A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Eight

We arrived home and I talk with my mom about all that has happened since we visited everyone. She tells me that no matter what happens next that God is in control. Later on, we went to bed because we were tired. The next morning, we went to see my dad and our neighbor. The doctors told us that our neighbor and my dad were able to come home today. We were so happy and thrilled. The doctors told us how dad was going to have to take things easy for awhile, along with our neighbor. I call our friend we haven't seen in awhile and tell him the good news. When he answers the phone, I hear sobbing. I try to ask what is wrong but I continue to hear sobbing. I try to ask if things are okay but I hear sobbing and sobbing that I have to wonder if something happened with his parents or another relative that we don't too much about. He finally composes himself and tells me that he is crying happy tears because his parents are home now. I congratulate him and tell him I'll talk with him later. He says, I hope that you will enjoy going to Julliard in the fall. I tell him thank you and we hang up. I feel bad that I didn't invite him to see dad since dad and our neighbor were home. Although, I suppose everyone has had a very long day. I will see if there is anything that my dad needs for now. I'll talk with all of you later. My mom receives a phone call. It's from Mr. Carson. I don't understand. I just remain silent and dad is asleep in their room, so he won't hear this. My mom has this serious look and then it turns happy and then back to serious and then happy again. I'm so confused and I don't know what to do or what to say, or even what to think. I hope Mrs. Carson is alright. She finally says goodbye to Mr. Carson on the phone and mom doesn't say a word. She then calls Ally which is Mr. and Mrs. Carson's daughter and talks in some code about how Ally's mom is doing. I can't understand but why should I, mom probably doesn't want me to hear the news yet if it's bad. I just want to know that Mrs. Carson is healthy and okay. Dad wakes up and I help him to the couch. Mom, hangs up the phone and sees dad on the couch. I go outside, not because I want to go outside but mom has me go outside, so that she can tell the news. I really want to know Mrs. Carson is okay but I'm sure mom would tell me if anything is wrong. I really hope that things are okay before I leave for the fall to attend Julliard. My mom sends me a text. I come back inside and she tells me that Mrs. Carson is very well but that she has a long recovery and is unable to see her daughter Ally and would love to see her but can't right now. So that's why her husband had me call their daughter to come here. I sigh with relief and am happy that Mrs. Carson will be happy. The next day Ally Carson arrives and rings her parent's doorbell. Mr. Carson answers the door and gives his daughter a hug. He closes the door. The phone rings shortly after. This time on the phone it is Mrs. Carson. She is telling mom how happy she is to have her daughter that was named after her, home. She said, I can't talk long but I'm so thankful for family and for yours and have a great day. She hangs up the phone and dad and I are crying tears of happiness. A few weeks later, dad is able to do a lot of the things he was not able to when he came back home from the hospital. Mrs. Carson was fully recovered too and her and her husband even came over to celebrate. Their daughter left back home, as she had to go to work at the hospital my dad was transferred to when Mrs. Carson watched me. A few moments later and months later it was time for me to pack and head off to Julliard. I said goodbye to my friend I talked with on the phone, and to Mr. and Mrs. Carson. My parents and I traveled and they helped me unpack when I arrived. I got myself checked in and I said goodbye to my parents and told them that I loved them and thanked them for helping in my journey. They said goodbye and love you. I met my roommate and she is very nice and my age. She tells me she grew up in Kentucky. I asked her what that was like. She told me her story and how it has been an honor to have gotten a scholarship. Her parents couldn't afford, let alone pay for Julliard. She told me it was like a blessing in disguise that she was able to come here and learn. She told me she's wanted to be a dancer all her life and now that she's here, it's like she is in a dream and doesn't want to wake up. She told me how she wants to be on Broadway and then hopefully open up her own dance studio and teach students with disabilities. She hopes that we can remain friends throughout the four years we have together. I tell her that we will. She asks me, if she wants to explore campus and meet others that are here to learn just like them. I politely decline and tell her I'm a little tired from the trip here. She nods and closes the door behind her. I take a nap and then my roommate comes back in and wakes me up. She says you should go and meet others. I tell her, I'll have plenty of time to make friends. She says if I don't then our dorm advisor might be mad. I get up and she starts practicing dancing and I close the door behind me and go to meet others. I meet this one girl who has brunette hair, and blue eyes. She told me she is from Milwaukee and I ask her what that is like. She tells me her story and then tells me that I'll be rooming with her next month. I was shocked to hear that. I asked her what she meant by that. She tells me that next month