Here are some pictures of the Tiger Band … my post about it is below. Love you all! Geaux Tigers! :)
Above is a picture of the PreGame show!
This is the parade route that the band always takes to get to Tiger Stadium.
The TigerBand in the stands!
The LSU part of the PreGame show!
I did it! I made the Tiger Marching Band! I can’t believe. I found out this morning around 8:15 and needless to say I’ve been in a great mood ever since! I mentioned last night just how challenging and mentally & physically exhausting this week has been for me, and to see those results after a week’s work was just so incredible and made it all worth it.
I am so thankful and blessed to be given this opportunity and cannot wait to see what this football season brings for me. I think I’m where I’m meant to be.
Just thought I would share with y’all! GEAUX TIGERS!
All my love,
Hannah
Wow, I can’t believe Thursday night is finally here. I have been going literally non-stop since Sunday at 1pm .. and I finally have time to myself to just sit in my room and blog. It’s so nice.
Sunday-Thursday has been filled with the most intense marching rehearsals I’ve ever had and the most musical and educational music rehearsals I’ve ever attended. The people here know what they’re doing and it’s so amazing. I am amazed by the dedication of each band member. I am amazed by the respect each person on campus respects the band program. I am amazed by the intensity of my student leaders. I am amazed by the knowledge of the directors. And in general I am most amazed by the program that I have been affiliated with this week. The reputation and resume the TigerBand alone holds is intimidating in itself. And I know it’s because of the work of these directors (who can be a bit scary) and the work of all of the leaders in the band. In high school I thought I was a good leader, then I see the ones who have been chosen to lead this band, and I’m in such shock. They are so dedicated and respected by each person here!
This week has also taught me so much about Hannah and who Hannah really is. Maybe even too much to handle. A lot of it is that personal stuff that you don’t tell many people about and slowly find out as you get older and then some of it is the little picky stuff like about my room or about my shower. While I still feel like I am at camp and will return home on Sunday night, I am slowly grasping that that is not the case. I am starting to get e-mails from my professors and seeing posters around school wishing students luck for the beginning of school … school … I’m at school?! Haha.
Without being too mushy gushy, for those of you that have known me for a while, you know that I get these meltdown episodes for about an hour or so, where I just cry and am an emotional wreck. I usually get those about once every couple months. Well, I’ve had about three of those this week. This camp has brought the best and the worst out of me. I cannot begin to explain how thankful I am for the people I have in my life. Most importantly my Momma, my Daddy, my brother, Kevin, my Grandmom, and my boyfriend, Jacob. They’ve sat and just listened to me cry and bitch and moan and still love me. When I say I’ve learned a lot about Hannah this week, I wasn’t kidding!
I have to talk about my Mom for a second. I’ve tried not to talk to her too much because I’ve heard that talking to your family on the phone only makes you miss them more. But the few times I have called her, they’ve made my day. She gives me such strength and reassurance that I’m going to be okay. She knows me better than anybody else in this world does and she knows exactly my problems and solutions without me even knowing. I can’t tell you how thankful and blessed I am to HER daughter. It is my hope that other daughters out there have the relationship with their moms as I do with mine. Love you, Mom!
And I have to talk about Jacob for a second. I can’t tell y’all how much he’s helped me this week. Since my schedule has been non-stop 8am-9pm, and his schedule is less than that, he’s helped me with stuff like grocery shopping, laundry, and taking stuff places for me. He told me he wanted me to have time to rest so I can do good the next day .. is that not the greatest ever? How did I get so lucky? I’m so blessed and thankful to have him here on campus with me. He’s the real deal. Love you, Jacob.
Tomorrow morning I find out if I’ve made the TigerBand or not. The TIGERBAND! Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I just finished a week of preseason camp with the TigerBand. We have had so many reporters and photographers around us at our rehearsals from magazines and we’ve had TV stations stop by as well to check on the status of the TigerBand and such. Apparently if you look in the SEC Football Magazine for this upcoming season/predictions .. instead of the football team being on the front LSU page, it’s the TigerBand! Cool, huh? Anyway, whether I make the band, I know I’ve tried my absolute hardest and have exhausted myself to the max. My feet are swollen, my legs are sore, I have more pimples on my face, and my hair needs to be loved and have more time spent on it. What more can they ask for? I guess it’s all up to them now.
