Chicago!

First, I just want to say that Chicago is..... ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I love this city and am starting to really be able to maneuver around this area without any problems!

Second, I have had an amazing week of orientation at CCPA! My teachers are amazing and the school is so 'serious' about music study! I think I'll do well here. I registered for my classes today:

Musicianship I ABC (Aural, Sight Singing, and Written Theory)
Elements of Conducting
Composition Seminar
Composition Lessons with Dr. Choi
Music History I

Third, I also now work for the Chicago Symphony's Priority Seating department! I started on Monday!!!

That's just a bit of the excitement of my week this week. It's been amazing here! LOVE IT!

Indianapolis Family Time

In Indianapolis with my family for one last week before move-in day this Saturday! Going to see my Grandma tomorrow! So excited!

Got an email today from the head of the composition department at Roosevelt. I will be studying with Dr. Choi! I was hoping to get Dr. Garrop but I'm not going to complain. Dr Choi seems like a very knowledgeable woman! Really stoked about the start of the school year!!! <3

Last Night In Central Illinois!

Tonight is my last night as a resident of Central Illinois! Tomorrow morning at 11 AM I will be heading to Indianapolis, IN to spend time with my family one last time before my move up to Chicago. The past 3 years in the area here have really been life changing ones for me. I went from being freshly separated from an 8 year relationship and working a job which I hated to being back in school in pursuit of my own dreams with the new found ability to make my own decisions. It's moments like these where I'm reminded of those cheesy 1980 films that showcased a child coming up in poverty, experiencing life in their twenties, and then making a decision to do 'something' with their life. You all know the films. I guess I'm sort of like that - the world feels now in my grasp.

Now to just work harder than I ever worked in my life and seek to make my goals and dreams a true reality.

Better Today...

So I woke up this morning and stepped outside. Was an absolutely breathtaking morning! It got me thinking though... no matter how much drama can occur in a day, there is always another day. And today has been a lot better actually.

Threatened Dreams....

Today has been one of those days!

To start, my laptop was the poor recipient of a spilled cup of water! I usually have a glass of water or cup of coffee to the right of my laptop on the desk. As I was trying to swat a fly, my hand grazed the cup of water and knocked it right on top of the laptop! The laptop works but the monitor does not.

Second, I learned today that my appeal for an increase in Pell Grant was denied. The result is that I now have about a week and a half to come up with $7,944 in remaining tuition/room and board costs for my college. This has greatly depressed me today. I've worked very hard the past year in trying to achieve my goals and now am faced with the prospects of my pursuance of my career goals being in jeopardy due to financial reasons. I have applied for private loans over the past month - only to be told that each of the 7 different cosigners I have used were ineligible! I have also applied for several scholarships - sadly, I wont know of any of them until after school starts. I have also gotten a job interview at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in their tele-sales department! I don't think I'll make a whole lot of money though due to my obligations at Roosevelt. The good news is... that my tuition itself is pretty much paid for! The 7944 due is from the combined cost of housing and the mandatory health insurance.

Third, I realized today that I am going to be stressed over leaving my partner of 2 years for, at least, the next year. He is going to be attending the esthetics program at the Midwest College of Cosmetology at Lincoln College in Bloomington-Normal. His costs are fine for the first semester and short for the second semester. I have come to greatly appreciate his company over the past 2 years. He has pushed me to pursue my own goals and aspirations in ways that no one before him has been able to do. His support to me is something I greatly appreciate and is something that I feel has pushed me to seek the best for myself in pursuance of my dreams.

I have faced a lot of disappointment in my life. My mother disappeared years ago and, as the years go by, is constantly on my mind. My father passed away, as many of my readers may know, back in April of 2010 in a shed fire. The closest relative on my mother's side, my Uncle, has been battling cancer for the past few years. It's not been an easy life that I lead and music has always given me the strength to overlook the many obstacles I have faced with some amount of strength. I hope, and pray, that I can overcome this latest obstacle and rise above to achieve that which I know I am capable of achieving. This career path I am now pursuing, I feel, is the path of my destiny. The path I was meant to do. I don't know what the future holds for me - I do know though, that with my patience, resilience, and intellect that I can go to my first placement test a week from Monday and know that I will be able to finish out my year without any interruption! I've worked very hard, and I know that I will have to work even harder to finish this chapter in my life.

Moving in a few days...

It's really hitting me how close I am to the start of school AND how close it is till I live this part of Illinois for a few years (or more.) I've really gotten used to the area and love the scenery, people, and attractions it has to offer. It's been a very welcome moment in my life to live here... now on to the next chapter!

A quiet day...

Been taking a bit of a break today from focusing on school-related stuff. Worked a little bit this morning on a piano piece. Nothing too substantial, just fun. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Just a bit of a vent...