everyone is put in with a different roommate. I didn't believe her but then our dorm advisors came by and said it was true. They told us every semester they just want others to get to know as many people as possible. I guess I understand that. I ask if I can make a phone call to my parents back home. They say yes. I call them and they're happy to hear my voice. I tell them what has gone on, since I have gotten here. They are proud. I tell them goodbye and they say that you're going to have a great first year. I really hope they're correct. My first year at Julliard has gone very well so far and then we went to orientation. We learned what is expected of us and what we need to do and not do. We went to our very first classes. Next we did workshops and we learned different things. We have supper and then we have time to reflect and do what we need. Sooner or later it was light's out and because tomorrow was a new day. I wake up, my roommate is not there. There is a note however, and I read it. She was letting me she got up early to go to the breakfast hall, to get a start to rehearse for her dance audition today. I can't believe they're having auditions. I didn't think that would happen the first year. She explains it's not a huge audition but a small one that could determine where she goes from there. I wonder if I would have a dance or acting audition today. I didn't, I just had some more workshops. A few months later we were in our second year, and my first year roommate well she roomed with another girl in the same dormitory as me. The girl from Milwaukee was my second year roommate and we grew close as our second year was beginning. I was thinking how hard it will be when our graduation comes. Although we had time. A little while later in the passing months again, my second year roommate from Milwaukee roomed with another girl in a different dormitory and not the same as my first year roommate. As for me I got another roommate who was shy and didn't say much but she seemed nice. When she finally talked, she decided to tell me where she was from and how she got a scholarship and how blessed she was.  I was happy and couldn't have been more proud to know what it's been like to meet these amazing people. I've learned so much in the three years and now that it's almost time for the fourth year to come, I just hope I get the audition this year by the time the fourth year rolls around the corner. I don't ever want to feel like my dream for being year was a mistake of some sort but I know it wasn't. I know it takes time. I finally get the audition I've been waiting for and who knows maybe this will lead me to Broadway. I've always wanted to do shows, and movies so maybe this is my chance to make a big impact. I go into my audition and they ask me to improv. I do and then they ask me to dance. So I dance to the music from the musical Wicked. Then they ask me to sing, so I sing a song my mother sang to me when I was a child. Finally they tell me I have potential to become a star and if I keep working in my fourth year I should get a job somewhere. I thank them for their time and go back to my dorm room and study. Around my fourth year of being here, most of everyone I've roomed with, have gone on to moving in other dorms with others or into housing. I however, have roomed by myself in my fourth year because well there wasn't anyone else to room with, except a first year student who just got here today. Her name is Sidney and she is wanting to study ballet and be a ballerina. She lives in Austin Texas but just like most of the people I've met and made friendships with, she too got a scholarship. We are in our last year and next month we graduate at the end of August. I can't believe it but I'm going to miss this place. I make a phone call to my parents and my parents are proud of me and they say they wouldn't miss it. By August, it came time for me to graduate from a very great preforming arts school. I see our neighbors, my friend who was at the hospital with his parents, and my parents getting ready to cheer. Once graduation was over I introduced everyone to all my friends I've met since I've been here and they're all pleased to have met my friends I've made. My friends give me their numbers and I thank them. My friend who I talked with at the hospital asks the courage to ask me out. I say yes. I also say now, I have to find a place to live and find a job and I show why I said that. My dorm advisor says, you've graduated and go have fun and don't worry about finding a job right away. I say thank you. My parents and everyone take me out to celebrate the next chapter of my life. I couldn't believe it my dream of acting was going to take off sooner or later and I had a whole bunch of people who love me. A few years later, my parents and our neighbors and the boy who was my boyfriend decided to move to New York. A few more years later the boy that was my boyfriend married me and I still got an acting job. I was an actress on Broadway, preforming every night and day. I was living my dream and so was my newly wed husband because he got a job as a stage manager at the theater I was doing shows at. We were together every night and day. My parents and Mr. and Mrs. Carson were so proud of who I've become and what once was a a girl's journey, my journey to Julliard had turned into a dream come true. Sequel: Eventually we all moved out of New York and moved back to where I grew up, so I could open up my own preforming arts center with my husband and live out a new dream of helping others.

