Forensics Nationals in Wisconsin!

I'm sitting here in school on this hot and humid day back from our four day weekend! Even though I had a great time at Nationals, it's good to be back at UC, ready to finish up the year :-)

5 members of our Forensics Team (including myself), 3 of our 4 coaches, the mom of one of our coaches, and 2 of our Alumni (who won 7th in the nation last year), all headed to Appleton, Wisconsin on Friday for the Grand National Tournament of the National Catholic Forensics League! Myself and my partner, Chris, competed in Duo Interpretation with our piece "Wrong for Each Other," by Norm Foster. Arielle, sophomore competed in Declamation with the speech entited "A Whisper of AIDS," by Mary Fischer, and two senior boys, James and Keith, competed in Public Forum, a two on two debate about an important topic which they have had time to research and develop both affirmative and negative arguments.

We met at Union Catholic at 7:30am on Friday, and drove together in a van to the airport. After arriving at the Milwauki airport after a 2 hour plane ride, we drove another 2 hours into Appleton. We rode in this comfy and spacious mini-bus, it was cool! We stayed at the Comfort Suites... and boy, was it comforting! Arielle and I shared a room, with 2 TV's, a kitchen area, and a really nice bathroom with a whirlpool bathtub! We had the rest of the day to chill out and relax before dinner and practicing. The hotel had a big pool, hot tub, and sauna... it was heaven! When the time came we all walked over to the Golden Corral, a buffet styled dinner. That night we practiced with our coaches and went over the itinerary for the weekend.

I absolutely love the Forensics Team in general. The coaches are so great - they are always there for you, and they look out for you. The members of the team bond in many ways. I can honestly call these people my "forensics family!" Every one of them has helped me succeed in more ways than one. Not only have my coaches helped me with my speaking, acting, interpretations, and movements... they've helped me to come out of my shell. I was a really shy freshman, but being part of something like Forensics has helped me open up to people and express my feelings more clearly. I just love it!

Even though no one from our team advanced, we all had a great time together. It was definately an experience in and out itself to make it to Nationals. Now I already have to start thinking about what I will do for my senior year!

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So, there's only two more weeks of school, and then finals. If all goes well, I'll only have to take 2 finals - Algebra and Spanish (not my favorites...haha).

School is just about to end now - Have a great day!