Nostalgically Excited for this year's Songfest

Nostalgically Excited for this year’s Songfest

By RACHEL CHEATHAM

Editor-in-Chief

Songfest is one of the few events where the amount of glitter glued onto my face is greater than the amount of sleep I get for the week.

It’s where my parents can relive my dance recital days from when I was younger.

Songfest is a cocktail of adrenaline, stress, glitter, humor, and excitement for Alum Brunch the following morning.

I love it.

I wouldn’t give up the hours practicing dance moves that’ll stay in my head months later for anything.

The soundtrack to my undergraduate career is filled with Cheetah Girls, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and so many other wonderful songs.

How could I not love an event that checked off one of my unlikely bucket list items? When am I ever going to have the opportunity to rap in front of an audience again?

Did I rap well? Highly questionable, I won’t lie. But my parents’ face of utter surprise was worth all the work I did for those thirty glorious seconds.

Senior year has already been marked by many wonderful moments. Sure, there’s stress. And, yes, I’d trade all the money left on my G-card if it meant I could take a sizable nap.

But, after this year, when will I be able to dance, sing and laugh with my sorority sisters? Realistically, it won’t be like this ever again.

I’ll miss the late night runs to Taco Bell after dress rehearsal. I tear up when I think about next year, how I’ll be able to eat bagels during Alum Brunch.

The joy of Songfest isn’t due to its laidback nature. Blood, sweat and tears go into every skit, every year. The joy I experience is that for a couple of nights, the only thing expected of me is dancing with a smile.

I don’t have to know what’s coming after graduation, because I only have to know what’s happening during the next eight minutes.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how bad my dancing is. It doesn’t matter if I remember all the cues. My parents will be proud of me either way.

In fact, this year, they’re sitting in the third row; because, if I’m being completely honest, I’m as excited for them to watch me perform for the last time as they are. Without a doubt, my dad will video the entire performance on his phone, and my mother will be taking pictures. Then, they’ll both share them in the family group chat with my brother and sister-in-law.

I love that they’re proud enough of my fifteen second dance routine to document it for the future, and for others.

This Songfest will be a memorable chapter in the closing book of my undergraduate career. I’m doing my best to be thankful for every moment. I acknowledge that it is because of my fantastic Songfest leaders that this memory is so wonderful.

I have had the time of my life dancing with my sisters, and helping make this year’s costumes. When I look back at Songfest, I’ll have no regrets, nothing I wish I could have changed.