Hey there, anyone reading this! My name is Pierce Hand and I have a few words to say about the Spring Tour that we went on last week to share just a little bit of the magic that makes Glee Club home for me! Though we started out a little rough, our bus breaking down on the way to the Chicago airport on Friday, we soon were rescued and made the plane on time to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida! After participating in an electric St. Patty’s parade and festival and getting to attend Mass, we sang our first concert. This one was an important one for me since my family lives an hour and a half north of Ft. Lauderdale and decided to come hear us sing! It isn’t every day that a rookie like me gets a solo, and that day, I felt the glory of feeling my voice be heard alone for the first time as a part of the group!
For the next day and after plenty of exciting bus traditions that made the bus ride far from a bore, we enjoyed a few hours at Disney Springs before our second concert, certainly an improvement from the first; it’s always incredible to witness the growth that we undergo during tour! I enjoyed my first homestay that night, that is, when a concert-goer takes in a few Glee Club members for the night, which was an amazing experience, to say the least. Throughout the rest of the tour, each homestay continued to be a unique experience and undoubtedly something to look forward to after a long day of singing before we started it all again the next day. Although each day looked pretty similar on the outside, each day of tour was its own adventure with plenty of customs that a rookie like me was happy to be introduced to. Filled with jokes, pranks, competitions, and laughter, our days were filled with joy yet quite a range of emotions as we all pushed into the last few days of tour together. The seniors made this tour quite an incredible experience for all of us, and I have especially to thank Matt Pond, our tour coordinator for the journey and frequent target of lighthearted blame when something didn’t go quite as expected, which happened rather frequently! From nearly missing our flight to getting stuck in traffic in Florida to other meatball-related incidents, I can confidently say that there was never a dull day during that week spent with my fellow brothers in song. Going on tour gave me so many opportunities I would never have gotten the opportunity to participate in otherwise, from landing on the news in South Carolina to staying in southern mansions outlooking a beautiful sunrise: the dawn of a new day of song!
Pierce Hand is a first-year from Hobe Sound, Florida majoring in Science Preprofessional Studies.