This semester at ONU, a brave freshman with a passion for music took it upon herself to start up an a cappella group on campus. Of course, being the choir nerd obsessed with Pitch Perfect that I am, I wanted to be a part of it. I auditioned, I got in, and I found myself in a room with the nine other people I was about to embark on this new journey with.

We had all been in a number of different performing groups before, but the majority of us had never been in an actual a cappella group. Personally, I had a number of different expectations for what the group would entail. Since all of the pieces were contemporary, I figured it would be kind of like the ones my high school choir did. I figured it would be fairly easy for me to pick up without a lot of time outside of rehearsal since I've been in choir so long. If I'm being completely honest, I figured it would be just like Pitch Perfect.

In certain ways, the group did remind me of the Barden Bellas (except for the fact that we had guys in our group, but you get the gist).

However, there were a lot of things about being in this group that I didn't expect. I didn't expect to be rushing to and from rehearsals that happened to be on my busiest days of the week. I didn't expect to be on the accompaniment for the majority of every song. I didn't expect to need to find time to repeatedly listen to my learning tracks because I was having trouble learning that accompaniment part. I didn't expect this group to add so much stress to my semester.

However, amidst all of the stress and hard times throughout our eight weeks together, this group gave me some other things I hadn't planned on receiving. I didn't expect all of the smiles we shared over jokes and constant roast sessions. I didn't expect how amazing it would feel when we got a piece right the whole way through for the first time. I didn't expect to fall in love with that weird accompaniment part that I'd struggled so much to get.

Most importantly, I didn't expect that this group would grow so close to my heart. When you have to work in perfect harmony and timing with a group of people, you're no longer the nine choir nerds that decided to audition for some brand new group you heard about through student-L emails. You're one with each other. You're one with music.

We didn't go to any a cappella competitions since we didn't have that long to learn and perfect all of our pieces, but we did have one concert towards the end of the semester. When as the concert got closer we had a lot more rehearsals, but with each one we got more and more excited. When the day finally came, we all got dressed up in our all-black attire with our chosen accent colors and couldn't wait to finally perform.

Our concert featured two other groups as well, both of which were much more polished and practiced that us, but we didn't care. When we took the stage, our only concern was showing the audience all of the hard work we had put in and establishing a capella at ONU as something new, something unique, and something completely amazing.

Though I had my regrets about joining this group when this semester started to get the best of me, I'm so thankful that I did.

I'm thankful for my fellow altos, the girl I had a few classes with and the one I had only heard of through acquaintances, for being my rocks and standing by me through every piece.

I'm thankful for our tenors, the gorgeous and sassy, for bring their sparkling personalities to every rehearsal and never failing to make me smile.

I'm thankful for our bass, who's so extra that we all aspire to be him, for helping give our group foundation in more ways than one.

I'm thankful for our vocal percussionist, who was so quiet until he brought our pieces to life with his magical talent.

I'm thankful for our sopranos, my awesome roommate and a girl with style that was just as incredible as her voice, for bringing brightness and beauty to the group.

I'm thankful for our fearless leader, who took on an insane role as a second semester freshman and became a mentor and role model for each one of us.

I'm so thankful for the people, the music, and the memories that all of you have given me in the past eight weeks.

The first edition of ONU's Polar Rhythms is definitely one for the books.