A big birthday shout-out to my little sister Jenna! It's her 7th birthday! She is such a sweet, smart, talented young girl.
Putting "50 states" puzzles together by herself at the age of 2.
Top of her 2nd grade class, even though she's the youngest... everyone else is turning 8!
I've already taught her a bit about vocal harmonizing.
She's teaching herself piano.
She can tell when you're not telling her the truth, or when you're twisting the truth.
Very receptive to the spirit, and loves the gospel and Jesus.
Competitive. Energetic. Loud. Funny. Fun-loving. Loves to learn and show others what she knows.
I'm excited to see what type of young woman she turns into... but for now, she's my 7-year-old sister. And I love her very much, and she loves me. She makes a point of texting me using my mom's phone nearly every day. She'll send me videos of herself just talking to me and telling me about her life. It was so fun to see her face the first time I came home from college... her smile was literally ear-to-ear, and she promptly told me all of the things she was going to do someday when she goes to BYU... we're starting her young. :) She always has something to tease me about and makes me laugh quite a bit. I'm so very glad to have a little sister like her.
I LOVE YOU JENNA! I wish I could be there for your birthday.
I feel like I should have just continued with my "thankful" posts all the way until the end of the month. It feels a little weird not to be doing them anymore. In any case, just keep in mind that I could keep going if I wanted to... there are plenty more things where those came from! "Thankful" lists can go on and on...
And now that Thanksgiving is over with, our Christmas decorations are going up. I have Michael Buble and Josh Groban holiday music on repeat. I'm starting to crave my mom's sugar cookies. (I have yet to taste any that top hers. Just saying.)
I've been feeling extremely restless lately. That's what vacation does to me, I suppose. Too much sitting around, too much down time. Sure I do stuff, but not nearly enough. Time is ticking! I need to find a group of people who are more willing to do random things and have adventures... I love my roommates, but they aren't really the adventuresome type. Neither were my high school friends. Why do I always find myself good friends who aren't adventuresome? Maybe I could convert them to the wild side... hahaha!
If I had a car, I would probably be up at the canyon every other day. Not necessarily for a specific purpose... just to be there and do things on whim.
To walk around.
Observe the people and the nature.
Think.
Breathe.
Focus.
It's the type of person I am, I guess. I don't sit in one place for too long if I don't need to... unless my attention is captivated. Then my restlessness disappears. Hence my ability to watch good movies back to back. Or read well-written books for hours on end. Or play video games for extended periods of time (My record is 8 hours straight. Which is saying something for a girl who is not a "pro-gamer". Ugh, why am I bragging about this? Haha... But I felt very icky and unproductive afterwards... I had to go and dance until I was sweating to make myself feel better!).
I wish my siblings were here. Particularly Ryan... I could get him to go do things with me, I'm sure. For the others, it would depend on their mood and what I was planning on going out to do. But Ryan is definitely more willing to just try things. All summer, I kept talking up games like Ultimate Frisbee and Badminton to him... and he humored me for a while. He would come with me when I wanted to do frisbee drills for fun at the park across the street. He discovered that badminton was something he wasn't half bad at... but we lost all of our birdies in the eucalyptus tree in our backyard. (Oops.) And now when I talk to him on the phone, he always mentions how good he's getting at those two sports. I like to claim being the one who got him hooked... and I'm not even that great at them myself. I just do them for fun. And now he has all of his high school years to appreciate them. He's only a freshman, after all... I'll have to play with him once I get back home for Christmas. Awww... My little adventurer. I love my brother :)
Just 3 weeks... then I can see my family again! Then I'll also have plenty of catch-up to play with friends, which will keep me busy for the time that I'm home. For now though... I'll just be satisfied with schoolwork to keep me occupied. Blech.
I'm thankful for time.
Sadly, time is something that we just don't seem to have enough of. So why don't people take better advantage of what time we have? Too many complain about not having the time to do everything they want to. What they are actually lacking is a sense of prioritizing and planning. (Although, some people really do try biting off more than they can chew... but for the most part, it all comes down to an excess of procrastination.)
So I'm thankful that I'm given 24 hours... 1440 minutes... every day in which I can do something with my life. That comes out to a lot of time in the end! 525,600 minutes in a year. And every minute counts.
