Training for the Circus!

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages and KATIE HOXIIIIIEEEEEE!!! Growing up, I loved the circus, especially the beginning of the night when the spotlights would be circling all around the whole arena. I would excitedly scream my personal addition to the ringmaster's greeting, inserting my name in my loudest and most ringmaster-y voice, and clap in anxious anticipation of the sights and sounds of the all the animals, clowns, and awe-inspiring trapeze artists! Those times at the circus are some of my most fun and memorable childhood memories. Sometimes as I'm being introduced to get on the stage, I'm brought back to those days...only instead of my name being announced as only part of my wild imagination, now it's real, and they really are clapping for me...just like it had always played over in my head time and time again.

Walking around all of New York City and Weschester County the last few days as I pound the pavement to spread the word about my IndieGoGo campaign and my music, I had a few other childhood memories flash into my brain. As I was selling one of my CD's to a friendly cabbie by the name of Joe Johnson yesterday, my phone went off with email notifications that my childhood friend, Kristen Legge, had donated to my IndieGoGo campaign. I smiled as I read the notification and realized that she was taking time to invest in my dream on her birthday! I had called her earlier in the day to sing her happy birthday and thank her for all her support. Her thanks to me was an encouraging and thankful text message and a contribution to my latest project. 

I smiled again as I thought back on the day that Kristen had once served as my personal camera (wo)man taping my audition tape for Star Search when we were kids. Here we were so many years later and Kristen was still standing behind my dream, cheering me on, and playing an integral role in helping make my dream a reality. Kristen's been an amazing friend over the years despite the time and distance between us. She's more family than friend to be honest, a sister in the truest sense of the word, at least as far as my definition is concerned. 

Around probably the same time, while Kristen was helping me propel into stardom from a stool set up in my parents' dining room, I had also convinced some neighborhood kids that we should put our own circus together. As you can tell from what I've mentioned, I sure did love the circus! I had loosely put together the logistics and a business plan to put our circus act together. I remember walking around the neighborhood with my next door neighbor, Evann. We went door to door and and sold tickets to this amazing fantasy I had put together in my brain. How we were going to implement the the fantastical show I had put together was a thought for another day. 

I've always had BIG dreams. Every memory I have as a child, there was a stirring inside me. I grew up in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, one of the smallest towns in the smallest state in the country. I had always just kind of attributed my dreams of breaking out and making it big to growing up in a small town. But when I moved to  New York back when I graduated high school, it felt like I had met my match...finally a place that was as big as my dreams! After graduating from Iona College, I moved to Florida for what I thought would be a short-term temporary move. Though my time in Florida lasted longer than I anticipated, it was full of wonderful people and experiences, including an audition for American Idol that I never thought I wanted and a lesson from that experience that would serve me well long after the fact. But that's a story for another day, perhaps one day soon...but I digress.

As I walked around selling my CD's and promoting my music yesterday, I was grateful that I had all these great experiences from going to the circus to planning one...it all felt like training for every step I took yesterday and everyday that I relentlessly pursue my dream! Look out, the circus is definitely coming to a town near you soon! As I enter the final 31 hours of my campaign, "Grammy Bound With You," I feel a sense of gratitude for all the experiences and people that led me to be sitting here talking to you about my childhood dreams! Let it be a reminder of the magic of youthful wonder, the endless possibilities, the excitement instilled in our hearts from our dreams, and the importance of keeping your heart, ears, eyes, and mind open to all that life is waiting for you to unfold! 

If you're interested in making my childhood dream come true, please consider investing a few dollars to my project! www.indiegogo.com/grammybound