A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Seven

He comes towards me and when he gets to where I'm waiting for my mom, he introduces himself. He tells me his name, he tells me where he goes to school. He tells me his age, and tells me he's visiting his father and was about to visit his mother. He tells me his dad was in kidney trouble but someone donated their kidney and now he has a chance at life. He tells me his mother is on the fifth floor and just had open heart surgery. He tells me who his parents are and I recognize the name for some reason. I wonder if we are related somehow but I can never be too sure. My mom comes out of the room, and says hello to the boy who I just met and says the strangest thing that surprises me, and then it clicks. Our neighbor is his aunt, and that's how we knew each other. I feel ashamed but he tells me not to worry, he asks my mom if it's okay if he takes me to see his mother and and my mom said yes that would be fine, she'll stay here and wait for me to return. We go to the fifth floor and we talk and laugh, and then we walk into his mother's room. His mom sees him right away and then she notices me. She tells us both to come in and sit with her. She asks how my dad and her sister are doing. I tell her that Mrs. Carson, and my dad are fine. She then gives a sigh of relief and then asks her son how dad was doing. He told her he was doing fine and that no matter what, when everyone is able to come home, he's going to make sure that he does well in school, and that he is going to go to a good college. His mother starts to cry but they're happy tears and she tells him that she is proud of him. She then asks me what my hopes and dreams are. I tell her and then she remains silent. I figured I said something wrong. She asks me to go out of the room a minute, and I do. I think in my head and I start talking to myself quietly, so she can't hear and would think I was crazy. I try to block out the noises around me and when I do, I don't hear anything around me but my own voice in my head telling me to not give up the dream that I am wanting. I hear it tell me that even when people don't understand the dream of going to Julliard would be wonderful for me, I know that it should make me want that dream fulfilled even more. It should make me want to work harder and harder towards my goals. I go back in the room, and I hear him apologize for his mother's behavior and his mother says sorry to me. She tells me it was wrong to not congratulate me on the things that mattered to me and she started sobbing, and asking me for forgiveness. I told her that it was okay and that I forgive her for what she didn't mean to say or didn't even say. I hope that she knows, that I love her and that she's forgiven by not only her family, me, but by God who loves her the most of all because He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, and when she heard that she cried happy tears and she knew that she was loved and forgiven by all that loved her. I prayed with her that day, and then I left and said goodbye. They both said goodbye, and I went back to where my mom was waiting for me. We finally had gone home, after visiting my dad, our neighbor, and those we haven't seen in a very long time.

A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Six

My mom answers the phone and I make sure that I'm quiet as a mouse because I don't want to say anything if it's bad news. I hear the doctor ask if this was the Carson residence and my mom says no. She gives them our last name, and then the doctor ask if she knew how to get a hold of Mr. Carson because it was important. She then proceeds to give the doctor the number for their household but then my mom asks how dad is. The doctors tell her fine and that he can come home tomorrow. The doctor hangs up with mom and we cry tears of joy. Although we didn't know what the doctors were going to say for Mrs. Carson. We prayed that everything was going to be alright. The doctors that day called Mr. Carson and as he answered he asked many questions and the first question was why did they not know that she needed a treatment for low sugar, and his other question was how come they were just now using an iv treatment to get insulin into her body? His questions were answered but the doctors had told him that because the insulin had to be given through an iv treatment, they were going to keep her over night for observation and if all goes well, she should be home by tomorrow morning. We knew Mr. Carson was relieved when he learned his wife was going to be okay and that she had a team of doctors taking care of her. He was happy for us too, because he wanted my dad to come home. My mom and I decided that we would go to the store and get some groceries but also we thought we would go and get a small non expensive gift to welcome dad home. When we arrived home, we put things away and then we decided to wrap the small gift in a box and then put on the living room table that was a small oak table that was hand carved and made by my dad. My mom and I then decide to go to the hospital and visit my dad and Mrs. Carson. To our surprise we see Mr. Carson and he lets us know that we was going to be spending the night here because he wanted to be able to bring his wife home, and he tells us how dad has told him that there is a program for people who go and meet with those who have gone through the surgery procedure that him and Mr. Carson's wife have gone through, and when they meet, they share their own testimonies and share how the experience has transformed their lives from their time in the hospital to when they have arrived home. Mr. Carson tells his wife, he is going to the hospital cafeteria to eat and he'll be back soon. We visit with dad and we tell him the good news that happened with me and my dad couldn't be prouder of me. I tell him that I'm somewhat nervous attending, but he tells me that I don't need to be. He tells me why I don't need to be nervous and I smile and give him a hug. We tell him we will see him tomorrow. He tells me goodbye and I wait in the hall, while mom and dad are still talking to each other. While, I'm waiting a boy that is the same age as me, comes towards me and starts to introduce himself. Although, while he's doing that I can't help but think that he seems very familiar to me. He seems so familiar, that you would think I would know where I saw him before or how I knew him, but my mind keeps drawing a blank of how I would have met him or where I saw and knew him from. I mean, I know it is crazy to say all of that, but it's just something about him, that I can't place.

