If you can dream it, you can do it - Stetson University

Cortney Miller, 12, is a
seventh grader at DeLand
Middle School, where she is
active in the Junior Beta
Club. She has been a member
of the Children's Choir for
more than three years. Her
travels through the United
Kingdom have given her the
desire someday to live in
London.
My Scotland diary
By Cortney Miller
Today is the day before the
Children's Choir leaves for Great
Britain, and it almost doesn't
seem real. We have worked
incredibly hard to get to this
point, and it still seems like such
a dream. We've sold so many
ornaments that I figure the
whole town of DeLand will be
sporting commemorative Stetson
University decorations on their
Christmas trees this year! The
lack of T-shirts I sold was made
up for in donations. In the end, I
earned all but about $200 of the
trip's cost. That's not bad,
considering that we've been
fund raising since around
October!
I'm almost packed. I have
four new uniforms and numerous
other things Mom and I had
to buy for the trip. I got a red
choir backpack (everyone has to
have one) to put my music and
plane stuff in. Stetson also had
special luggage tags made for us.
I still can't believe we're actually
going!
I got up pretty early this morning
and finished getting everything
together. Luckily, I was able to
fit everything in one suitcase.
My parents, who are going as
chaperones, have also finished
their packing. My excitement
was mounting by the minute,
and it skyrocketed when we
pulled around the corner and I
saw the two Greyhound-type
tour buses parked on the street.
Luggage was scattered everywhere,
and people were double-
checking lists and saying goodbyes.
My friend and I talked about
what we thought the plane was
going to be like (the rumor was
that each of our seats had a
personal TV in front of it), the
food we would eat and whom
we planned to sit next to. Pop
videotaped a little bit of what
was going on, while we looked
at some news reporters questioning
one of the older girls.
Soon it was time to leave. Lots
of parents were crying as they
watched their children board
the buses. I realized how lucky I
was to be able to have both my
parents go with me. Then again,
I was really lucky just to be
going myself! Scotland, here we
come!
WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!
What a day I've had! I didn't
really sleep on the plane because
I was too excited to close my
eyes, so I'm really tired. The
plane ride was very fun. I read,
listened to the radio and
watched TV (the rumor about a
personal TV in front of our seats
was true!). They served us food,
but most of it was super disgust-
ing. Anyway, we disembarked
and went through customs.
Everyone had to be really quiet
and solemn. They let us in and
we went to find our luggage.
Once we were all on the bus, we
started toward our hotel in
Chelsea, London. I slept a little
on the bus, but woke up in time
to see a little of the city. We
waited about 30 minutes to get a
room, but were out sightseeing
in no time. Lunch was on our
own, so we ate at a pub called
Brittania down the street.
We took the tube (the
London Underground Subway
System) to Buckingham Palace.
It was breathtakingly beautiful! I
couldn't believe my eyes. Our
next stop was the famous
Harrods of Knightsbridge. We
got there via double-decker bus
and, of course, sat on top. Mom
really wanted to have high tea
at Harrods, so we did! I'm really
glad she insisted because it was
definitely something I'll tell my
children about. We nibbled on
"Mom and I visit
London." Chaperone
Judy Miller and Cortney
tour famous sites.
everything from cucumber
sandwiches to scones. Then we
went shopping!
Yesterday we went to the Tower
of London, Westminster Abbey
and Covent Garden. The Tower
6 STETSON UNIVERSITY