So I am currently working on locating financing for the remaining $8,000 still owed to Roosevelt. I have tried every possible cosigner that I can think of and, so far, not a single one has been approved. I received another notice today from Sallie Mae that I am eligible for a private student loan BUT.. I need a creditworthy cosigner!! It's an annoying process that really makes one wonder WHY there isn't more aide available to students who need it, like myself! At any rate, I've applied for a lot of scholarship over the past two days - hopefully one of them pays off with some help! I have also applied at a few places near my school/apartment. Ah... the joys of moving to a big city!

Some good news:

Evidently, I am coming in as a sophomore into the music composition program! wOOT!

Orientation :D

I had my new student orientation at Roosevelt this past Monday! It was amazing! I got to see my new apartment as well - it overlooks Lake Michigan!!!! I feel so good about this period in my life now - I think good things are in store for me!!

Reflections

Did a little bit of genealogical research last night and then listened to some of my compositions. Quite surprising listening back to them and seeing how much I've changed over the years. Makes me look forward and contemplate how I will change in the near and distant future. Ah... reflections.

2 Weeks to Go!

I am really starting to get psyched up about the start of my semester at CCPA! I feel it's going to be an amazing time - I'm so privileged to get the opportunity to study in Chicago!! All my preparations are pretty much done, I think I have a few more things to get (clothes!) though. I've started work on a new set of preludes similar to my Inclinations. The first two are finished - I have ideas for the third BUT, iono, just feel like taking my time in writing them.

Long Summer...

Sorry for not posting in a few months. Summer has been very hectic so far for me. I have been in Indiana the past few months spending time with family, doing further research on my family tree, and preparing for my move to Chicago on August 20. Sooo... where to begin, lol.

Family Tree: I have made a lot of surprising discoveries on my father's side of the family. My grandfather, who passed away in 1970, lived in New Jersey before moving to the region in the 1950s. The New Jersey Woodruffs of which he belonged were descended from a Thomas Ogden Woodruff and Hannah Markwith. Thomas Ogden's mother was Elizabeth Ogden. The Ogdens, from my understanding, were a very influential family on the East Coast. In fact, Elizabeth's aunt married a man by the name of John Edison. John Edison was the Great Grandfather of Thomas Alva Edison! I, at first, wasn't even aware of this connection until I came -by chance- upon an obituary for my Great Grand Uncle. Shortly after commenting on the obit, I received a message from his daughter! I was amazed! In one of the correspondences, she relayed that family stories stated we were cousins of the Edisons! Sure enough, a little research verified it! I have really learned a lot about myself and my family from this research.

Music: It's been pretty hectic to write as much as I wish I could. I've been working, slowly, on several small projects just to keep my creative juices flowing. Nothing too substantial though.

Chicago: I have a lot of stuff prepared for my move up to the Windy City. So far, I have purchased everything I'll need to make my little dorm apartment home! I've looked into working part time in between my courses. I will give it a try - hopefully, I can manage it. I move up on August 20 and then begin a week of placement testing! To prepare, I am studying to brush up on the basic stuff. Hopefully, I can place into the appropriate theory courses, etc. I'm really psyched about this opportunity!

I'll try to post at least once a week. I do apologize deeply for being a bit busy to give updates!

How should I spend the summer?

Summer break will start on Friday, so what better time than now to start thinking about what I want to do this year. I know I want to spend time with my family in Indianapolis, visit Chicago a few times to get acclimated to the city more, and work on music. What other things sound interesting? Perhaps visit the Trail of Tears in Southern Illinois? A Museum?

Piano Sonata and family news

Continuing work on my piano sonata while doing some in depth studying this weekend for my finals next week. The piano sonata has been slowly churning, lol. I'm just now at about 100 bars - going slow due to the fact that I've been extremely busy with classes.

On the family front, my Uncle's cancer has come out of remission at Stage 3! So, I'm going to make sure I spend extra time with him when I go to Indy on the 23rd. He's been very close to me over the years, and in many ways has filled the place of my parents when they couldn't be there for me. So, yeah, he's been a very important part of my life.

Genealogical Findings

Over spring break I went to good old southern Indiana to search the local cemeteries for ancestors. To my surprise, I discovered about 10 graves belonging to the Meurer family. The graves were pretty easy to find and I was able to snap photos of all of them. One place I wish I had stopped was Fountain County's Mount Hope Cemetery. I discovered, while doing searches for my great great grandfather William H Hopper, his tombstone at the cemetery along with his wife Mary J Linville. He has been a very hard person to track down since he went by William later in life and Harrison (or Harris) early in life. In the 1920 census, I located him in Covington, IN. along with his son Walter J. Hopper (who is listed on the 1900 census along with my Great Grandfather S W Hopper, thus connecting the two.) It's been a fascinating, yet extremely difficult task of reconstructing the family history. Now if only I could find out where my great great great grandfather, Philipp A. Meurer, was born at in Germany and WHEN he arrived in America.