Recently I've been able to spend my precious time with people I care about. That, combined with the fact that it was Emilee's birthday yesterday and Thanksgiving today, meant lots of fun and lots of food. LOTS of food.
My friends Devon, Matt, and I made this Indian food-style chicken stir fry for Emilee's birthday dinner.
And I got too see my aunt and her family today.
And they have 9 puppies. I seriously regressed back to the age of 5 when I saw them.
And my favorite part of dinner was the berry pie we made. SO good!
Don't let time slip through your fingers and just sit around waiting for life to come to you. Make life happen! Spend your time doing good, uplifting things with people who matter. Use time wisely... because you don't get that much of it.
I love this poem:
To Realize the Value of Time (author unknown)
To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.
To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of one minute:
Ask the person who has missed the train, bus, or plane.
To realize the value of one second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when you share it with someone special.
I am thankful for BYU!!!!!!
There is honestly no other place on earth that I'd rather be going to school than at this campus. I love it so so SO much! And I do not think that I've realized to the fullest extent how fortunate I am to be here. I know plenty of people who apply here and do not get in, some of whom are good friends. I know people who can't afford college at all. It's amazing that I'm here... hundreds of miles away from my family... and I'm loving it.
Below is a picture I took as I was walking around on campus for the first time as a freshman. I was just so excited to be here, even though I was getting rather disoriented because the campus was so large. The tour I had gone on with my Freshman Orientation group had helped, but not much.
Now I'm a pro at navigating this place. I volunteered at the beginning of the semester to be in charge of a group of incoming freshman at the orientation, so I got to give them the campus tour and answer questions and get to know all of their names (all 30 of them!) and take them to activities and eat food with them and all this fun stuff... and all it took was 2 1/2 full days' worth of my time! Luckily, I didn't have classes or work to worry about...
Here's some things I love about BYU:
People are SO friendly
Girls dress modestly
The classes are challenging and you learn a lot
Meanwhile, the tuition is super low... great education for a low cost!
Campus is beautiful in general, but there's some gorgeous spots... you just need to know where to look.
There are so many different classes offered! There's something to interest everyone
Tons of clubs
Lots of fun activities
We have people like Jimmer... yes, I brought him up.
You can take a nap anywhere and not feel weird
You get some spiritual stuff in everyday. Some professors open class with a prayer. Other professors bring gospel topics into the subject we're learning. I LOVE that!
We have weekly devotionals, during which we get to hear from some pretty cool people.
The location of the school is great... right by mountains...
We have SO MUCH FUN as Cougars! Ah, you don't even know!!!!!!
Our "mormon lingo" is heightened even more here. We have lingo that other mormons don't even know about, hahaha!!!
And believe me... the list goes on :)
This is my home on campus...
the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC)
Basically, I just love this school. I love how good I feel about life when I'm living here. I actually tend to be a lot happier here than I am in Fresno, and I'm assuming that it's because of the environment I'm in, thanks to this campus. I will forever be a loyal Cougar! Wear the white and blue! Ra Ra RaRaRa! Goooooo Cougars!
I'm thankful for holidays... and the good times that come with them!
It's safe to assume that I'm posting this primarily because my Thanksgiving Break just started, which makes me very happy. I suppose that's the first thing that makes holidays so great... they give us a break from school. Which, sometimes, is much needed and is always greatly appreciated.
Holidays also give us something to be excited about, something to celebrate, something to bring us together as friends and family. And some holidays are really fun to decorate for! :)
The "bring us together" part of holidays is probably what I like the most. That's what makes Thanksgiving and Christmas so great. They're wonderful family-time holidays. It makes me a little sad that I'm not going home for Thanksgiving this year. It will be my very first Thanksgiving away from home. However, I still have wonderful people here in Utah to spend my time with. (Love ya Tammy!)
Holidays are all about traditions though. My family's Christmas traditions are probably my favorite... we have them scattered throughout the month, not just on the actual holiday. I actually kinda like our Christmas Eve traditions more than our Christmas Day traditions, truth be told! We always go over to my maternal Grandparents' house on Christmas Eve for a light dinner. We read the Nativity story and sing songs. We make hot chocolate. We keep an eye on the Santa Watch website so all the cousins can see where Santa's at in the world. We go for a nighttime walk around the neighborhood, which is cool because all of the houses in the area put white paper bags along the curb, fill the bottoms with sand, and then place a lighted candle in each one. My siblings and I often help my Grandpa set up bags on the block and light them once it becomes dark. It looks pretty cool. We also started a tradition this past year where we do our own version of the Advent Wreath. My Grandma tweaked it a little to fit our religious views, and I like it. We do a new candle on the wreath each Sunday, and then on Christmas Eve we add the final candle and switch all the candles from colored (last year we used pink, I think) to white.