A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Five

I read the letter and it says: To whom it may concern, we're happy to announce the acceptance of Miss Jillian Smith, who will be attending our school this fall. We look forward to meeting you and hoping that as we get a chance to meet you that you will feel welcome throughout the year. If you have any questions, please never hesitate to ask as we look forward to being helpful to all of our students who attend Julliard. Some of the rules we require all students to follow, are being polite, listening to all instructors, not starting any fights, making sure that when it is the right time for lights out in our dorms or housing that the students have the lights out, otherwise it will result in one warning and if it happens more than once after the warning is given then it is a detention or trip to one of our offices that will then decide whether the person who broke any of our rules, which you will read more of in your handbook that we sent in the packet, is able to stay at our school or not. We want all students to be respectful and make sure that everyone has a good time. In order for any student to graduate from Julliard they must complete a 4 year study with us and then, they must find a place to live and find a decent job after graduation. Our students who have gone from here, they have found great jobs and then they followed the career they have been wanting ever since they came here. Some of our students have even made it to Broadway. The first week all students will meet in the auditorium to meet with an alumni that has been here before and each new student will get the opportunity to ask questions and the alumni will be in different parts of campus from the morning every new student arrives, till at least lunch because then they need to leave to get back to the dreams they have successfully made for themselves and the jobs they got on their own. We ask that you bring what you need with you and if you have forgotten anything from home, then we will provide it for you. We ask that all cell phones be turned off when it's lights out, so that each student can get the rest they need and if it is a emergency that you need to use a phone, we ask that you let us know before all lights in the dorm or housing are out because we need time to prepare with making sure our phones work, and didn't go out because of a storm. We ask that all new students are kind and helpful to others if they don't understand something. We look forward to having you this fall, and hope your experience here at Julliard is wonderful. Sincerely, Julliard President Jordan Johnson. P.S. If you need to reach the school before you come in the fall, please call 419-892-4569 and we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have. I was so happy that I could scream. I didn't though, but I was just so very happy that it felt like a weight has just been lifted off of my shoulders and that it was one less thing I had to worry about. I see mom walk into the kitchen and she wonders what I'm smiling about, and I hand her the letter. She reads it silently for a moment and then gives me a hug. I know she is proud of me and she tells me congratulations. The phone rings and it is the hospital.

A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Four

Today was Saturday, so I got the mail. I came back with get well cards for Mrs. Carson, dad, bills for mom, and an envelope for me that was about to decide my future of where I was going to be after high school. I was a little nervous because I didn't know what I was going to do. I mean what if I don't accepted into Julliard? What if I fail high school, and then I don't get into a good college? I mean things like this can happen in life and what if my parents are not proud of me, if it happens? I am so nervous in opening, that I throw up. I didn't think my nerves would get the best of me, over what could be an acceptance letter or a rejection letter. I'm so nervous that I start crying and believing the things I've asked and then I pace back and forth like I'm making a decision and I can't do anything. I am so nervous that after I stop pacing back and forth, I drink water and eat a snack. Once I stop doing that, mom comes home. She knows something is wrong, otherwise she wouldn't have found a way for me to calm down. She knows that every time I get this way about anything, that I need to take a breather and remind myself that I can accomplish great things in life. I open the envelope and what I find as I open it, is a letter from Julliard. I didn't know what to do. I mean this letter was just about to decide where my future is going to take me in the next year after I finish high school. I mean I've waited for this day to come, so many times and now that it is finally here, I'm nervous because I'm not sure what the letter will say. My mom tries to tell me that no matter what happens that her and dad will always be proud of me, and that even if I don't get accepted it is not the end of the world, because God's plan for my life will continue to work out because God is always there for us, no matter what we go through. I know that what she is saying is the truth and that I shouldn't worry so much, but this is just been my dream for awhile now, and I don't want to feel like my work has gone unnoticed, to any school. I want any school to know that I'm a hard worker, and that I have potential to be on Broadway someday, because that's another dream of mine. I want to make it on Broadway and preform for others, so that they can be happy. Now, in order for me to do that, I need to find out what the letter reads. So I finally take the letter out of the envelope, to read it.