On the musical front, I have also been toiling away on a new piano sonata. I have the first movement nearly finished - just working diligently on the development section. The work is a bit different than my regular works. I'm really trying to apply the sonata-allegro format in a different way than I've normally done. Will keep you updated!

Genealogy... Planning for School... and a possible new work in the works!!

It has been an extremely hectic last month! I've been working to raise up the other $500 for my housing deposit (have about 1/2 of it saved and am working on the last half now)! I'm SO looking forward to my time at Roosevelt CCPA. I think it will be an experience of a lifetime! Aside from that, I have been plunging head long into finding out more about my family history. So far, I have discovered 2 Jewish lines in my family that hitherto have been hidden in time! The first is on my mothers side and the second is on my father's side! So exciting. Today, I devoted time to my Hopper roots (my mother's maiden name is Hopper). I discovered that my GGG Grandfather Elijah H Hopper lived in Hopkinsville, KY. He was a wealthy merchant. During the Civil War, I found documentation of transactions made between him and both the Union and Confederate Armies for medical supplies! Fascinating history, really. I also discovered in the Christian County, KY marriage records a STARTLING find: A brother or cousin of Elijah, named Jeremiah Hopper, married a Zachariah Duncan in 1811!!!! Yes, that's right, it's a gay marriage! I viewed the actual document and was just aghast at the news! Musically, I've been pretty much in a dry spell. I think it's probably due to all that has gone on the past few months. I'm going to hopefully begin work on a series of piano miniatures that I've been gestating for a while now. I'll keep you guys (and gals) abreast of any new works!

Dad - 1 year later

Tonight is the evening before the 1 year anniversary of the death of my father. To commemorate the anniversary, I will be spending the weekend with my family in Indianapolis. It's amazing to look back at the past year and see how much things have changed in my life. 1 year ago today, I only *dreamed* of getting back in school. Today, I am not only back in school but in the fall will be transferring to a very good music conservatory to study with an amazing teacher. 1 year ago today, my life lacked clear direction. I dreamed of various projects and complained about how I would do them. Today, my life has a clear direction and I am now working on those projects that I complained about a year ago. I think a lot of the changes this past year have been largely due to the rammifications of my father's death. When I heard the news that morning, it clicked something in my brain and made me realize that life is too short AND one must make the most of it. I decided that morning to go back to school AND today, I am grateful for that decision. Dad, thank you for giving me the impetus to do good in my life. I promise I will not let you, nor I, down. I know you are smiling down upon me. I will always love and remember you!

Genealogy...

When I'm not in class, writing music, or studying, I like to delve into genealogical research. For the past few years, I've been painstakingly piecing together the history of my family. My mother's side was fairly pieced together from my grandmothers work years ago - but there were lots of gaps AND lots of assumptions made based on oral family history. My father's side was largely unknown - all we knew was his dad, my grandfather, was from New Jersey! Doing the research today, I realized that I've done a lot of research and the results are amazing. I think that might make a good book one day!

Thoughts and Decisions

Beginning the thought process for moving to a new city is a difficult task. I don't feel that overwhelmed, to be honest. I used to live in Chicago for a year - granted, that was 10 years ago. My choices now are whether to live on campus or off campus, whether to get a part time job or perhaps apply for work study, and what equipment am I going to need to get to ensure that I do my best at the university. The on campus/off campus decision is a hard one - largely because it's like weighing to evils. Off campus housing in Chicago can be cheaper BUT it can also be more costly when bills and food costs weigh in. On campus housing in Chicago can be pricier BUT it can less costly considering your not paying for utilities! Transportation isn't an issue as the school requires students to have a CTA pass - so that is at least one factor that is alleviated. I'm kind of bent on the job issue. A music major degree, I've always known, requires a LOT of work. Rehearsals, practicing, composition time, study time, etc. can eat away at any amount of free time that I might have available to me to work a part time job. Work study, however, appears to be the best fix for that as the school would work around MY schedule! Finally, I'm going to need to get a new macbook or mac pc to make sure that my computer and software are in synch. Ah, so much to think about. It's exciting!

Accepted!

I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted to the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University! I plan on accepting close to the end of April AFTER I get up the $1,000 tuition/housing deposit! I was so excited to receive the news and am extremely thankful that I have been given the chance to pursue my career goals at such a fantastic institution AND a great city! Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me to apply! <3