Well, tomorrow at 8 a.m. my family & I set out for Pittsburgh, PA. It's no ordinary family vacation - I am trying out for American Idol.
Never in my life would I ever being doing this without some kind of push. And that push would be Ben Sass. Yes, several other close friends and family have encouraged or brought up the suggestion, but in the end Ben is the one who finally pushed me over that last hurtle.
Back to Junior Year....
It was 2nd semester. I was enjoying choir more then any other year before. We were all buzzing about the upcoming Musical. It had been announced that that this year we were putting on "Beauty & the Beast". It was a huge deal. There were several roles to fill, and only 40 some in the entire High School. Subtract the athletes, and the kids who never do anything but come to school (if we're lucky), and we were down to like 25- 30 tops.
I had every intention on trying out for the play. Even though it was only Junior Year, I felt as if it was "my year".. {see older kid phobia blog}. I was going for "Mrs. Potts". Naturally I wanted to have a good time and rock the show too. Sooo, I wanted my friends. My friends were athletes. They played basketball non-stop and when they were not on the court, they were ... who knows. But the point was, not one of them were in choir and not one of them had interest in doing so. I had a little bit of a task ahead of me.
I talked a little "magic" and had most of them on board...all but one. Now one would think "eh, whatever, its only one. His lost.." but he was kind of a deal breaker. If he said no then the rest were sure to follow, despite mine and others pleas.
So that's when "the deal" came about... for months Ben had told me he was going to drag me down to the American Idol auditions, like it or not. I always just smiled and laughed it off knowing all too well he would never do so!
To be honest, I don't know who made "the deal" or how it came about, but one day at lunch it was made. If he tried out for "Beauty & the Beast", I did American Idol. Again, to be honest, when "the deal" was struck, in the back of my mind I had every intention of not fulfilling it. But the news spread like wild fire and there was no turning back.
The summer following was rough one, but here we are. Senior year completed, started college, and here typing this blog- way too late and not at all prepared for the 8 a.m departure tomorrow. BUT, I'm holding up my end of the deal, just like Ben did.
Up until about an hour ago I was not excited. Trying out for American Idol was always just a "Child Dream" -you know how every little girl has a that dream to be a pop star. Well American Idol was my pop star dream. Something I thought I was capable of doing at the age of 10 {next Miley Cyrus or Justin Beiber} but it never happens, cause God has a different will for us all.
Now the bottom line is, who knows how far this journey will take me, who knows if I am really capable of going somewhere with the God given gift. What I do know is that I am about to embark on a new journey tomorrow. My future is up in the air and for once in my anxiety filled life- it's okay! All because of a deal made in a high school cafeteria, I am about to take my singing to a hole new level.
It may not be easy, it may not be all the time enjoyable, but it will be a new journey, a new story, a new memory, new experience, and new lesson.
Tonight's blog was not about what I've learned, but what I'm going to learn. My future has been planned and planned again, but tomorrow it all ends and starts, all because of my friend.
On that note, I would like to thank all of YOU who have encouraged me and supported me in EVERY aspect of my singing journey. Without those pushes, encouraging notes, and constructive criticism I would not be where I am in my musical journey. And honestly, I probably wouldn't fulfilled "the deal". Everyone of you have played a HUGE role in my confidence in this God given talent and given me the experience I have had thus far. I know that every one of you will continue to be apart of this amazing journey.
This next week will be a whirl wind, I'll be sure to keep you all updated-- go add the "Cayla's American Idol Journey Update" on facebook! LOVE YOU ALL
Cayla Learman {future pop-star ;)}
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