It's been forever!

Wow ... I havn't blogged in soooooo long! I've actually been really really busy with school, the sorority, and my work out schedule. Due to the fact that I have been so busy ... well it's made me miss home!I miss my family so much!I miss my mom, my dog, my sister, my dad ... everything. Sometimes though I actually miss the way things were, you know like still having mom cook for you and stuff. Honestly, sometimes I really do miss highchool. I miss my dance team, I would say, more than anything! For an english assignment,our class had to write a very descriptive paper on a place we have visited and describe it in such a way that emotions are conveyed directly. I chose to write about the Milk House. I knoe you're probably thinking, well what does that have to do with dancing? Here is a copy of my paper; hopefully it'll answer all your questions!

Wide World of Sports: The Milk House

The Milk House is a place where dancers from all around the nation showcase exactly what they have been working so diligently on. It is a black wooden floor where each step, each count, and each position matters. From the chanting crowds, to the rumbling music, the excitement is like none other. The satisfaction after a great performance is overwhelming. The chance to visit, participate, and actively compete is a memory that I will forever be able to look back on and describe perfectly. I will recall to you the arrival, the performance, and the aftermath of the 2005/2006 visit to the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championships, held at the Milk House.
The morning of February 2nd was one we had been looking forward to for quite some time. The Father Lopez Dancing Greenwaves practiced through the summer, during football season, and deep into the long competitive months of January and February, for this moment and this moment only. We met in the school cafeteria with all our suitcases and belongings, prepared for a long yet rewarding weekend in Orlando. This weekend, we all knew, was what we had been working toward for so long. It would be our chance to uphold our name, the name previous generations worked so hard to build. It was our chance to become National Champions. We all felt the energy, that anticipation that makes your heart race, and we gladly fed off each other’s. After leaving the swarm of students, faculty, and parents cheering as we pulled away in our little yellow school bus, we knew that the competition had officially begun. We pulled into Disney’s Wide World of Sports, after a long 2 hour drive, and immediately checked in, knowing we still had practice tonight and a nap was first on the list. According to Dawn Henthorn from http://goflorida.about.com/cs/disneyworld/a/wdw_wwsports.htm, “The 200 acre sports complex can host more than 30 sports from aerobics to wrestling and all the "balls" in between. It's impressive facilities include classrooms, office space and media facilities, and serves as headquarters for sporting events taking place throughout the Walt Disney World Resort.” Not only did we get a first look at the Milk House but also of the other teams, whom we would be competing against. Check in was where we finally made eye contact with our competitors. They walked by us in lines just as straight as ours and that same energy seemed to spill out, the way sweat did after a six-hour practice. We smiled and wished every team good luck, keeping in mind that the judges could be anywhere. The officials were welcoming, yet intimidating. They wished each team the best as they left the brief information session held in the famous small blue tent outside the Milk House itself. The blue tent had printed pictures of the previous years’ National Champions in every category and we knew we were destined to be printed on next year’s tent. We walked back into the bus and rode off into the next two days of practice-in-the-parking lot.
February 4th finally arrived. Dancers woke up early for hair and makeup, ESPN began preparing their cameras before the sun even rose, and the judges collected the last of their criteria sheets. The National Dance Team Championship was about to be held at the Milk House and parents, aunts, uncles, grandmas, and friends, were looking forward to it. Seeing from <http://www.florida-themepark-tickets.com/disney-wide-world-of-sport.htm>, “This huge and impressive complex hosts 170 amateur and professional events each year. Time and again, athletes are gathered here to compete, amidst an eye-catching setting dominated by world-class facilities. In fact, all sporting events associated with Walt Disney World Resort are held here”, we can see why everyone was excited. We had been trying to explain to the first year members how the Milk House could not be compared to the typical dance studio, gym floor, or performance stage. The Milk House is a 34, 000 square foot arena with a full-size black top wooden floor, surrounded by auditorium seating. The judges are seated on an elevated portion of the arena, therefore making it easier for them to see the routine as a whole, but