Remember that.

By the time this post publishes, I will probably be running around a yet-known Philadelphia train station with two large suitcases in tow, attempting to figure out how to get onto the right train to take me to New Jersey. Regular SEPTA patrons, I ask that you treat me with compassion and kindness, as I am inevitably bound to look like a COMPLETE AND TOTAL IDIOT. Just smile and nod and pretend like you agree that navigating the transportation system is hard. I’m a Girl Scout, y’all, and I can tell you how to get back from the middle of nowhere with nothing but your fingers and a stick, but… put me in front of a train schedule and my eyes go sort of go wonky and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Let me give you a little glimpse into what I’ll look like:

…I’ll figure it out. Anyway.

New Jersey. My first summer program.

I’m pretty much totally alone, horribly excited, and a little bit terrified, but, ready or not, I begin tomorrow and here I come. I could write in depth about the myriad feelings I’ve got, being away from my voice teacher, my mom, my friends, my cat, my school, my safe comfortable musical womb, etc. I’ll spare you that and let you know that I’ve got to remember:

“The youngest you can ever be is when you can sing and enjoy it.” – Leontyne Price

“I want to sing like birds sing: not wondering who is listening and what they think.” – Rumi

“He who sings scares away his woes.” – Miguel Cervantes

“Singing is a form of admitting I am alive.” – Alfredo Kraus

“Why are you stingy with yourselves? Why are holding back? What are you saving for–for another time? There are no other times. There is only now. Right now.” – George Balanchine

“Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” – Miles Davis

And, perhaps most of all:

Time for an adventure. Here we go. Wish me luck.