Week 21

This Thursday I had the quarter-finals of the Leinster's Debating Competition in UCD. I was proposing a rather ridiculous motion that This House would Allow People to Advertise on their Faces. It was a fun debate to do but was very competitive because we didn't get through. It was quite disappointing and the most frustrating part was that one of the three adjudicators gave us feedback afterwards and said that he thought we should have gone through but was overruled by the head adjudicator! It was really annoying but I was proud to have got that far in my first year of the senior competition!
This week I was up in the music rooms every day after school, rather than my usual three times a week, rehearsing for the Interschools Music Festival. I was quite confident in my singing until Wednesday, when I lost my voice! I immediately stopped singing and spent Thursday and Friday eating Soothers and drinking tea. It was really scary because I thought I wouldn't be able to perform but, after not speaking at all during school on Friday (yep, a whole DAY not speaking!!), I was fine by my first competition that afternoon.
My first was the U16 Solo Singing Popular. I was singing 'I Feel Pretty' from West Side Story, which I was very nervous about! I wasn't happy with my performance at all but in the end, I won first prize so I was delighted!! I then had to run to my other solo competition that day, U16 Solo Singing Classical, which I came second in! I then had to run over to choir rehearsal because I had the Chamber Choir competition.
We were singing two songs in the SAB competition which we won as well! We then had the Unaccompanied Choir competition, which I was in with a smaller version of Chamber Choir, singing 'And So it Goes' by Billy Joel. Unfortunately, we didn't win that one but we got Highly Commended which was a great achievement in such a tough category.
My last competition of the night was my competition with Senior Choir which we all wanted to win because it was our last performance with Ms Doyle before she left on maternity leave. We sang two pieces and won!
The next morning, I had the O15 Unaccompanied Irish Song, which was also a solo. I also came second in that competition, which both I, and my Irish teacher, were delighted with!
That afternoon I had my duet competition with Ella Gaynor which, unfortunately, we didn't get placed in!
It was an amazing weekend but I am truly exhausted!