Winter Blues
While everyone had been hoping for a snow day this week, the ladies of TakeNote, Clemson’s only all-female a cappella group, were doing the exact opposite. We wanted clear roads and safe travel conditions. Unfortunately, we did not get our wish.
TakeNote has been preparing for the quarterfinals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (yes, the one from Pitch Perfect!) since November of 2015. We were supposed to travel to Knoxville, TN, on Friday, January 22. However, that morning, we received the news that the competition had been canceled, and we don’t yet know if it can be rescheduled. Due to the weather, many of the competing teams would not have been able to attend so Varsity Vocals made the decision to cancel and not put anyone at risk.
So how do we react to this?
We have put countless hours into an incredible twelve-minute arrangement and worked tirelessly to perfect everything that we could. We were fully prepared to pour our hearts and souls into the performance and were heartbroken when we learned we might not have the opportunity to do so. Yet, we are keeping our heads held high. We know there was nothing we could have done to prevent the weather (although if anyone has any ideas, please let us know).
There is something amazing about being in a group that can still be so united and positive in the face of such challenging circumstances. Naturally, we were all disappointed at the news, but almost immediately we all began to think of alternatives and silver linings. Throughout this experience we have all become even closer to each other, and we are so proud of the music and art that we have created, even if we won’t get to showcase it in exactly the way we had intended.
While this is something we never could have predicted back in the Fall, we all can rest easy with the knowledge that we created something beautiful and became even more of a family. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we wouldn’t have done anything differently.
To learn more about TakeNote, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @clemsontakenote, or visit our web page www.clemsontakenote.com. To learn more about ICCA, visit www.varsityvocals.com.
Photo credit to Brooke Dinger