Beta Rocks '15

 Hello everyone!

I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been feeling kinda poorly lately. I just recently attended the National Beta Club Convention in Nashville, Tennessee as some of you already know from my Instagram (@chronically.amazing). I had the best time ever!!! We did so many cool things, & I even met some very special people while I was there.

First, we took a trip to Opry Mills mall, one of the biggest malls in the southeast. There was an aquarium restaurant in the mall, I repeat, an AQUARIUM RESTAURANT IN THE MALL. my teacher, Ms. Proctor, and I were so amazed. They had something called a Guitar Fish, & they had named them Gibson and Fender. lol I laughed way too hard at that. I'm so mad at myself for not taking a load of photos, but I did manage to get one. 

Also, I attended some general sessions as well as the Beta Ball & the annual Beta Mixer Dance. I usually avoid events like this because of my migraines, fatigue, & introverted-ness, but I had a great time! I even met some fabulous students from the Missouri School for the Blind! They were absolutely awesome! I danced with them & we talked for a while. They were so accepting of me when usually I am the outcast. Ms. Proctor went crazy with her camera during the time when I was hanging out with them, but I haven't been able to get the pictures yet! I'll be sure and post them when she gets the CDs ready though. So in the meantime, here's a photo of the Smoky Mountains that I took from the bus window: 

Oh, and I cannot forget about our hotel. We stayed at what is possibly the nicest hotel in America, the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. This place was huge - and by huge, I mean I-could-fit-like-5000-duplicates-of-my-house-in-there huge. The hotel had 17 restaurants, 4 pools, a hot tub, fitness center, spa, a coffee shop, numerous convention rooms/ballrooms, a garden, shops, & everything else you could possibly imagine. I kinda felt like a princess or something while staying there. That place was an experience in itself. 

We also did some not really Beta related stuff while we were in Nashville also. I mean, it's Nashville, how could you NOT do fun stuff?? Especially since I've never been to Nashville before. We did something called an escape room, where they lock you in a room and you have to find clues, unlock other rooms, & eventually escape in an hours time. The room we picked was "The Heist" which has the lowest success rate at only 27% of people getting out within the hour. Our goal was to save some stolen art. Well, we escaped! With 3 minutes to spare at that! & this blind, disabled girl found one of the clues and unlocked the padlock all by herself. I was so proud of myself, haha. The people even gave us free bumper stickers that say "I escaped" on them! If you've never been to an escape room & you're able, you should definitely try it! They're wheelchair accessible by the way. :) 

I am sure paying for my trip now, though. I'm hooked up to my home oxygen (shoutout to Tommy Battle from Southeastern Respiratory), loaded up on pain meds for my headache, & have been stuck in bed all day from POTS and EDS pain, but it is all worth it. I literally would not trade the experiences I had for anything in the world. I am already planning to go to New Orleans next year for the National Beta Convention! Next time, I'll be sure to remember my Nuun tablets & extra water though. 

I hope everyone is having a fabulous day, & if not... *internet hugs*. 

FIGHT LIKE A SPOONIE!

xoxo,

Johna