getting in

hey all-after going to an in-school college visit my junior year for bethel, i felt like i had found "my perfect school". the christian enviorment, top-notch arts programs, and close location all seemed ideal for me. when i was applying to schools my senior year, i was torn between bethel and iusb. i applied to both, and prayed, asking god to show me which school was right. a couple weeks later, i got a letter from iusb. i had gotten in, but they had dropped their music education program. i knew in my heart that i couldn't imagine myself doing anything else but teaching. i had always wanted to do something with music as a career, but was unsure of how to tie music in with a paycheck untill my choir director told me with certainty that she thought i'd be a great choir teacher when i was 14. a couple years later, god allowed me to begin unofficially teaching a bit. friends in my freshman girls choir class were having issues reading music. i helped my friend megan, and soon word got around that i knew a lot about music. soon, i had to be to class early just so i could help those girls. that's when i knew this teaching thing was bigger than me. god was involved. i wasn't going to budge on my major.i resolved to start at ivy tech, thinking i'd get my basics out of the way and be a pilot in 2 short years. that didn't happen. transportation issues coupled with newly diagnosed migraines and dad's blood sugar/sleep apnea combination caused me to miss a ton of school. i took spanish, which was a BIG mistake. previously, i had studied french, and the two languages are just too similar. i promptly failed the class. i also failed public speaking the first time around because i forgot the "descision guide" for my persuasive speech. one piece of paper caused me and several others to fail the class because our professor would not allow any of us to even present the 250 point speeches. i took the class again with a different professor and did well. i was unaware of my math disabilty untill well into ivy tech, which caused me to stay frustrated in the renedial math courses most of my time at ivy tech. because i had failed spanish, i lost my aid. i was told to reinstate aid, i had to pay for a class myself and pass it. dad took some of his bonus money and paid for theatre appreciation. i relished the opportunity to dive into the theatre once a week, and aced the class. i took the following semester off to look for an apartment, and returned to ivy tech in fall 2009. i registered, went to get my books and found out my aid was still on hold. the head of financial aid at my campus asked if i had filed an aid appeal. i said no, and that i didn't know what it was. he said that when aid is lost, students have to file an appeal with the financial aid appeals commitee. i asked why i had never heard of this, and he said, "oh we don't tell students". i was angry and disappointed. since it was so close to the start of school, it was too late to get things squared away for bethel. my professor (the public speaiking and theatre one) didn't send my recommendation for spring like he said he would, which left me sitting on my hands for another semester. in december, i enrolled myself in a distance learning 7 credit hour writing class. the class is called "writing for children and teenagers". it's taught on a one on one basis by professional authors. i'm paying for it out of my own pocket, but the payments are affordable, and i love my teacher, pegi deitz shea. i highly recommend the class to anyone who's ever thought of being an author. writing is my back up plan if teaching doesn't pan out. pegi returned a wonderful recommendation to me with my last story. and this morning, bright and early, i found a bethel envelope on my laptop.finally, despite every setback, i am a bethel pilot. i nearly cried while reading it. however, my admission is conditional due to my previous academic issues. i must maintain at least a 2.0 gpa during my first full-time semester. i know i can do it. i'm shooting for a 3.0. finally, my school day will be full of music once again. i can hardly wait to once again be swept up in the backstage buzz of a concert hall. i can't wait to show kids the incredible beauty in music and see that look of sheer joy that comes over a kid's face when he or she realizes they can read music by themselves, sing an entire piece from memory correctly, or hit that imfamous high F at the end of stephen schwartz's gem "defying gravity". i can't wait to teach."i'm through accepting limits/cause someone says they're so/some things i can not change/but till i try i'll never know"-stephen schwartz, "defying gravity", "wicked""it's kind of fun to do the impossible."-walt disney"where there is music, there will always be love"-whitney houston"when there is music in your life, there is happiness"-celine dion"my heart will be blessed with the sound of music, and i'll sing once more."-julie andrews, rogers and hammerstein's "the sound of music"i have to get ready to take maria to the vet. bye!-fallonp.s. given that my admission is conditional at this point, i have decided NOT to do the music education & english double major. i was seriously considering it because there is such a high rate of arts programs getting cut. that way, i could teach music & english. right now, i still think it's a great idea. but i will probably go get my english degree after i start working.