THE Update

Hello, all! Although I haven't gotten an official email yet, I feel that I should update everyone on my Disney application.

Monday night, I got on Facebook and saw that a few people on the DCP (Disney College Program) Facebook page had their statuses on their dashboard's change from "in progress" to "no longer in consideration". Immediately, I logged onto my dashboard and there it was..."no longer in consideration". At first, I didn't believe it, maybe it was a glitch? Especially because once they update your dashboard an email will be sent out to you, and since I didn't get one I thought it was a mistake. I've done some research, and it seems it's common to not get a "rejection email" right away.

Once I finally accepted the fact that I didn't get in for Fall 2012 I was so sad. But then I thought about all the good things that I wouldn't have to miss.

- I get to be home for the holidays

- There's this huge Leavitt family reunion this Thanksgiving, and I can go now!

- I will GRADUATE!!

- I get to see my best friend, Shelby, leave for her mission!

- I will be here when my friends come home from their missions!

- I can help Mimi expand our company, Float Away Films. 

- And last, but probably the best thing, I don't have to leave my dog!!! 

Boston is on the left :)

I'm sad that I am not going to be going with Amber this year though. All of us (me, Amber, Shelby) are going on different paths this year. Shelby's leaving for her mission, Amber's leaving for Disney, and I'm...who knows! Sometimes you have to grow apart to grow together.

It is bittersweet that I am not going this year, it's a blessing that I didn't know I needed or wanted. I plan to reapply in the future, I just can't decide if I want to go for Spring 2013 or Fall 2013. 

:)

Good things come to those who wait

I know a lot of you may be wondering (or not, that's okay!) if I've heard back from Disney yet... and I have not. But hopefully I will hear back soon! It's just frustrating right now because I have somewhat of an outline of the possible courses my life can take for the rest of 2012, but I cant really plan for much. I just want to know now, haha!! But my brother was being very supportive and reminded me that good things come to those who wait. I have just got to work on my patience ;)

I've been trying to keep busy with life so that I don't have a bunch of free time thinking about my possible Disney future. I've been busy with Float Away Films and filming weddings. Our company (meaning my sister, Mimi) finally invested in a Sennheiser lav mic! So far, it's made my job sooo much easier and better sounding when it comes to the interviews. I'm movin' on up from just using the H4N :P

I recently opened up my work schedule at the theater, so now I may work more than one day a week! So now (hopefully), all my "free time" that I did have will be consumed by school, work, and filming.

And if I do ever have a free moment (instead of sleeping), I've recently started up Mobach Fans again, haha. Season four is just about to start, they're trying to pick a new bachelor to star in this season. Thinking back to Mobach times last summer makes me miss those adventure filled months! Going into that summer I had no idea I would be dedicating my life (literally!) to a reality based web show and spending roughly 80 hours a week with people who were once strangers or in the editing bay with Mimi.

Anyways, long story short..I'm keeping myself busy until I hear from Disney! 

Disney Update

So, I got an email from Disney about 3 days after my interview informing me that I have been pended. I've read online on the Disney blog that being pended isn't necessarily a bad thing. They just need more time choosing where to place me and what not. I've read blogs and forums where people say the opposite, but I wont let all that get to me. :) And silly me, I didn't realize that that said email I got was the dreaded "pending email" until late last night! I take it as a good sign, the email simply said:
"Thank you for taking the time to interview for the Disney College Program!
We are currently processing you application, and at this time your status is pending a final decision.
...you will be contacted with an update on the status of your application by April 25, 2012."
I don't know, to me it didn't seem like a bad thing, it seemed to me that they were just letting me know that they're working on things so that I wouldn't be completely in the dark. 
Now there's a few things that can happen after the interview. You can either get rejected (which usually takes a few days), you can get accepted (1-2 weeks), or you can get pended. After you've been pended, you can hear back whether you've been accepted or rejected within a few days, a few weeks or a few months! I will at least know for sure whether or not I'm going this Fall by April 25! 
I would absolutely love, love, LOVE to be in the program this Fall, but if it doesn't happen, that's okay with me! Let's look at what can happen if I go this Fall:
1. I will work at DISNEY and get into the park for FREE! 2. I will be at Disney for all the major holidays! Disneyland? On Christmas?!?! :D3. I will most likely be going with one of my best friends, Amber! And we'll be roommates!
If I don't end up going this Fall:
1. I will be home for the holidays! 2. I wont have to quit all of my jobs.3. I will get to see one of my best friends, Shelby, leave for her mission!4. I will get to see all of my other friends return home from their missions!5. I can save more money.6. And last but not least, I will graduate with my degree in Audio Productions/Sound Design in December!! :)
Everything happens for a reason. It would be awesome if I get to go to California this year, but if I don't I will still accomplish a lot here in Mesa! It's all about timing and FATE!  ;)
If I don't get in this time, I can always try again for the next semester! :)
I promise I'll update my blog when I get an answer from them!!

