Kate L Photography – San Antonio, TX

It has been a WHIRLWIND of a week. Monday marked my first real flute job audition. Three of my flute friends and I drove the seven hours to New London, CT to audition for the Coast Guard band. None of us came home with a contract (we all had about a 1/50 chance of winning), but I’m so glad I went. I’ve been absolutely dreading the audition process because it just seemed so impossible, but once I got on the stage, I just played like I’ve been trained and have been practicing for. I realized that auditions are not the horrible nightmares that I imagined, but just logistical a step to get where I want to go. That being said, it was so sad to me to realize how many people are following their dreams right now with so many rejections behind them…and possibly many more ahead of them, given that part of the process is purely luck (who’s having a good day during that audition). And I could easily become one of them.

I love this quote that my friend Robby posted on his P52 last week: “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.” This audition was such a good checkpoint for me…it made me realize that I have the musical skills I need, but I just need to learn how to work through mental hurdles and continue to reach toward perfection in future auditions.

I suppose the only thing that I can do is wake up every morning and start my scales and excerpts. Keep sending in my resume and taking auditions. And hopefully one day I’ll go in with the right combination of preparation and luck and find the dream job I’ve been seeking for so many years….aside from being a photographer, of course ;)

1 | An Eastman flute studio reunion! It was great to spend time with three of my current studio-mates, and get to see two good friends of mine that graduated the year before last.
2 | New London, Connecticut, home of the Coast Guard.
3 | Eating clementines during the 7-hour drive to CT
4 | We played the “Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” trivia book to pass the drive. Needless to say, we were all smarter than a fifth grader…especially in the music category! :)

{ETA: Sorry to post late– I’ve come down the typical post-audition cold and spent all day in bed yesterday hoping to recover quickly before my flight to San Francisco tomorrow.}

1 | View from the sky during my flight from San Antonio back to Rochester to begin the spring semester. The blanket of snow was a little intimidating, having just spent a beautifully warm month in San Antonio.
2 | This has been a week of lists, lists, lists. I’ve been scribbling lists everywhere– on my hand, in my notebook, on random scraps of paper. I am clinging to them in order to balance everything I have going on this semester. Lists of flute repertoire to learn, lists of upcoming flights, lists of ideas floating around in my head, and my favorite list: my ESM bucket list! I put together a list of all of the things I’ve been meaning to do before I graduate in May. Every single one of these will be checked off.
3 | A book I’ve just started for my Faulkner class this semester, which I’m totally psyched about. I love reading and dissecting good literature. I can tell this will be a really difficult read for me, but it will be a nice project to intersect my hours of flute practicing. I thought the title was especially appropriate for this week…I haven’t read enough to know what Faulkner meant by the title, but these two words sum up my week perfectly. The Sound (constant practicing all the time!) and the Fury (my frantic flurry of planning this week!)
4 | Just got back from my super talented friend Jamal’s senior recital. His group The YellowJackets closed the concert, and they left me with chills and smiles. They closed with “The Show Goes On,” and so I’ll close with a few of my favorite lyrics:

“Never ever put them down, you just lift your arms higher
Raise ‘em ’til your arms tired, let ‘em know you here
That you struggling, survivin’, that you gon’ persevere
Ain’t nobody leavin’, nobody goin’ home
Even if they turn the lights out, the show is goin’ on!”

To check out other people’s Project 52, click any of these links!

allenaim photography • Brown-Eyed Girl Photography • Bump Meet Baby • Capturing Memories • Capturing My Time • Cyan Baby Bliss • Fitori • Katie Clay Photography • McBabyBump • New Mom Adventure • Phreckle Face Photography • {rik-see} photography • Surviving Endometriosis • The Buckeye Homestead • The VanDyck Family • Wicked Kate • Firecracker Mama • Lucas and Mahina

1 | A visit to Rudy’s, one of my all-time favorite places to visit when I’m home in Texas. Think picnic tables by the highway, BBQ smoking in front of your eyes, and a menu so simple you can count its offerings on two hands. I always go at sunset because it’s so beautiful.
2 | Lunch with my amazing high school mentor Michele. It was so wonderful to catch up with her– it had been four years since our last meeting, and it was really crazy to think about how much I’ve learned about photography (and life in general) since back in 2008. And I always come away from my conversations with Michele feeling more inspired to learn than ever.
3 | Rick came to visit Texas again this week, and we took a short road trip to Dallas to visit friends and family. After a month apart and a few months of separation ahead of us (we’ll both be flying to different places for grad school auditions every weekend), it was great to have ten hours of driving to just talk and be with each other. (pic courtesy of Michele…she works wonders with even an iPhone!)
4 | Cocktails on the Riverwalk with two flute friends (one old and one new). It was very eye-opening to talk to two people who are already on the audition circuit and get a feeling for what this upcoming semester will be like.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll be up bright and early to fly back to Rochester and get settled before classes begin. I can’t say I’ll ever be ready for the chaos that will be this semester, but connecting with the family and friends that I love during this break has given me the strength I need to head out on my own again and make my own path.

To check out other people’s Project 52, click any of these links!

allenaim photography • Brown-Eyed Girl Photography • Bump Meet Baby • Capturing Memories • Capturing My Time • Cyan Baby Bliss • Fitori • Katie Clay Photography • McBabyBump • New Mom Adventure • Phreckle Face Photography • {rik-see} photography • Surviving Endometriosis • The Buckeye Homestead • The VanDyck Family • Wicked Kate • Firecracker Mama • Lucas and Mahina