The streets lined with lit-up paper bags
The thing about holidays is that people tend to be more focused on the material part of the holiday than what the holiday actually stands for. Christmas is the biggest example of that, but it happens with Easter quite a bit too... and the 4th of July. It's about our freedom, not fireworks and barbecues! All the celebrations and activities and presents are fine... we just need to keep in mind the real meaning of holidays. Keep in mind why those days are holidays in the first place!
I'm thankful for the holidays that serve as a reminder to me about important events or concepts in my life. I'm thankful that holidays provide me with the opportunity to spend time with my amazing family members. I'm thankful for the precious memories that I've gained thanks to holiday experiences. Thanksgiving is just a few days away... have you stopped to consider why we celebrate it? Why we're out of school, why we get work off? How about other holidays? Take the time to think about it. You may make some fun discoveries.
If there is anything in this world that can bring me comfort, teach me lessons, and give me inspiration, it would be the scriptures. What a blessing it is to have The Book of Mormon and The Bible, along with the modern revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants! Not to mention the extended records we have in the Pearl of Great Price.
In my church, we are encouraged to search, study, and ponder the scriptures on a daily basis. These books contain the words of God as written by the prophets of old. There are many treasures of knowledge hidden away in these books... gems just waiting to be discovered. The more times we read the material, the more we will get out of it. I find that concept true for any book I read. When I reread a book, I notice things that I didn't notice the first time. I make new connections. Some things may stand out to me in a different way based on how my life is going at the time.
The same is true for the scriptures. A verse that doesn't mean much to me one day will be entirely important for me to read a week later - perhaps because the verse contains a piece of advise or comfort that I specifically needed to hear. This is why our church leaders encourage us to have daily scripture study. Besides... what better way is there to learn about the gospel than by reading the very texts that our knowledge is founded on?
I need to get myself a pocket Book of Mormon that I can just carry around with me everywhere. There are plenty of times during the day when I'm at school or something and I just happen to have a few minutes of down time. What if, instead of sitting around and twiddling my thumbs, I were to whip out my handy travel-sized book and read it for those few minutes? That could serve for good missionary opportunities too, because I'm sure people may be interested in what my tiny book could possibly be about and why I read it so avidly.
My life just seems to go more smoothly when I take the time to read my scriptures. It's like the object lesson that I'm sure all of us have seen or heard of... the one where you have to put the big rocks into the jar first, and then the little pebbles just fill in the empty spaces. Well my friends, the scriptures are one of those big, fat rocks that needs to be put into the jar first. Then everything else that you need to accomplish during the day will just fall into place. Strange how that works out...
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk in this year's October General Conference about "The Power of Scripture". In his talk, he said that, "Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change." I took this to heart and have picked out a couple of new friends to keep in mind... friends that can bring me comfort or inspiration when I need it. So... challenge for the day: find a new friend! And these are good friends that you'll keep with you forever, and they'll always be there for you. Doesn't hurt at all, right??? So go for it!
I'm thankful to the prophets who spent hours and hours recording their history and teachings. Especially those who had to write on metal plates, which was not easy at all. I'm thankful to those who translated those ancient records so that they are available for me to read today. I'm thankful that I can get so much out of these books! They are certainly worth the time to read over and over again!
I'm thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I feel that there are not adequate words with which to describe how I feel about my Savior. To list in detail everything He has done for mankind would take more than a lifetime. To repay Him for all of his service and love is impossible. The least I can do is show my gratitude to Him.
I've been taking a class this semester than focuses on the 4 Gospels and the life of Christ, and it has been a great experience. Learning about the miracles and teachings of Jesus is so very important, and I feel closer to Him when I learn more about His life. Perhaps that is why I found "Jesus the Christ" to be such an amazing (albeit linguistically tedious) book to read.
