California Exploring

Earlier this week I've had a chance to travel around Los Angeles a little bit and explore some of the more 'hidden' areas in town. I traveled with Jessica and Becky to find some fun, nature-ish places just out of town, and I got some AMAZING pictures. Take a look!








Stay tuned tomorrow for some more updates from my adventures with the Red Cross yesterday! :)

Results

So I received an email the other day from ABC Studios informing me that I did not receive the position. Yes, I am a little bummed out that I didn't get it, but to be perfectly honest, I have absolutely no regrets.

This process (as cliche as it will sound) has taught me alot. Perhaps the most important thing I realized is that I am still VERY young in this industry. Most people that were applying for this position were 5+ years older than me. I know that just getting to the Final 20 was a major accomplishment in itself.

Furthermore, I have learned that I have the most incredible support system. Everyone has been so supportive and kind to me these last few weeks...giving me words of encouragement and wisdom...and it really has meant a great deal to me.

I also know that this is not the end. In fact, it's just the beginning. Some of my friends that work at ABC / Disney have told me that, often times, people that don't make it into the program the first year will make it in their 2nd, 3rd, of 4th. It's all just a matter of time.

In the words of Conan O'Brien, "Nobody gets exactly what they thought they were going to get in life, but if you work hard, and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

And on that happy note, I am pleased to report that I will be working with America's Next Top Model this coming June :) It should be an amazing opportunity to gain experience and make friends in the industry, and I am certainly looking forward to it.

For now, that's it. I'll be updating much more as the week goes on. Sara will be visiting during the second half of the week and I am SUPER excited about it, so there will be a ton of pictures and updates to come. Also, there will be an exciting post later this week about another adventure I am embarking on. I can't say anything yet, but I'll be able to post info at the end of the week. You WON'T want to miss out!

Thanks again to everyone who's been there for me and shown me nothing but support and love these last few weeks (and always, for that matter). I hope it shows, but in case it doesn't, I greatly appreciate it.

A Good Day

Well, today was my interview at ABC Studios. I must say, I think it went pretty well. I feel confident with how everything went. Better yet, I feel good...just an overall good feeling that I really brought my best foot forward and did all that I could. This has been quite a wild ride, and now the hardest part is just sitting and waiting. Hopefully we'll hear results soon.

I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to everyone who has shown amazing support for me during all of this. Some names that come to mind include: Jeff King, Ana DeLaNoval, Laura West, Debbie Thatcher, my parents, and COUNTLESS others. It means the world to me that I have your support.

In other news, we have a giant hole in our wall. It was bigger before, but now it's much smaller. Today they actually came to finish it off and re-paint it to make it look all nice and new. When the smaller hole was there, I decided to take a picture. You'll notice I covered the hole with a picture of Rita Hayworth. I'll be curious to see who gets this joke / reference.


Also, I recently had a visit from Chrissy Olson and her friend. We took the day to tour downtown Hollywood and such, and we had a great time.


That's about all for now, folks. More news will be posted when I hear it!

Here Goes Nothin'...

So tomorrow is the big day. Or rather, one of the two big days. Tomorrow night is the social mixer, and then Friday afternoon is the interview. I'm as ready as I can be. I'm a little nervous, but not too bad. This week has been pretty overwhelming, so while I'm excited for this, I'm also excited for it to be over and out of my mind so I can have a good night's sleep again!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their incredible support and kind words. Whether it was via email, Facebook, or a quick text / phone call, it has meant alot to me. It's really nice to hear encouraging words before going into something big like this, and I will be taking all of it to heart.

Stay tuned for an update. Rumor has it that we should have results Friday night.

Daughtry / Lifehouse Concert

This past week was jam-packed with excitement! On Monday, I attended the Chris Daughtry and Lifehouse Concert at LA Live. It was a VERY neat concert that featured great talents on stage and behind the scenes.

It was really neat to hear Daughtry talk about how he got started in the entertainment industry. He talked about how he grew up in a small town, and how he realized that he needed to move to LA to make something of himself. It kinda hit home for me.

Some pictures and videos from the event can be seen here:






Here's some videos from the concert. Once again, pardon the shaky-ness of the video...I was trying to enjoy it, too (without just enjoying it through a view finder!)