Big Week!

So, as some of you know, my phone interview with Disney was last Tuesday. I think it went GREAT!My interviewer asked me general questions like why I wanted to work for Disney, a few scenario questions, and asked me about my previous work/volunteer experiences. I was sick with a horrible cold/cough/ear infection that lasted over a WEEK! But during my interview I had no need to cough, my voice sounded good and I didn't feel sick at all! Afterwords though,when the adrenaline went away I was reminded that I was indeed sick. Truly a blessing! :) I wont find anything for a few weeks, my interviewer said three weeks, but I think it could be longer. I got an email saying that I will find out anytime before April 25! If Amber and I don't get in, I think it will be because we applied for the internship so late (late meaning not the day applications went live), and we only applied for Disneyland and not Disney World. But whatever happens is supposed to happen! If I don't get in this time, I'll try out again for the next semester! :)
And yes, I did wear my Mickey ears during the interview.

This past Thursday I went with my group, MCO, and recorded our Christmas album at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Downtown Phoenix. The church was so beautiful, there was stained glass windows all over and when the sun was setting it cast this golden hue throughout the hall! And the acoustics in the place were AMAZING!

I couldn't find a picture of the inside of the church here in Phoenix, but I did find a similar image for the church in Illinois. It's slightly different, but still beautiful!

It was an amazing experience! It was a long and tiring 9 hours of recording but it will be so worth it once we hear the final product! Be ready for some great Christmas music later this year!! :)

P.S. Our album Messiah in America that we recorded in June of 2011 at Abravanel Hall debuted at #1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical charts!! 

Disney?

My sister Mimi and I have always dreamed of one day working for Disney making movies or doing something AWESOME! I love Disney with all my heart, my family and I even have annual passes this year.. that expire in April :(.After much thought and deliberation, one of my best friends Amber, and I have made the decision to apply to intern for the Disney College Program! It's a paid internship for 5 months, August-January, and we'd get into the parks for free! And we'd get to work for DISNEY! How awesome is that?! Well, both Amber and I have applied, got invited to take the web based interview, and now all that's left to do is to have a phone interview! Mine is tomorrow at 11:30. I'm kinda freaking out about this step! I haven't had to interview for a job since I worked for the symphony when I was 18! And to top it off, I've been fighting a cold/sickness thing, so my voice is not at it's best! Anyways, I hope we both get it. I mean, why wouldn't we? We're THE BEST! 

Any and all positive thoughts are welcome! :)

2012!

I have a feeling that 2012 is THE year.

I graduate school this year with my degree in sound design, I'm going to film school next. Who knows what's in store, but I feel that it's going to be awesome!

Well, of course it's going to be awesome...I started out my year off right by celebrating New Years at the most happiest place on earth!

And man was it happy making! :)

And packed. I've never seen so many people there before! I've been for New Years before too! There's seriously no crowd like a Disney crowd, though. Usually I get super claustrophobic, but I don't even notice it there!

The CD that we recorded in Salt Lake, Messiah in America, has debuted #1 in Billboard's Traditional Classical charts!! MCO starts recording a Christmas album towards the end of this month, get ready for awesome music this upcoming winter!!

I can't wait to see what this new year brings! :) :) :)

Wowza.

So, a few posts ago I made a list of all the things that I was going to do this summer..and I'm here to report that I have only completed TWO things!

-Finish LOST

and

-Get a "real" job . . . (well, it felt dang real to me!)

Okay, let me explain.

I finished LOST. And. It. Was. Awesome.

Okay, in early June I went to Utah.
I never thought I would love it as much as I did!! I especially loved Salt Lake City! I went with my EVMCO group combined with the OCMCO group (together we're Mormon Choral Organization of America MCO :P) and we recorded an album at Abravanel Hall and played two SOLD OUT concerts! One at the TABERNACLE and the other at Abravanel Hall!
I felt like I was in one big dream. All throughout my high school and jr. high existence all I wanted was to be in a DECENT orchestra...and no offense, jr. high and high school orchestras aren't the best...well at least at the schools that I went to. And two years after high school I'm in UTAH recording a CD and playing sold out performances with a PROFESSIONAL group!!!
I was elated. I thought that that would be the (only) highlight of my summer.

(Sorry I'm using all caps. Writing about all this is getting me all excited again. It STILL feels unreal to me.
I did that?!)