My favorite visual depiction of the life of Jesus Christ is the photography collection "Reflections of Christ" by Mark Mabry. Several years ago, we had the wonderful opportunity to have the collection come to Fresno. These humongous photographs were set up in the Cultural Hall of our church building and I got to take my time viewing the exhibit, and it was by far my favorite exhibit I've ever walked through. The video below has all 26 images from the exhibit on it, as well as an enchanting arrangement of one of my favorite hymns. Take the time to watch it (turn your volume up!) and if you ever get the chance to see the exhibit in real life, do NOT pass the opportunity up. Especially because the video does not do the photographs justice.
My favorite Christ-related topic to learn about just so happens to be the Atonement. This act that Christ performed for all of creation is the crowning jewel of His earthy ministry, the ultimate manifestation of love, and the single most important event to have occurred in all of history. Out of all the things for which I praise and love my Savior, this merits the highest amount of my gratitude. Through the Atonement, I can find peace. I can find solace. I can feel forgiveness and mercy. I can once again become worthy to enter the presence of God. One of my favorite books about the Atonement is "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad R. Callister because it goes in-depth about several different ways in which the Atonement's effects are infinite, and then some of the blessings we get from the Atonement. It also talks about the Atonement's connection to the Fall and to our salvation. Without the Atonement, our life would have no purpose because this act is the gate through which we can be resurrected and exalted. No Atonement = no way to progress after death because we would have no way of becoming worthy to return to our Father's presence. The effects of the Fall would be permanent and everlasting.
So, I am incredibly thankful that my Older Brother loved me enough to endure unimaginable suffering, cruel torment from His own people, and death by crucifixion... all so that I could have an opportunity to be like Him. And the sad part is that not everyone partakes of this amazing gift. The Savior suffered for all, but only a comparatively few people actually take advantage of the price He paid. Are we to let Christ's Atonement go to waste? I personally think that I need to work on taking better advantage of it.
He is the greatest example of service and charity. He is perfect, just, and merciful. He is my greatest role model, my truest friend, my advocate with the Father. He and my Father in Heaven have both blessed me so greatly, and sometimes I feel that I don't quite deserve it. They are both so good to me and I will forever be in their debt.
My favorite of David's Psalms is the 23rd one:
1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
I love it when Jesus is compared to a shepherd; He will never lead us astray and He will always make sure that not one member of His flock is forgotten. He knows each of us... our names, our dreams, our sins, our weaknesses... and He wants to help us.
Painting by Simon Dewey
I love my Savoir with all my heart! I look forward to being able to stand in His presence, feel the marks in His hands and feet, and look into His eyes and hear His voice. I want to thank Him a thousand times over and sit at His feet to listen to Him teach. I know that He is willing to guide my life when I take the time to let Him. I pray that I will stay worthy of the blessings and guidance that He has to offer me.
A few thoughts to leave you with... both scriptural and lyrical, some of my favorites...
Psalms 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Moroni 7:33 "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
"Never can I repay thee, Lord,
But I can love thee. Thy pure word,
Hath it not been my one delight,
My joy by day, my dream by night?
Then let my lips reflect it still,
And all my life reflect thy will." - lyrics from the hymn "Savior, Redeemer Of My Soul"
I am thankful for teachers.
When I stop and think about just how big of a role teachers play in shaping the attitudes and futures of the youth, it really makes me feel nervous. I'm going to be playing that role someday! Either as an actual teacher at a school, or as a teacher for my children. Or as a teacher in Primary, Relief Society, Seminary, Young Women's, or Sunday School [been there, done that] for my church. The point is, there will be plenty of people down the line that will look to me for guidance. And despite how humbling and frightening that is, I have great examples to look to of teachers in my life, from whom I have learned the proper... and improper... ways to go about teaching.
It amazes me what teachers are able to do. I don't think that the workload matches up very well with the salary. Especially given the fact that these teachers are paid to "teach the future leaders of America". The thing is, I think the quality of teaching is decreasing as the years go by, so perhaps some teachers are not even deserving of the salary they get. But teaching is so much more than all the fluff of assignments and grading and quizzes.
A teacher's main goal should be to make sure every single student not only gets engaged in the learning process, but that they learn and understand the material. They should walk out of class everyday with something beneficial. Never waste a day as a teacher, not one! There is a trick though... how do you engage everyone at once? Some people may not like the subject you teach, or may not be good at it. Every student learns differently too, so you cannot just teach via the same method every day and expect everyone to stay involved. You have to be unexpected with your methods, but not intimidatingly so. It keeps the students interested, keeps them wondering what you'll do next. Design your lessons in a way that will make students realize that what they are learning can be applicable in other areas in their life outside the walls of the classroom.
