Adam's Apples

and oranges, peaches, and everything else that occurs in his crazy life...

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Brandon Smith interview


I interviewed Brandon Smith for my Journalism 101 class taught by Dr. Husni. I met him in my hallway at Stockard Hall, and he answered a few questions for me. I can now say that I have completed another assignment and made a new friend in the process.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Hello, all!

I have been wanting to do one of these for a good while now. Every time I thought about actually starting one, I was either too busy or too lazy at that moment. There comes a point in life in which procrastination must be put off. Whether I am writing this because my conscience shuns me for my laziness or because I am just bored on a rainy, dreary Friday night, who knows? I would like to thank anyone in advanced for taking time out of their lives to read the blog of a person whose life has much more meaning than writing a blog entry every couple days. I am new to this whole thing, so bear with me. Here we go...


These past couple weeks have been MORE than monumental in my life. Last Thursday, I ventured off to heaven (Knoxville, Tennessee). Here is a quick background story: I have been a huge, HUGE Tennessee Volunteer fan for as long as I can remember (parental influence). As senior year sneaked up on me all of a sudden, I decided I would apply for admission to the college that I cherish so deeply, though not expecting to get accepted. After months of waiting, the letter finally appeared in my mailbox. Instead of the expected, "We regret to inform you blah, blah, blah," I got, "Congratulations! You have been accepted...." After the immediate shock to myself and my family wore away, I decided I needed to visit campus. When planning the trip of epic proportions, I decided I wanted to audition for the Pride of the Southland Marching Band. For those of you who are not familiar with the band world, the UT Band is nationally considered one of the best marching bands in the world. Because I have played trumpet in my high school marching band since fourth grade, I naturally grew up to adore the UT Band. Anyways, back to the trip. I set off early Thursday morning with my mother to Knoxville. After the nine hour drive, we finally arrived at the city where God allows his angels to drink coffee. After getting settled in Thursday night, I quickly drifted to sleep in anticipation for the following day. Friday morning came VERY quickly. A campus tour was scheduled for eight that morning. In this campus tour, I realized three major things about Tennessee. First, Tennessee's campus is massive. When I say massive, I mean having to take buses to some classes. Second, Knoxville is by far the coolest city I have ever been to in my life. It is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains. Residents of the greater Knoxville area refer to the city as "the bowl". Third, I am deeply in love with the school, city, and even state. I honestly cannot think of anywhere in the world that I would rather attend school and start life on my own. Friday was more than an eye-opener for me. While I was taking in the atmosphere, I remembered that I auditioned just the next day. Friday flew by, and before I knew it, I was putting on my coat and tie on the way to the music building. The audition was VERY nerve-racking, but I made it. I felt as though I played okay. Not great, but not bad. I can't say I was discouraged, but I did feel as though I could have done better; I also didn't mind that I felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted off my shoulders. After I had completed, the band directors told me I would hear back from them the next week. The time span of when I left the house to when the audition was no more than an hour and a half. After the audition, mom and I went shopping in Pigeon Forge and drove through Gatlinburg and a large stretch of the famous Smoky Mountains National Park. Sunday, we headed home; back to the same old, same ole. Another very long nine hours.


School got pretty stressful at the beginning of the week. Apparently, missing just two days of school amounts to very much make-up work. I had a couple tests I didn't know about until the day of. I think I made it through those very well, considering the circumstances. Yesterday was the doozie. Our concert band had Belhaven University's (formerly Belhaven College) band director come critique us to see where we stand in our contest preparations. We played through our three pieces of literature that we will use in contest and everything went smoothly. After the students cleared out of the band hall, I was asked by my band director to stay afterwards. BU's director also stayed. I was offered a scholarship to play in the band at BU. I was even told that I did not even need to audition. Based on watching my performance in a simple rehearsal, I was offered a scholarship. I am not meaning to sound boastful, but I am very proud of the whole situation. I called my parents and told them the good news on the way to tennis practice. Tennis practice went horribly. I could not focus on tennis at all; I had bigger things to worry about though, so I had fun mishitting balls all over the court. I thought the greatness of the day had already peaked. Little did I know...


I got home a few minutes before dad. Dad walked in and handed me the sealed envelope that was addressed to me from UT Band. It was the moment of truth. To be completely honest, I thought the same thought I described earlier, when the admissions letter came in. I was expecting to be rejected. I opened the letter, and the first sentence read, "First off, we would like to thank you for your interest and audition...." When I read that first sentence, I knew that it was over. The dream had ended. I kept reading anyways. "Saying that, we would like to congratulate you on being the newest member of the UT Band." As I read this sentence, I became delusional. I slammed the letter down on the counter and ran outside. I ran up and down my street two or three times. I had too much energy to sit still and continue reading the paper. I came back inside out of the rain/snow and read the rest of the letter. I read that second sentence about five more times just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Now as a reader, you should be able to tell how passionate I was about this whole experience. Do you know what the LAST thing I was thinking about? Belhaven's director basically begging me to come be in his band. It is amazing how a few minutes can completely change the way you think about anything.


Tonight, I find myself sitting at my laptop writing this entry. As I think about my whole UT story -- from the mere admission to the university to the acceptance to the band, I realize I am learning life lessons. This month's life lesson I have learned: anything can happen. Do not doubt yourself. I doubted myself. I doubted that I would get accepted to the University. I doubted that I would get into the band. Well, guess what?