No Nationals for Me

Things and things and things today I guess...

Making decisions.

Choices.

Things that are going to effect the rest of this year...the rest of this summer...more? I don't know yet.

I guess this is me letting everyone know, I am not going to be doing national fine arts.

Though I qualified (see earlier post) I have made the decision that I am not going to go through with my original plan to participate in the national festival.

You see, national fine arts festival is in Phoenix, AR.

Since I barely made it to districts (thank you Jesus!) actually going to nationals was rather out of the question...well, really outside of being realistic.

Don't get me wrong, I was totally open to something (God-thing) happening so that I could go, but thats just not how things went down.

However, there was the option to register the entries I got invited to nationals for and hopefully finding someone from another church who was already going to take my entries down for me. You see entries that need displays (for example, like my t-shirt design) are required to be checked in at the beginning of the festival, and then checked out afterwards.

At first after receiving Superior with Invitation to Nationals I wasn't going to do that at all. But my mom encouraged me to go for it.

After having been home for almost a month after district fine arts now, I have been working to try and earn money to pay for nationals when I read up on everything again and realized that registration was actually more than I thought it was going to be.

I knew registration was $80...however, I thought that covered the first entry, so if I were to just enter my t-shirt design it would only be $80. Not too bad.
However, I discovered that that doesn't include the first entry, after that each entry is an additional $20.

Ouch.

I thought, "well I'll get through it somehow...maybe I just won't enter my photography that I haven't heard back about yet."

But then I continued thinking about everything it would entail just to enter my t-shirt design.

Not only is there registration, there is proper mounting/display for it and of course my time to set it all up.
Then there's figuring out a way so that whoever I get it to can either fit it in a suitcase easily (its rather large) or that it'll have its own bag. In all likeliness, it would have to have its own bag.

Which would mean, extra luggage that I would have to pay for.

Oh and then theres the little detail of getting the display to whoever would take it for me.

Shipping costs.

Did I mention I still hadn't (haven't) heard anything about contact information for people already going? Yeah, thats definitely no small detail for this plan.

And of course there's the fact that when I do things, I like to do them right and would be fretting about how my display was being cared for, set up...all that stuff.

And so everything kept stacking up.
Time...money...lack of cooperation from people...

It just wasn't worth it.

In the end, I'd be putting out at least $200 in time and money (mostly money...) with the final registration date barely a month away.

I couldn't handle the stress.

Trying to make sure I finish all my school on time, having to worry about doing math over the summer.

With worrying about nationals on top of that, it just wasn't worth it.

I would pour so much into it, but for what?

I mean really?

Another certificate on the wall?

Bragging rights?

*shrugs*

Just didn't seem at all worth it.


But you know what?

Next year, I am planning ahead.

As in, as soon as I know what the theme for the 2011-2010 year is going to be, I'm going to be writing my spoken word, sketching that t-shirt design, rhyming that poem into being and snapping those pictures.

Oh yeah, and earning the money.


Thank you everyone for your support, I love you all for it.
To the friends and family who offered to help me pay for stuff.
To the wonderful people who opened their home.
To everyone who gave me a job.
To all the people who were sad I was backing out but respected my choice.
For everyone who had a smile and a word of encouragement along the way.

Thank you so much and God bless!

(lets kick some butt next year, eh? ;)