I can't believe how long it has been since I've blogged--not that I've been particularly religious about it this year, but so much has happened in the past five months that I don't even know where to begin! I'm going to be back-tracking for the next few weeks, now that I have time to write.
First things first: my two-year project has come to an end. I am going to grad school to get my Masters in Voice Performance. I need to thank everyone for their prayers, support, and...er...donations. It was a grueling decision to make. I finally got into my dream-school, Mannes Conservatory in NYC. I have been working with Amy Burton (a successful soprano and incredible teacher at Mannes) this past year, and to top things off, they even offered me a considerable scholarship. When I got my acceptance packet, I felt like Rudy getting his acceptance letter to Notre Dame. I had applied to this school twice previously, and now I had finally made it! I ran to meet Matt (who was in town) with watery eyes, thanking God for this opportunity.
Ordinarily, this would have been a no-brainer. I would have loved to simply sign the paperwork and start shopping for a new apartment closer to school. Ironically, the next day while Matt and I were sitting in the St. Agnes branch library (81st and Amsterdam), I got an email from Florida State University, telling me that I had received a Graduate Assistantship--meaning that my tuition was basically paid for, on top of a housing stipend, and I would assist professors or teach voice lessons while at FSU. Another incredible opportunity.
My reaction was somewhat less enthusiastic than what it had been when receiving the acceptance letter from Mannes. In fact, I think my exact words were "Oh, shit", not because I was ungrateful, but because I knew I had a big decision ahead of me. The truth was that I hadn't expected any scholarship from FSU, and so I hadn't been seriously considering it.
To cut a two-week story somewhat short: I labored over this decision for 18 days--two novenas. On the last day of my second novena, my godson and nephew, Louis Ignatius, was born. This seemed to clear everything up. My brother Mario (father of Louis and Francis) and his wife Theresa live in Naples, FL (a good seven hours from Tallahassee) and my other brother Quincy and his wife Kimberly live in Tampa. So on April 13th, 4am, EST (about an hour after Louis was born), I made my decision: God had presented me with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities--1. to study at a world-class, New York City conservatory, 2. stay out of debt and hopefully gain incredible performing experience at FSU, and 3. be within driving distance of my two brothers (and their families) for the first time since I was 13 years old.
I couldn't have made a wrong decision, but I chose 2 and 3. And hopefully I'll be able to make several trips to NYC for auditions and lessons with Amy. All my life, it seems I've never been exactly where I wanted to be, whether I was far from home, from family, transferring schools and missing friends, or stuck in a sketchy apartment building in NYC, plus all of the above. And yet, my entire life, I know with the utmost certainty that I have always been (and will hopefully always be) exactly where I need to be. FSU is an unknown--I have no idea what's coming in the next two years. But because I can trust in God, I know that it's going to be great, and that I will thrive.
Despite the uncertainty of leaving the hub of showbiz and an incredible teacher, I know that I made a good decision. Matt is currently enroute to Tallahassee with his yellow Penske moving truck, and I'm moving July 5th. (I'm sharing a side of a duplex with an intern at the Catholic Student Union.) Plus, I know that if I ever have a long weekend with nothing to do, my brothers, the beach, and Harry Potter Land are only a (relatively) short ways away. Soli Deo Gloria.
