What better way to escape the blistering cold of Chicago than to visit the Music City?  For my first time ever in Tennessee, my family and I visited Vanderbilt University (as I’m sure many other fellow juniors have visited or will soon). Surprisingly enough, there was also a cubing competition there! I’ve started to slowly drop down my averages in competitions—even though we don’t attend them weekly or even monthly. While I’ve struggled to hit my personal best times from a year back or longer, I’ve become even more consistent at every event that I do. After the competition, I wrapped up a fun trip by demolishing a Nashville chicken sandwich (which, coming from a chicken enthusiast, was some of the best chicken I’ve ever had). Nashville has a very interesting allure to it. It’s extremely vibrant and social at night, yet one of the most peaceful cities in daylight—and also, one of the wonders of the jazz world! I’m personally not a fan of such music, but I have a deep appreciation for music in general as a guitar player. I’d also love to see an SEC football game at one point. That would be my absolute dream—seeing over a hundred thousand people in a stadium would fuel me with way more energy than a coffee or energy drink could ever. Finally, I can now check off Tennessee as the 17th state that I’ve visited! Only 33 more to go…