For all my loyal fans...

...I am not going to Hollywood.

For years, I have had dreams of becoming a recording artist. When I was little, I really thought that I was Reba. My hairbrush was used far more often as a microphone than it was for an actual hairbrush. As I got older, I was convinced that I was the next Mariah Carey and participated in every talent show or competition that I could.

Then, American Idol came on the scene. From day one, I heard "You should really try out for that American Idol" every time I turned around. Somewhere along the lines, I heard that it was a waste of time (too much of a cattle call audition) and that it cost $250 just to sign up for auditions, which didn't even guarantee time in front of Randy, Paula & Simon.

As I was getting older, I knew that I still loved performing and loved to sing, but wasn't quite sure that I was cut out for life on the road. I have some minor health issues that wouldn't quite gel with being awake for days on end or sleeping in random places every night of the week. Then, last year, I was doing some reading on the Idol website and found out that yes, it is a "cattle call" audition, but no, it doesn't cost any money to come audition. So, I decided that I'd give it a shot. What did I have to lose? A drive to the closest audition city? A few hours sleeping on a sidewalk? Those were mere sacrifices if they got me a little closer to experiencing my lifelong dream.

Fast forward to the summer of 2008. The audition cities are posted. The 2 closest sites were Atlanta and Charleston, and I had conflicts around both dates. After MUCH debating, I decided I was going to go for it! I had worked things out so that I could leave in time to make it to the Charleston audition, and was beginning to get really excited about it! Then, about a month ago, I checked the site again to get directions and rules and all that jazz, and I was very quickly confused when I saw that the original dates for the auditions were there, but the Atlanta and Charleston locations were changed to Jacksonville, FL and somewhere in NJ. And in case you all haven't noticed, gas is $4 a gallon. And, my body HATES long car rides. So, there was no way it was going to happen.

So, for all of you who have been anxiously awaiting some news about my audition, I'm not going to Hollywood...this year. And I'm ok. Of course, it's disappointing when a plan of that proportion falls through, but I think I'm going to live. And there's always next year...