surroundings

This week is FINALS week at college, which is supposed to be the craziest time of the semester.  I, however, am enjoying a week of choosing my own schedule and learning at my own pace.  Finals is the week that I can push myself as far as I desire.  Either I can choose to stress over things, or I can put a smile on and study happily.  It has made the biggest difference not only this week, but in my life.  When I reflect on all of the difficult things I've had to do in my life, I can easily see how when I was trying to be happy I was!  I surrounded myself by happy people and through things that will help me to deal with my stress in a positive way.  It makes it much easier to go through days, wake up in the morning, head off for a test, or simply deal with yourself!  Why surround yourself with things and people that cloud out your rays of sunshine and enthusiasm?  IT"S NOT WORTH IT!!! LET IT GO!!!  I am choosing today how I want to react to the life situations that are being thrown at me.  I want to be happy, jubilant, sing-song-ee, and all out excited to live, and that starts TODAY!

A Big, Black and White Day

As of a few weeks ago, I am preparing for a big black & white day: my wedding!  That's right, I'm getting married!  Married!  Part of my mind is still in complete shock, but it's definitely happening.  In case any of you want to know, we are getting married August 12, 2011 with the colors of--you guessed it!--black and white.  Since most of my life has been spent admiring the big band era and jazz with Ella Fitzgerald, Brandon and I decided to make our wedding day memorable.  I'm going dress shopping this weekend with my mother and two sisters, which is going to be one LONG girls' day.  Yikes!  I'll keep you all updated on the planning, and pictures of ridiculous dresses will be posted in a few weeks.  Wish us luck! I'm getting married!

The Medicine of Music

     A brilliant and inspired young woman shared a story in the Women's Chorus devotional a few weeks ago that really got my mind turning.  Over the past year or so, I have been trying to answer the question of what music means to me.  Do I truly want to make it my career?  If so, why?  Should I teach or perform?  What is it that makes music so special to me personally?  

     The young woman shared a story of a highly intelligent woman.  As a high school student, she was very diligent in her studies, and her family was very hopeful that she would have a bright future.  Everyone in her family had attended medical school or law school--forging their way into a life of professional success.  This young woman received high scores on her ACT and SAT, and chose a very prestigious college.  When she announced to her family that she was going into music performance, they were shocked.  They told her that she was wasting her good test scores to have a selfish, unsuccessful career.  This young woman persevered.  She did indeed attend college as a vocal performer and went on to lead a highly successful career.  In the book that she published, she shared her reasoning behind choosing music.  She said that music is of equal importance to math and science.  While she is not performing heart surgeries, healing broken bones, or prescribing medication, she IS, however, letting the music she performs heal broken hearts, mend sadness, repair souls, and medicate the mind.  The world places little importance on the inward healing that we all need.  Music sees that importance and serves its purpose as the medicine for our souls--something no amount of modern medicine could hope to fix.  

     I love music.  I've always had it to be my companion in times of both sadness and happiness.  It has been my mental medicine, and I have had the wonderful opportunity to witness it heal lives.  My Heavenly Father has given me a true gift, and I'm grateful for it everyday.  

Love your Neighbors

Unfortunately, Friday was the last day for Love Week.  Tragic!  The theme for the day was "Love your Neighbors".  I felt that was completely worth ending the week with.  What is more important than loving others? In choir we had the chance to hug all of the girls sitting next to or around us.  Love makes the biggest difference in our interactions with others.  If we love people it shows in our actions, words, and our faces!  I love to love people.  There's just something about knowing that you were the person who gave a friend a hug on their rough day, or who left them a kind note of thanks that they didn't expect.  When we love others, there is no way that we could regret it.  The Lord blesses those who strive to be like Him, and He loves everyone!

Favorite Love Poem

i carry your heart with me i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) Edward Estlin Cummings What strikes me about this poem is probably pretty obvious.  It's beautiful!  Sometimes I wonder, who else is carrying someone in their heart?  There have to be more people than just me!  It's "the deepest secret" that we all have written on our hearts.  Someone is there and with us always.  Whether that is a friend, family member, or significant other, that love can be taken anywhere.  Who is the most world-traveled person ever? LOVE!  What's even more special is that Love grows.  Poet e.e. cummings puts it just right.  It grows "higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide".  I'm constantly amazed by the world's ability to love.  No matter what kind of horror is occurring somewhere in the world, at the same moment someone else is being loved completely.  That gives me hope for the type of society and zion that we can have.  It's possible.  It only takes one person to love another and then let the cycle continue until the whole world is glowing with the strongest, purest love mankind has ever known.

Love your Funny-Bones!!!

Today was Love your Funny-bone Day.  In choir we shared jokes and embarrassing stories together.  One of the girls offered this story:

"So my dad was driving in his car the other day, when all of a sudden a rabbit hopped out in front of him and proceeded to not move.  Well, you guessed it, he ran the rabbit over.  So my dad gets out of the car and walks over to the rabbit.  DEAD. Within less than thirty seconds, a woman stopped by the side of the road ran over and sprayed something on the rabbit.  After the spray, the rabbit proceeded to hop up, wave, and bounce away.  "What is that that you just sprayed?" my dad asked.  The woman turned to him and replied, "Hairspray.  It's proven to give life to dead hare and a lively wave!""

Our whole choir was laughing hysterically!  Laughter really is one of those things that can brighten your whole day.  When you're tired and stressed, find something to laugh about.  Take a second to laugh at yourself.  It will be well worth it.

"Love" Week

With Valentine's Day so close, my choir has been learning about love and appreciation all week.  Monday was Love your Body Day.  We took about five minutes of class to talk about how much we should and do love our bodies, no matter what size or shape they are.  As women, this is huge for us!  I think that when we realize our own beauty, both physical and spiritual, that we will then begin to shine in ways that we could never have imagined.  What a lovely idea to have us all share how we feel about our physical selves and take time out of our day to thank our bodies for what they do for us!  Yesterday for Love Week we were asked the question:  What do you love about today?  The lists were stupendous!  From family, music, choir, bodies, forgiveness, energy, and sunlight, we all had so many things that we could love and be thankful for from just that one day.  Imagine how much we have to be grateful for if we think about what we love about our entire lives!  I'm excited to keep up Love Week and see what self-discoveries come next!