I guess that’s all for now. It was so nice to sit down and blog for a bit. I could keep typing and typing about my week’s experiences, but you’d lose interest fast, haha. All in a nutshell, this has been the best/worst week of my life! :)
All my love,
Hannah
Well .. I did it. I got through moving into my dorm and more importantly … I got through saying goodbye. While we drug it out as long as we could ... we finally did. The fact that it wasn’t a real goodbye made it not so bad .. but still, there were definitely tears.
Leaving Katy this morning was quite a challenge. Mom was in the car with me for that beginning portion and we just sobbed our way out of there … then Kevin rode with me for the next few hours and talked my head off .. and then Dad rode with me and I got to hear some of his college stories that I have never heard before! So it was a great trip here and I enjoyed every minute of it!
We moved all of my stuff in .. well actually the boys did while Mom and I set up the room. There is a list of things that I forgot and also some items that needed to go back home. So Mom agreed to get the stuff together and send it with Jake when he comes up here. (Which will be tomorrow!!) Thanks Mom and Jake! :]
I took some stereotypical dorm room pictures .. for those of you that want to see it. It came out really cute (and is very small). I FINALLY met my roommate Katherine and she is so awesome. It’s going to be a really fun semester in the dorm aspect of things. We are going to take a trip to Target together tonight and pick up a few things for our room then hopefully out to dinner.
The campus here is just beautiful. I love it more each time I come here. I’ve been to the band hall already (and met one of the clarinets!) to clarify a few things for tomorrow .. I report for band duty at 1pm and then go until 10pm. Then stopped by the front desk of my dorm to get my internet working properly.
So far so good my friends. I can feel myself “blooming” already. The people I’ve met and that I’ve run into all have been so supportive and easy to talk to. It’s so nice .. and I’ve only been here for a few hours, haha.
I love you all. Each of you have made such an amazing impact on my life .. which has lead me to this point! Thank you so much for everything.
Until next time!
All my love,
Hannah
Hi Everyone!
Well, today’s my last day in Katy. Isn’t that weird? Now that it’s actually here, it’s so real and came way too fast. I can honestly say that I have no idea what to do with myself. The term “there aren’t enough hours in a day” never meant so much to me, haha.
I think I’ve been doing pretty well with the whole packing process and getting ready for tomorrow. I can’t tell you what a help Mom’s been in all this … she’s help me keep my ducks in a row so to speak. There’s boxes at the end of my stair case with all of my stuff in it and clothes all over my room for me to pack. Omg! This is so weird. '
Yesterday was when it all hit me. I met Jevita, one of my dearest friends, for starbucks in the morning and just sat and talked/listened to her for about an hour and very quickly realized just how much I love her and love being around her. Her and I have been friends since 7th grade. She was actually the first person that approached me and talked to me when I first moved to Katy in 7th grade. We were study hall buddies back then and have remained friends through 8th grade and the 4 years of JET Band and high school itself. She is going off to Minnesota to go to school and be closer to her family. Telling her bye was so hard. And I know it’s not “bye” in a goodbye type way … but it’s a “bye” as in, she won’t be part of my daily life anymore … you know? Love you, Jevita! :)
And then I went and go my nails done with Audrey. She is a girl that I just met through Jacob’s friend and I absolutely love her! We talked about how we wish we’d have met earlier this summer so we could have hung out so much more. Telling her bye was a bummer to because she is so chill to be around and we get a long so well. She’s a really good “girl talk” person. She’ll be going back to Sam Houston for her second year of school. Love you, Audrey!
After going to the dentist with Kevin and seeing G.I. Joe with Jacob and Tanner, I came home and had a meltdown for a few hours. No matter what I did or what Mom said … I just started crying. Sometimes I would laugh when I cried, but I just cried. I haven’t done that type of meltdown in a while.
