By Anna Scott Phillips
After seeing Pitch Perfect, I had always been infatuated with a cappella groups, but not talented enough to be in one. I admire girls in my grade who can belt a tune to my favorite pop songs. After our monthly meetings as ambassadors, I met a girl named Nadine Kakish. She is an ambassador from the Dallas area. We became fast friends. Unbeknownst to myself, she was in one of these a cappella groups. Nadine is an Alto for the all-girls on campus a cappella group named the SMU Belle Tones. She had talked about the many concerts they do throughout the year and various other performances they get the opportunity to perform at, like Celebration of Lights, our school’s Christmas production, to the Pigskin Revue, and more informal concerts for SMU students. She told me that they arrange and choreograph their own musical pieces. After spending long hours with her in the car and hearing her sing, I knew that I had to check out the Belle Tones. I went to their fall concert where they sang classic songs like “You’re So Vain” and more modern songs like “Skyfall” by Adele. I had always wondered if college would be like Pitch Perfect, the movie. I can’t say it’s exactly like the movie, but what I can say is that I do get to experience some of the same interests without myself having to be involved in them. That’s one of my favorite things about the SMU experience—the ability to see other people pursuing their passions while they simultaneously support my own.