Oh, did I mention that I traveled to 8 different states with my fam? AND two dogs?! We're crazy, right? It was my favorite vacation! :)

THEN, at the end of June my sister, Mimi, got an awesome job filming/editing for The Mormon Bachelorette. A few days into her job, she finds out that they are in need of a sound person . . . and she just happened to have a sister studying audio production and her life goal is to work for film doing sound . . . so, I got the job.
At first I was terrified, I didn't know what to expect! But after my first day of shooting (their fifth day) I loved it! I work with the best crew anyone could ever ask for and with the best director (Luke Johnson) anyone could ever have! I've met so many awesome people and have done so many cool things! Like, go to the lake, go to an Alex Boye concert, go to fancy dances at fancy hotels, eat at so many different and cool restaurants, talk to people that I never would before (like John Bytheway!!)...there's so much more but it's way too much to write about, if you wanna see what I did, then just go watch the episodes yourself! ;) A few crew members and I have even started a website for Mobach! And I've even made that site cuter than my own blog! It has raked in more than 7,300 view in less than two months!! I have learned so much by doing Mobach this summer. And because I did Mobach, I was able to go to the beach in Cali to help film a commercial  for Propusganda . I've had the opportunity to help other Mobach crew members shoot short films!
This is the best summer that I've ever had. Ever. Period.

Now that school is back in session, my work life has cooled down considerably....kinda. I'm certainly not working 80 hour weeks anymore! Haha! I love my classes this semester, even though I have an extremely sexist teacher, I still love that class. He doesn't quite know my full potential yet, but I'll show him! ;) I just know that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and it feels dang good to know that. :)

Sweet, Sweet Summer!

Thought of the Day:
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination."
- Mark Twain

After a long, tedious, and nightmarish semester, summer is finally here! And that makes for one, happy Brittany! I've learned a lot this semester, but the most important thing is (or one of the most important things) is to never, EVER, take an online class. Ugh. Just typing about it is making me want to hurl.
Anyways, this summer is going to be awesome.

On Friday, I am leaving for Utah for two weeks (keep in mind this is the FIRST state I've ever been to other than California). I'm pretty stoked. The EVMCO and OCMCO groups are going up to SLC to record "Messiah in America". We are also having a performance in the Salt Lake Tabernacle (tickets for it sold out in 20 minutes!!!) I am so excited and can't believe that I am a part of such an amazing group. My family and I will also go to Yellowstone!

In late July Mimi, Shelby, Amber, and I are going to the San Diego Comic-Con and Disney Land. This year will be a girls-only trip seeing as our two movie buddies are off serving their missions at the moment.

In between all the road trips I am making it a goal of mine to watch as many movies as I can and to read as many books that is humanly possible. To kick the summer off right, I've started re-reading the Harry Potter books. I've forgotten how funny those books are!

Oh, Summer of 2011...We're going to be best friends, I can already tell! :)

Two Weeks!

Thought of the Day:
"Every artist was first an amateur"
  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Attention everybody!! Summer is just two glorious weeks away!! Or just one week away if you have early finals :P I cannot wait. Oh to be free of my stupid online class! Maybe online classes are okay, but online HONORS classes are no bueno. Blech.

Anyways. As many of you know, my sister is amazing at pretty much everything she does. She is a photographer with such a good eye, she also makes dang good videos. Well, I was always super bored and sad whenever I went on photo shoots with her, so my wonderful parents got me a good digital camera to play around on. It's no Canon 7D, but it's a Canon with 12.1 MP! So, I can't complain :)

My sister was trying to explain to me a while back that if you are an artist in anyway, you've pretty much got the "eye" for another kind of art. Well, seeing that I'm a musician and all.. I like to think that she's right haha. I recently went to Disneyland with my little camera and came home with some pretty decent shots.

I'm not going to let any "haters" out there make me feel bad about me just getting into photography. I'm going to do what makes me happy. And right now, that's taking fun pictures and editing them. Once I've edited all of them, I really want to make a cool video with them. :)

 P.S. World of Color was amazing! I was totally not expecting something so awesome.

Six More Weeks!

Thought of the Day:

"We always strive after what is forbidden, and desired the things refused us."
   - Ovid

I've officially decided that I HATE Spring Break. I mean sure, it's great to be school free for a whole week...but going BACK to school is the worst! I've had a whole week of freedom, and it got taken away from me. What jerks. This week, my mantra shall be, "Six more weeks, Brittany. Six. More. Weeks."
Since I can't seem to get summer and freedom off of my mind, I've decided to make a list of what I'll be doing will all my free time in 6 weeks.

- Take random trips to the beach.

- Concert. It. UP! 

- Finish Lost. I've been on the end of the fourth season forever now!

- See every single movie out in theaters. I get free tickets, why not?

- Re-read all the HP books. Yes, I'm a Harry Potter nerd. Deal with it.

- Finish reading all the books I have checked out from the library.

- Get a "real job".

- SLEEEEEEP!!!

- Have a social life. My stupid online class and it's stupid Saturday night deadlines this semester is        seriously cramping on my social life.

- Practice my pianos and cellos. 

- Work a ton and make tons of money! Haha, like that's even possible at a movie theater. I guess my plasma donating job is going to have to stay for a while.

There's so much more that's on my list....This will have to do for now, though. ;)