One of the reasons why I love my Mom so much is because we’re so connected by some “mother daughter” connection. It’s so amazing. I was upstairs in my room, laying down in bed (yes, crying for no reason but just to cry) and she walks up with a cup of coffee in hand and told me that she had just been crying too, by herself. It made me feel a lot better that I wasn’t the only one melting down at the moment. Mom sat by my bed for a while and just talked to me while I listened … I couldn’t really talk all that great. She, as many people have told me, reminded me that this was just one of the processes everyone has to go through in order to get through life. Moving out is just what you do and it’s what I have to get through as part of the growing up process. I swear no matter where I am or what I’m doing … Mom always seems to know exactly what to say .. she’s so good at that. Love you, Mom! :)
Then my Jacob came over right in the middle of the tear fest … so I felt so stupid because I was so afraid that he wouldn’t understand why the hell I was crying … mainly because I didn’t have a concrete reason either. But he played it off so well, haha. He was there for two hours or so for me while I just sat there and balled and laughed all at the same time. He took me to starbucks (yes, that was the second time .. and no, I didn’t remember my $2 receipt) to get out of the house for a second and we just sat and talked and he was his goofy self for me. It kinda reminded me why I love him like I do. Love you, Jacob! :)
Then it was about 8:45 and Jacob and I both had plans with our friends last night. So him and I went home, said bye to my parents and then Jacob and I split our different ways. I went to Shelbs’ house to hang with Shelbs and Amanda. Gosh I’ve missed them this summer. With the schedule I’ve kept, I haven’t seen them as much as I’ve wanted to so it was so nice to just hang out with them and eat lots of pizza. Telling them bye was so hard, too. We’ve had some incredible memories together. We’ve all been in band together since 7th grade and have made so many amazing memories together. Amanda I just recently got a lot closer this senior year and Shelbs and I have known each other .. we’ve been through it all together. These girls remind me that I love who I am and remind me that the “chill” and “relaxed” personality I have and the need to not always being impressing someone is ok to have. They are the girls that I am the most myself around and I cannot tell you how blessed and fortunate I’ve been to have them in my lives these past six years. I love you girls, more than you know! :)
So, as I sign off and say bye I just want to say that some wise woman once told me .. that no matter where we are or what we’re are doing “we’re all going to be okay” and wherever our lives are we need to just “bloom where we are planted”. And for the past 6 years, I believe I’ve done that .. to the best of my ability at least … and now I’m going to move to Baton Rouge tomorrow, and I’m just going to keep bloomin’ … because really, there’s no other fun way to live. And while I’m blooming, I’m going to have the memories and the love of all the people here in Katy … and that alone is going to give me so much strength and encouragement to being my new life at LSU.
I love ALL of you in my life so much.
All my love,
Hannah
My Dorm Room!
I have ordered my dorm room set … that’s the comforter and sham pictured above. I did not get those sheets ... I chose black sheets and pillow shams, as well as one king sized yellow sham. I am really excited … it’s one that came in the XL Twin size that we needed and was on sale! So I got all of my bedding, including the padded thing that’s going underneath for under $140! Mom and I did good (mostly mom)!
I also got two black combination sets of a washcloth, hand towel, and bath towel from Wal-Mart. And then I also used one of my Target gift cards and got a few zebra towels to go with ... just to add a little variety to the mixture. I also got one of my old band mom’s to embroider my name on each of my towels in hot pink. It’s going to look so good! 
Mono is Gone-o :]
For those of you that don’t know, I had a pretty bad case of mono this past month and I’m happy to say I’m much better! I am able to last a whole day without being so exhausted and can lay down on my left side without feeling my spleen. Yay! And yes, I know, I still need to take it easy ... and I do … but it’s so nice to feel better!! With my 16 hour band days coming up soon, I need lots of strength to get me through … so I need to make sure and rest while I can, while still making sure I have the endurance to do what I need to do.
LSU Music
When I show up to band camp on the 16th I am required to have the LSU school songs memorized. I have been practicing and learning them one by one. The songs are about 7-10 lines long, so it’s not too bad. So far I am 3 for 6! I copied the school song CD from one of my friends, so I put it on repeat and just play along with my computer … it’s so convenient, haha, Kevin hates it though.
I am going to have to be hard-core band nerd for 16 hours a day for five days straight in order to make the Tiger Band. The itinerary for the band camp looks pretty hardcore, not going to lie. But I think I have enough determination to make this band, that it should be bearable. If you’d like to start praying along with me, I’d greatly appreciate it! Haha :) 
We own a boat … 
Those are the highlights of the past week or so. Nothing to drastic. :) Jacob's gone for the week. He's off to California for his annual fishing trip with his dad, uncle, and other peeps. He seemed really excited about when he left, so I'm happy for him! Him and I just went to a wedding together. One of my friends from high school got married! So we got to get all dressed up fancy and attend. It was so fun to be able to be there and have him there with me. We are so good and I couldn't be happier. He's especially been there a lot for me this past week as I've been in freak-out-about-college mode. 
