This summer I decided to put myself out there and try new things, take a chance or two, and have no regrets.... and I LOVED IT!!! Since the end of May I have gone to Disneyland 3 times, Vegas, a taping for Comedy Central's show @Midnight, Newport Beach, San Diego, a SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) live taping, and even to Lamorne Morris' private Birthday Screening of Let's Be Cops (which by the way is an unbelievably funny film, go see it!).
Now to back up and explain a few things.
 |
| Our impromptu Surrey ride around Coronado Beach.... the faces tell it all. |
Summer started out with a few pre-planned trips, such as Vegas and Newport Beach. One of my best friends Aimee was turning 21 and we had planned a trip to Vegas to celebrate. Newport Beach is where her home is and so before road tripping it to Vegas, we drove from NorCal to SoCal and stayed there. Whilst in Newport Beach we decided to drive down to San Diego to visit her mom and her mom's fiance. There we did some impromptu stuff of our own, such as a painful, but utterly fun surrey ride through Coronado Beach.
Disneyland was another pre-planned trip... if you consider 48 hours pre-planned. Another one of my best friends and I decided only 48 hours after I picked her up at the airport from her trip to Spain, that we wanted to drive down to Anaheim and go to Disneyland... So we did.
 |
| Disney's California Adventure Park |
See that's the thing, I know sometimes it's hard to go through with ideas or things you think would be fun, but someone very wise once told me, "If you want to do it, do it, no matter if nobody else wants to join. If you want to go do something, you better do it, or you will regret it." So I took his words to heart and decided instead of just saying, "Yeah, that would be fun.", I was saying, "I'm packing, let's go!" And we did.
 |
| Disneyland |
On the first trip to Disneyland I convinced my friend to leave her number with one of our servers and just seeing how proud of herself she was for having the courage to do something so bold was more then enough reward, however what made it even better was that he contacted her. Without giving away too much personal information, I'm happy to report that they are still in contact... 2 months later. Whether it be the start to a great friendship or something else, the bottom line is she stepped out of her comfort zone, took a chance, was nervous as all hell, but it all worked out.
When I got home from Disneyland I was watching an episode of SYTYCD and wanted to see how you can get tickets for the show, so I went online and signed up through a site called On-Camera Audiences. I was placed on a wait-list and honestly believed that it would be a miracle if a spot opened up for me to attend a show. Well miracles happen. Two weeks after our Disneyland trip I received two tickets to attend a live showing of SYTYCD. So we packed our bags and hit the road once more.
 |
| SYTYCD Season 11 Top 16 |
*This may just be a blog about how to live out of a suitcase all summer, because I don't think I ever truly unpacked. ;)
While at SYTYCD we were isle mates with New Girl's Lamorne Morris (Winston). I'm not going to say we didn't make some eye contact... cause we did, but I was honestly more invested in the dances than trying to meet Mr. Lamorne. However, as life would have it, almost a month later I saw a contest that Lamorne had posted to his social media sites.
The contest was to take a photo relating to the theme "Let's Be Cops". You email in your photo submissions, they are looked over and the 25 winners would get to attend a private screening of the film Let's Be Cops with Lamorne Morris on the Fox Studio Lot. After hours of texting humorous ideas back and forth, just for fun, my friend Lisa and I decided "What the heck! Let's try!"
*There was no harm in trying, we were just taking a few funny photos to see if we could win a fun night out. We honestly did not think we would win. Another far fetched idea... or so we thought.
24 hours later, at 5:30pm I received a response to my submission email. We won! I couldn't believe it. I was running around the house out of pure excitement. I don't know what I was more excited about, the fact that I would get to watch the film Let's Be Cops, the fact that the email was signed "Lamorne", or that someone was going to allow me onto the Fox Studio lot for hours at a time. (I'm a huge film and television fan, I sort of geek out over costumes and sets)
 |
| On the Fox Studio Lot |
By 9:00pm we were on the road driving down to LA. Now while I don't think driving from 9pm to 3am is the smartest thing I've ever done, it was our only choice since the event was the next night and I knew I needed to rest after and 6-7 hour drive.
At 5:40pm the next day I was wandering the Fox Studio Lot and loving every second of it. Then came time to watch the film. Lamorne got up and said thanks to all his friends and family... and strangers that came to his birthday screening and the film began. After the film ended I got to take a few photos with Lamorne, tell him happy birthday and thank him for letting us have this experience, it truly was once in a lifetime for a girl who grew up in a 15 square mile town.
 |
| Myself, Arthur, and Aimee |
Through the same On-Camera Audience site, I was able to gain access to tickets for a Comedy Central show called @Midnight that airs, you guessed it, at midnight. So Aimee, her boyfriend Arthur, and myself drove to Hollywood to attend a taping for @Midnight which was hilarious and raunchy beyond belief. Since phones were not allowed inside the theater, I had to settle for getting the photo posted here outside of the studio. However I have found the full episode of our taping of @Midnight you can watch free HERE.
Oh!!! And I bought a fish and named him after one of my all time favorite Disney movies. Meet my double tail betta fish Sharkbait! I know this image is super dark, so if you want to see some more photos of Sharkbait to come in the future, then you will want to follow me on Instagram.
Also if you want to see more photos from Vegas and my other trips this summer then you will want head on over to my Instagram. I also went on my first Wine Tour in San Diego and saw Smashmouth live in Santa Cruz.
Overall, this summer has been one of my favorites. Sure there have been hard times and even some days where I just don't want to get out of bed. But I do. I have been taking chances that I never thought I would. Sure they may not be life changing chances, but they make me happy, and that can change your life. So even if it's just entering a contest that you don't believe you can win or jumping off the high dive in the swim center, don't be afraid to take a chance or fifty because you never know what can happen.
Always,
Kirsten Nicole Huxtable
