Today is the day.. our first competition day! With anxiety, and

excitement in our hearts, we woke up this morning knowing that we were

in official, legitimate, "competition mode". Starting off the day with

the usual breakfast at DECC, we immediately went to the venue of our

competition for a final stage rehearsal. Being in the venue made things

sink in a little more that in a few hours we would competing on a WORLD

stage for a CHAMPION title. After wating in a holding room, praying and

meditating, we finally went on stage for our dress rehearsal (which is

equally important as the final performance). We gave the rehearsal our

all, and made our way bck to the Westin to have one last practice. With

Mr. White's and our peers critiques, we felt ready. We then ate,

changed clothes and got ready to compete in the Pop Music Competition.

Once we arrived, the time slowly passed by, but, before we knew it it

was time to perform. The stage was ELECTRIC. As Mr. White said, we were

on one accord, and the energy flowed through us as we sang songs such

as September by Earth Wind and Fire, The Way You Make Me Feel by

Michael Jackson and The Worlds Greatest by R Kelly. After leaving that

stage from a standing ovation, we all (no matter what) felt like

champions! After the performance, we returned to the hotel atrium to

recieve all the great words of encouragement and compliments from our

friends and family, leaving us all tired, happy, relieved, and most of

all..proud of ourselves.