There is still more to teaching than what/how the students learn though. The adolescent stage of human development is a very trying one, and students attempt to identify themselves and exert their independence. Teachers need to be understanding of the emotions and struggles that teens go through and need to react to their students' needs accordingly. The best teacher that I ever had in my life was one of those rare gems who actually took the time to care for her students. Out of all the teachers I've ever had, she was the one whom I felt the safest around, the most open around. She challenged me and tested me in more ways than one, but then built me up again right afterwards. I never walked out of her class without some new insight, either into my life or into the subject she taught. My classmates and I often claimed that "...she didn't just teach German. She taught life." Even until this day, I have yet to find a teacher who influenced me more than she did. I feel so fortunate to have taken her class for 2 1/2 years before cancer took her life.
Frau Koopman - Ich vermisse dich. Vielen Dank für alles, was du für mich getan hat.
Isn't it saying something that a teacher... just one teacher... meant so much to me? If I could adequately convey what an impact she had on my life, then maybe it would be a bit more clear why teachers are so important. Also, it's ironic how my favorite teacher and my least favorite teacher both had cancer. The difference was how they approached their condition. All I'm going to say is... don't ever ever ever share stories about your personal life that are designed to guilt-trip your students into feeling sorry for you. It will backfire in your face.
I am so incredibly thankful for the time, effort, and care that good teachers put into their jobs. I'm thankful that they are patient enough to deal with the attitudes and drama of youth. I'm thankful for their wisdom. For their diligence. For their willingness to share their knowledge. Teaching really does take effort, and the end result is well worth all the hours of lesson planning, lecturing, and grading. Even though it's a little daunting, I look forward to teaching people. It just makes me feel good to know that I'm making differences in the lives of others.
I'm thankful for literature.
I am a huge reader. From the time I was a baby, my mother would read to me for a couple hours each day. By the time I was 2 years old, I could recite books by memory. Reading time with my mom was special to me, now that I look back at it. She read the whole Little House on the Prairie series to me, and I loved it. I made the first move of reading on my own when my mom tried reading "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" to me and I refused to listen. Then I snuck the book into my room and read it on my own. And then read the entire Narnia series.
From then on, all I would do was read and read and read. I loved Nancy Drew mysteries, The Boxcar Children series, The Magic Treehouse series, and other odds-and-ends books. My teachers would give us points for how many pages we read each night, and I would often have the highest number in the class.
By the time I was in 6th grade, I had exhausted just about all of the books that interested me in my school library. It was only February, and I still needed to get more AR points. I had been stubbornly refusing to read Harry Potter because I didn't like having people tell me what to read, and so many people had been telling me to read it. However, they were worth a lot of AR points... so I begrudgingly checked out the first book of the series. From the very first few pages, I was captivated. And thus, I found my favorite book series of all time.
Throughout middle school and high school, my taste in literature got a bit more mature. I read all 9 of "The Work and the Glory" books... and then read them again. And again.
I discovered a love for Jane Austin.
I fell in love with more in-depth books such as The Count of Monte Cristo, Life of Pi, and The Kite Runner.
I still read simpler books though... like (I admit) the Twilight trilogy or the Percy Jackson series.
I grew to love Shakespeare.
I started reading more "churchy" literature, such as The Infinite Atonement, The Holy Temple, Jesus the Christ, and Our Search for Happiness. I loved reading the New Era magazine. I became intrigued with what I learned from Bruce R. McConkie's book Mormon Doctrine.
And I'm still going. Unfortunately, the amount of non-school-related reading I do nowadays has decreased dramatically, and I find other ways to spend my freetime... and I think that's because I'm in a better social environment than I was back home. I was a full-blown bookworm! It's not that I tried being anti-social... I love people. But books were very good friends of mine as I was growing up, that's for sure! And I got plenty of "people time" when I went to church activities or had play rehearsals.
I still love reading, even if I find "better" things to do with my time other than read. Well, not necessarily better things... just other things that are just as fun and beneficial to me. I really should start a new reading project sometime though.
I'm thankful for the creative minds who have come up with my favorite stories. I'm thankful for the journeys I've been able to embark on through a good book. I love reading! Love! Not like, LOVE! [name that movie...]
