Throughout this semester I've learned many things, most of which I think will be useful to me for the rest of my life. Below are a couple of the big lessons I'm taking away from my Fall 2015.

1. EXCELLENCE INSTEAD OF PERFECTION

Sometimes as musicians and performers we work ourselves up. We put an unrealistic amount of pressure on ourselves, and completely stress ourselves out. We expect perfection. This semester I have learned that it is better to strive for excellence than perfection. You can have an excellent performance while not being perfect. Excellence is giving your all, practicing like you know you should, and going on the stage with a smile, showing the world the artist that you are. Excellence is missing a note and staying in the moment, keeping with the character, acting like nothing went wrong (which most people probably didn't notice anyway).

2. YOU GET WHAT YOU PRACTICE FOR

This semester I had the pleasure of doing my Junior Recital at Lagrange College. For those that aren't music folks, recitals are a big deal!. Your recital is a chance to show the improvement of your voice, technique, and overall musicianship. Of course you don't just hop out of bed and do a recital, there's a process. You must choose music, practice the music, make sure you have time with your pianist, and promote the recital, among many other things.

Often times it is very hard to balance recital prep with classes, other rehearsals, ect.. You must remember that you will only get out what you practice for. Sure, occasional odd things will happen during a performance, you can't always control that. However, the chances of those things are greatly decreased when the amount of practice is increased. in other words, you can't practice for a C and expect to get an A.

I think it's safe to say that the Fall semester of 2015 was eventful for me. From playing Amos in "Chicago," to my Junior Recital, to being Drum-major of the first ever Lagrange College Band. Through it all, excellence and practice have been a constant.