It sure has been nice to be back in the good old United States. I have been enjoying all the little things that we take for granted living in the U.S. such as, free refills, free water, the U.S. paper dollar, Wal-Mart, and cheaper clothing. Plus it has been fun to use my phone and drive a car again now that I am back. Europe was amazing, so rich in history, but I truly understand why we say “I’m Proud to be an American.” I am not saying that Europe is a terrible place to live or work, but I am saying that it is simply not for me.

It was great to spend some time in Illinois and Indiana with my amazing friends! The trip has really made me remember just how thankful I should be for having such great lifelong friends. Being away from all my great friends for about a year almost made me forget just how many truly remarkable people I know. I hope that they all know and understand that I appreciate them being there for me and taking care of me, and I will be there for them whenever they need it in return.

So finally, I am home in Arizona where I will be finalizing my plans to move to the good old midwest, Dayton, Ohio to be exact. While on the ship I decided that I will need to take some time to rehab myself out of the ship life, so I am going to be taking lessons, giving lessons and freelancing in Ohio while also taking any auditions that come my way. This is my plan for the 2009-2010 year, and if it fails I will also be scoping out graduate programs for the 2010-2011 school year. I haven’t even begun to think of where I want to go or apply. One thing I have found out for sure is that I want to continue working my hardest to take my trumpet playing to the next level. This new venture will really open my eyes up to just how hard I am going to need to work, and also just how difficult it may be to achieve this goal.