A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Three

My dad arrived back at the hospital where we live, and in 2015 I knew things were going to be good. I mean that is what I thought, but in 2016 dad got sick again, and even though test results didn't show that the cancer had come back, new results showed that he had pneumonia but they were able to treat it here, so I would be able to see him more. I was happy about that and I prayed that dad would get better. Mrs. Carson, told me that year that my dad was a fighter and he will be back in this house in no time. I wanted to believe her but I had some hope and some of that hope seem to drift a little ways away from me, because in 2017 dad got better and was healed of the pneumonia. I know what you're probably thinking, why is that bad news? It's not, the bad news however was we found out that my dad's right kidney was failing, and he needed a transplant. I wanted to have the hospital test me to see if I were a match for him, but mom wouldn't let me without her consent. I did talk to her, and she told me she didn't know because if I wasn't then she would feel poorly about not knowing who would be a match for dad. I understood that, but she was going to let me anyway. Mrs. Carson that day, drove me to the hospital and the doctors tested me, and my mom. We were not a match. They then tested Mrs. Carson, and she was a match. So that day they got Mrs. Carson and my dad ready for surgery and my mom and I waited for the doctor to bring us back to a hospital room so we could see dad, once the surgery was over. A few hours later, a nurse came to us and told us that the surgery was well for both of them and that we can see them now. I was relieved to know that and I couldn't believe how much stress and anxiety left my body, because of how worried I was. My dad told me that once he gets out of the hospital, he promises me that no matter what happens with my future of getting accepted into Julliard or not, that he will always be proud of me and that if I do get accepted, he is going to be with mom, and Mrs. Carson watching a performance of mine. I cried a little tear of happiness that day. My dad hugged me, and I did back. Mrs. Carson, however told me to not give up on following my dreams. She told me this because she was wanting me to know that no matter what happens in my life that God is in control and as long as I'm trusting in Him, His plan for my life will continue to unfold.

A Girl's Journey To Julliard Part Two

I wonder if things were going to get easier but I saw that the phone was ringing. I looked at the caller id and it was the hospital.I quickly stop reading and hand the phone to mom. Mom answers the phone and goes outside, so I can't hear. I dislike when she goes outside when she gets the phone because well what if it's important that I need to know something that is going on with my own father? I mean a kid should know. I put on my headphones and start listening to music, and here's how the conversation with the people at the hospital and my mom went. The doctor called my mom and told her that my dad was going to be kept overnight. When my mom asked why, the doctor said to her that they want to run some tests overnight to rule any possibility of my dad having pneumonia or some other illness that would be causing the nausea my dad has been experiencing in the last few days. My mom then hung up and called our next door neighbor and when she came back in, she stopped my music and told me that our neighbor Mrs. Carson was coming over to watch me, while she went to go check on dad at the hospital. I told her that I wanted to go with her, but she told me that it was out of the question, and she call here if there were any new updates about dad. I understood where she was coming from, and kissed her on the cheek. She told me she loved me and not to stress so much, because dad would be fine. I wanted to believe her that year, I truly did but in 2014 my dad was transferred to a hospital in Boston because he had a thing called leukemia which is a form of cancer. The doctors where I live, caught it early and although they couldn't treat it here, my dad had to go in a special private airplane with my mom to be flown to one of the best hospitals in Boston. Which meant Ali Carson, or as I call her Mrs. Carson was spending however long she needed to be with me, while my parents were far away. As I got older I wondered if dad would be okay. I mean a girl needs her dad and her mom to make sure that nothing bad can ever come from this. We go to the year 2015 and mom finally called, she told Mrs. Carson that dad was doing much better and they're going to transport him back to our hospital, so that they can monitor him, but that the good news was they think they got rid of getting everything that was bad out of my dad's body, so that he could be well. I was so happy because I knew things were going to work out and everything was going to be fine.