Hey everyone! This year in St. Louis was a wonderful experience. Nationals is always my favorite competition of the season for me, so I was looking forward to it. I was skating at the Senior level for the very first time at the National level. I was so excited. My first practice was on Tuesday January 10th and wow was it packed! There were more people watching the practice then watching the actual competition when I was Junior. I loved it! It was awesome to come off the ice and to have people waiting for your autograph. Cameras were everywhere since it was the Olympic year and it was so cool! On my first day to the rink as soon as the bus arrived, the cameras were ready to tape all the skaters walking in. It was a new experience for me and it was very exciting. All of my practices were going well and I was feeling very good about myself. The day of the short program I had an awesome practice and I was pumped up! Most of my family came out in St. Louis to cheer me on and it felt great to know they were supporting me. After tying my skates and making my way out to the ice, I saw the crowd. I knew it was going to be a lot of people, but actually looking up and seeing a whole stadium packed made me even more excited. I remember turning to my friend Katy Taylor and saying "Wow, this is so cool!!" and she agreed! On warm-up I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time and I was waving to all my family and friends. It was my turn to skate. I just went out there and had fun and let my body do the rest. I could hear all my friends at the end of the rink cheering for me and I loved it! My goal was to be 6th after the short program so I could be in the final warm-up and be on TV. So after placing 6th after the short, I was very excited. I went into the long program with the same attitude and it seemed to work. I ended up 6th and I was very pleased with my placement. Being Senior at Nationals makes the experience even better!! I had so much fun this year and I am going to work ever harder this year so I can have another great experience!!

Four Continents was a great experience for me. Even though I skated poorly, I was glad I got to see what it was like to be at the Senior level at an International. It was hard for me to get back into things after Nationals and I think that could have played a part in my performance. I am going to work my butt off for the next 3 weeks until Jr. Worlds so I can go out there and give 100% knowing I can do it. Thanks for stopping by!!

Christine <3