of a room full of people, I tend to only sing in the shower. So please be generous, please be nice, and on that note I'd like to do a song about generosity and giving." And I start singing Santa Baby. The line where it goes "Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed" I went and sat on my friend  Harrison's lap (he's one of the two freshmen boys here), and the crowd was ROARING. I mixed up two verses (ring/platinum mine) but really no one cared, they were in stitches. Quite honestly I'm surprised I didn't black out. But it was great. After I sat down, I got a standing ovation and Jim had A LOT of great things to say after that little performance, he wont be without an intro for me next time (haha he was really sweet)!!!

After me, Beth did a song on her guitar for her brother who recently passed, a girl Morgan sang a beautiful Sarah Barielles song, another professor played an Irish jig on her fiddle, and another girl Lenora did a dance, but Anna really did want us home by 7:30, and it was 7:10 and goodness knows it takes me forever to get home, so I went up to Jim and told him my situation, and he said to go, and that they'd let me know if anything happened. So I missed Lenora's dance and RAN to the bus stop and RAN home, only 5 minutes late for dinner. I'm sitting on the bus getting close to home, and Sarah calls me, screaming "YOU WON!!!" And I said "I won what? Honorable mention? Third?" And she was like "NO, you won FIRST!!!!!!!!!" HAHAHAHAHAHA I was almost screaming on the bus I was so surprised and amazed and happy! She told me to go to Beth's office in the morning to pick up my prize (which someone alluded to wasn't a straight up 50E, but a 50E gift card to a restaurant...hey, that's my meals for the weekends for the rest of the semester, I'm ok with that!!!!!!!). Oh my goodness, I'm still riding such a high. Why don't I do that more often?

Anyway, so that was the highlight of my busy day!!