institution schminstitution

DAY 1, Belmont:
comment made to my mom last night by me: I wish people didn't need an institution to learn.

people in the south are incredibly friendly. cute waiter at the restaurant we went to. nice ppl workin at our hotel. really nice ppl over at belmont. students that seem so happy its strange. i'm not set on it, but if i didnt go here i'd forever wonder what i could've done if only i'd been able to use all of the amazing belmont facilities... they're really awesome (recording studios, music tech labs, curb music hall...) wonderfulness.





so i'm really intrigued by nashville and belmont. i met so many ppl that do music and felt so at home. but i definitely was so turned off to the actual school of music. i just felt like i'd be starting at the bottom with that, and learning all the fundamental stuff i never cared for (which would be good), in an environment where ppl are 15 steps ahead of me (which sucks). let me say though.. that the whole 36 hours i spent in nashville, i didn't meet ONE mean person. everyone was incredibly nice, in a cool way. theres the kind of "nice" that people pretend to be, or really try too hard to be by forcing conversation that they think they're supposed to have, and then theres natural interest and openness and, sure, why not also call it- hospitality!

i liked the artsy stores, the music stores, the restaurants, the laid-back-ness, the coffeeshops, all of it really. i didnt really like it the first day, because the school of music guy was very set in his ways, which is fine if you're a traditional musician, but i'm not... and i can force myself to be, but i dont really think thats what its about.

i kind of feel like nashville is the home i left to be in a culturally diverse area... like it feels a step behind in some ways, and still the fact that the students are GOOD PPL and really happy, well... i'm a good person, and i was always a happy kid until i realized ppl dont just like you for who you are when you get to school, like what you wear matters a lot when you turn 13. i think i was very extroverted growing up, now i dont know what happened! i'm much more reserved at first impression, but this is the kind of place that makes me wanna branch out more again. maybe all my cool liberal arts schools i applied to in cities will be just as entertaining and welcoming, but i'm definitely considering belmont.


my minds kind of "on overload" as my mom would say. nashville really feels like a different environment, its a little crazy to jump back and forth like this! i like the newness of college. college is a new experience in a new place with new people and new reactions i'll have to each part of it. thats really cool. the thing that isn't so exciting and "new" is the same old curriculum, lectures, writing papers, majoring in something practical... i'm going to learn wherever i go really (i'm talkin summer time as well) learning is not limited to some classroom, or only gained in a classroom... man i'd even go as far to argue so far that school has pushed me to search for better alternatives to learning. i kind of do it all i guess, cause i still DO school, the grades thing... but to really enrich my mind, i dont necessarily stay up extra late working on homework/papers (with the exception of the mentor program), instead i'm out in the world performing, meeting people, growing WITH my friends. and thatt my friends, is amazing. more amazing than any institution can boast.

so where the hell do i go from here? lol thats on the belmont ads: "from here, go anywhere". guess i'll go to sleep for tonight, and each day shift a little in my position, and eventually i'll decide to sit down for the ride, choose my match, follow a road into a completely NEW place. can i still grow with you guys in a different state? ... i dont forget my loves.



thanks again for the super-space, oh sphereous blog,


Jodi