I'm thankful for prayer.
Just because we are physically separated from our Father in Heaven doesn't mean that there's no way of communicating with him. That's what prayer is for! And I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity I have to communicate with God.
I (more than once) have heard prayer compared to cell phone plans. Prayer is so much more efficient because God always listens/answers, there's no charge for distance, you have "service" wherever you go, and it's a free, unlimited plan. Prayer does not have the same limitations that other means of communication have.
Not to mention that it is so emotionally relieving to be able to pour your heart out to the Lord. And I testify that He DOES listen to each and every person who prays to him with a meek and humble heart. When I pray, I feel so much closer to my Father. I can tell Him anything, and He will listen. I thank Him for my blessings, I ask Him for help and guidance, I plead to Him on the behalf of others. And I've received answers to my prayers. Sometimes, the answer does not come in the way I expect it to. It may take a while before I receive an answer, and I'm sure there have been plenty of times when I receive answers without even recognizing them for what they are. But He always answers. Always.
I'm so thankful that my Father has provided me with a means of communing with Him. I'm thankful for the comfort and peace that I get when I pray. I'm thankful for those in my life who have said prayers for me, because they help.
I pray that you will find comfort in God's confidence today. Go to Him in prayer, and He will guide you. And it is such a sweet experience.
I'm thankful for my friends.
"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn... and we are lead to those who help us most to grow if we let them and we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true, but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you!" - "For Good" from the musical Wicked.
I certainly know that I am who I am today because of the dear friends that I've had over the years. I really do think that these people are in my life for a reason and that they've helped me learn and grow. I don't think we fully realize the effect that our friends have on us... well, let me tell you: that effect is huge! Ever heard of peer pressure? Yeah. Enough said.
It's funny how many quirks I've picked up from friends of mine, particularly phrases or speaking mannerisms. I also tend to trust my friends opinions, likes/dislikes, etc. so we'll have a lot of the same interests. Some of my favorite singing artists were introduced to me by friends. Some of my favorite movies are ones that I've seen with friends, and we have our inside jokes about those movies.
I LOVE having inside jokes. Love love love love!!!!! If I listed even half of the inside jokes I have with friends, the list would be very very very extensive. My roommates and I finally started a quote wall so that we could keep some sort of documentation of the funny things we hear, but that doesn't even cover half of our inside jokes. Ah, friends cheer me up so much...
I love having super close friends that I can tell everything to. Like my 3 best friends from high school: Laura, Ruzan, and Carolyn. I love them all <3
Left to right: Ruzan, Carolyn, Laura, Me
I also share tons of stuff about my life with my roommates. They are certainly great friends. Wonderful friends. I am soooo thankful that my relationship with all 3 of my roommates is as good as it is. I've heard of more than one person who've had roommates that they didn't get along with or just didn't get to know at all. That's not true with the 4 of us... we have tons of fun together, even if we're just all sitting out in the living room together doing our homework. Donnie, Emilee, and Allison... I love you guys! I couldn't ask for better roomies!
And then, aside from the roommates and the 3 best friends that I hung out with daily in high school, I have other wonderful friends who I may not see as often, but I'm still rather close to. And I love them all.
And not all of them are girls... I have guy friends too! I admit that during high school, I had guy friends, but I would never confide anything to them or get to know them on a personal level or have "heart-to-hearts" with them. They were just... friends who were guys, but I wasn't close with them. My first year of college, I befriended some guys who I spent more time with and got to know better than any of my high school guy friends, but it still wasn't on a level where I felt like I could tell them anything like I could with my girl friends. This year, however, I'm finally reaching that level where I'm befriending boys on a deeper level. Not necessarily in a romantic way, but just caring about their lives and getting to know them on a level that's much closer to the level on which I get to know my closest friends.
And building on that note, I look forward to finding my eternal best friend :) Because that's what I intend on doing: I want to marry my best friend. So when I do start a relationship with a young man that I'm interested in, it's important that we focus on our relationship as friends, not just the romantic stuff. I'll be with this person for the rest of eternity, so it only makes sense that he is my best friend. Now there's a friendship that I can't wait to get started!