more importantly, notice even the smallest mistakes. The new dancers could now experience the Milk House first hand. Once the prop division had been called and our name was announced, we lined up, set our props and froze in our beginning positions. The very moment the music blared out of the speakers, the anticipation, excitement, and thrill rushed out of our ecstatic yet sharp bodies. Looking out into the crowd, you saw a sea of green and white, our school colors. The ESPN cameras whirled past each dancer, zooming in and zooming out, while our facial expressions conveyed the confidence we all held as a team. The two big screen TV’s on each side of the competition floor lit up with our close-up shots. Each count was on, each spot was marked, and each smile withstood the test of time. When the last beat was hit, we made sure the ending did as well. The Milk House roared, and we held our position in complete satisfaction. We nailed it.
Backstage, all we wanted was to see our coach. After every performance, it was her that gave the final and lasting opinion. While passing the other competitors, we checked and analyzed their props, all different yet all with the same goal. We pushed our props toward the back where a couple of our dads were waiting. It was them, our parents, that spent hours building, painting, and perfecting our props. We didn’t pay to get our props built. We didn’t consider painting props a part of art class. Our parents spent hours after long days at work making our props. The appreciation could not even be expressed into words. Those that did have dads backstage ran and embraced them with sincere gratitude. The rest of our parents were out in the mass of green and white awaiting our visit before awards. Our coach, Kathy Blais, finally made her way through the crowd and backstage. She was overjoyed and crying, and it was then and there that we just knew we were National Champions; all that was needed was the trophy to affirm our winnings. We huddled in the middle of the hall and cried as a team, with a bond that we cherished more than any National Championship, and a coach that was more like a second mother. Although at times we hated her, she knew what was best for us as a team but also as young ladies. She was there to tell us when to point our toes as well as when to keep our mouths shut. She was a strong, straightforward, and determined woman that instilled her values and virtues in “her girls.” After what seemed to be a public “boohoo ball”, we made our way out into the arena where our family, friends, and former Dancing Greenwaves would be waiting. Every seat in the Milk House was taken. The sight was astounding! What seemed to be two seconds after we made our way through the crowd, every so often thanking spectators for their compliments, the announcement for the awards came over the very loud loud speaker. We gave all the appreciation we could and waved as we made our way back down to the floor where it all started.
The countdown began immediately after all the participating teams sat around the large table of trophies in the middle of the Milk House. The crowd silenced as it came down to the top three teams in the nation. That anticipation and nervous feeling caused us to tighten our grip as we, one of many teams sitting in the Milk House desperate for that 1st place trophy, held hands. It was down to the top two teams in the nation and the ESPN cameras were zooming back and forth. The winning team would get National Dance Team Championship rings, an ESPN private room interview, a beautiful trophy, but most importantly, the white jacket. A white silky jacket is presented to the winning team engraved with the year of the victory as well as “National Dance Team Champion” printed right above it. The Father Lopez Dancing Greenwaves proudly became the 2005 /2006 Naional Dance Team Champions! The Milk House went wild and it felt as if everyone was swimming in a sea of green and white, while chants just got louder and louder. ESPN cameras flew by and cameras began snapping every which way. We where famous!
Looking back now, I wonder if I realized how lucky I was to be part of such an amazing team. Together we went through long practices and together we made it to the Milk House! Not only did we make it there once but the next year, whose picture was on the blue tent? The Father Lopez Dancing Greenwaves! The experience as a whole is one that I will recall time and time again with every detail and every specific aspect. I am a Father Lopez Dancing Greenwave and will be one forever! The Milk House, how it rumbled with cheers and chants, how the stage was so long yet such a short time was spent on it, and how the music blared out into the large three-story arena, will always be remembered and cherished.

Well? How was it? Writing this paper really helped me let my emtions out, even if it was through words.Blogging I can see is kind of the same way. Well I really have to go study, I have a math test ughhhhh! Sorry about such a delay but this makes up for the past three weeks :)! see you soon!