The only time I've ever wished I was back in college.

It's not a secret that college wasn't really my thing.  I was a good student and all, but I just didn't quite fit in.  My goal was to get out of there as quickly as possible and get married before Josh decided that I was too high maintenance.  And I did both of those things-- got married after sophomore year and graduated a semester early.

There were four main reasons I chose Western Carolina University, though.

1) Small class sizes (my average class was maybe 15 people-- some had only 8 or so!).
2) 30 minutes from home.
3) They gave me a nice sized scholarship.
4) Their marching band.

I'd been in the color guard part of marching band since 8th grade.  It was my life, and I enjoyed it so much!  There was one season of Winterguard where I performed 4 times in a day.  That's about 4 times more than the normal!  It was hard, but it was so rewarding.  And many of the instructors for our high school were also instructors at Western, so it only made sense that I auditioned for the color guard.

Yes, I'm a total band geek, and if you were in Western's band, you would be, too.  They are top notch.  And this year?  They're playing in the Rose Parade!

You can catch it on New Year's day on HGTV starting at 11am.  They're one of the first few in the parade, so cheer them on!  I'm so proud and really, really wish I was there performing with them!

Here's a link where they shut down the highway for practice.  Mega cool.