the worth it I put on this goal is only given with reservation; I definitely did not feel the exclamation mark after it. While I guess I should say that all the trouble I went through (9 hours roundtrip from NYC, several hours on public transportation, standing in the rain with no umbrella for 3+ hours, waiting “inside” an uninclosed stadium in the off-and-on rain for 4 hours, and the list goes on) should make me say it wasn’t worth it, since I didn’t even get to see the judges OR even Ryan Seacrest. Despite all that, though, I’m still at least a little glad to be able to say that I did it. I mean, this is a major part of today’s pop culture and to be able to say that I participated, even minorly, in it is fun. AND, I’ll probably try again next year now that I know a little more about the process.