I'm thankful that my friends have all influenced me for the better. I'm glad that even though I grew up in an environment where people all around me were making wrong choices, I was able to find some of the few people in the school who truly had some of the same standards as me. I never heard a single one of my best friends swear, not once. They never did drugs, got drunk, partied... yeah, we were the "good girls". But I'm thankful for that! They encouraged me to be better, supported me, listened to me, laughed with me... and I thank them for the memories.
Friendships can last forever. So let's make sure that our friends uplifting. That they are worth keeping. Mine certainly are.
I'm thankful for my ability to be positive.
Some people have problems with this, and I'm pretty glad that I am not one of those people. I really don't know how I'm able to maintain a positive attitude; it's sort of just something that I do every day. I go to sleep every night feeling at least good, if not great. Even if my day has been stressful or confusing, I can't keep from feeling happy once I start praying before I go to sleep because I just start remembering everything that is good in my life, and it cheers me up. And if I ever wake up in the morning and feel grumpy, it never lasts too long.
I think that I only ever feel truly sad if I force myself to. Or if I'm trying (for whatever reason) to get attention from people so that they'll ask me what's wrong. I did that more when I was younger, but I'm better at not trying to push any stress of mine off on other people now. Hahaha, sometimes I'm such a drama queen!
In any case, I'm thankful that it's hard for me to be grumpy or negative. That way, I don't really have to try to be positive. It's really handy not only in my life, but in the lives of others as well. If I am happy, then I'm better able to make others happy and I'm more ready to listen to them and comfort them.
A good friend of mine recently asked me what made me happy. It was a question that, surprisingly, really got me thinking because I never think about why I'm happy. But once I got to really thinking about it, I found it easier to identify things that made me happy... and you're seeing a small handful of those things this month during my blog posts! The posts tend to be really general, but my list of things I'm grateful for is rather extensive. And the things that I'm thankful for directly correlate with what makes me happy. In fact, I think that the lists are pretty much identical.
I'm just a happy-go-lucky girl. And I'm so thankful for that. In fact, my nickname ever since I was little was "Sunshine". Even now, my mom will sometimes use that term of endearment when she writes me a note or something. I guess it's a rather fitting nickname. Sunshine. Bright. Happy. Cheerful.
And I sure do love sunshine...
Speaking of happiness, this was how I ended my day today: eating a couple of these delicious creme puffs. YUM!
I am thankful for food.
Food is magical. It's SO. GOOD. Especially when it's in the form of my favorite foods. Then I may accidentally eat too much. I really am thankful for good food though; it brings comfort, either when you're hungry or when you're in some emotional state where you feel like you need to just eat something.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Especially with food. So pardon all the pictures.
In any case...
Some of my favorites include:
Yes, chicken nuggets is on the list. And there are others too. I neglected to put my favorite candies up there, and other things like PIZZA or Panda Express or Chipotle Burritos... stuff like that. Beverages, mozzarella sticks... the list goes on and on. These were just some of the first ones that came to my mind.
I have always wondered if we'll be able to eat things in the eternities. I know that we won't need to eat because we'll be immortal and all, but still... I love eating good food! I would be sad if we couldn't eat in heaven :( I like to think that we will be able to eat things, despite the fact that we won't need the nourishment. *Sigh...
In short, I am certainly thankful for food. Comfort food especially. Yum yum yum...
I'm thankful for air conditioning and heating.
This one is rather random and a bit more specific than the other things I've posted about, but it just came to my mind and I thought it was rather funny... so I had to share it!
Think about it though. How miserable would life have been growing up in Fresno if we didn't have air conditioning during the summer? +100 degree weather... not fun. And now that I'm here in Provo where it snows during the winter, I'm especially glad of heating systems.
How did people survive without these inventions?! I loved to read the Little House on the Prairie book by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was little, and she describes on multiple occasions the blizzards her family had to endure as they crowded around a tiny stove, draped blankets around themselves, and felt the cold air stream through the thin walls of the buildings they lived in. I can't begin to imagine how miserable that must have been to endure. I've never been in a blizzard, I've never seen a blizzard, but I can try to imagine what it might be like. And it makes me all the more grateful for our heating systems.
Not to mention how nice it is when you've been out running around in the hot sun, and then you come inside and... instant relief! There's nothing like cool air on a hot day! I'm thankful for the ingenious people who came up with these heating and cooling systems. They make life so much more bearable!
I'm thankful for my family :)
This could potentially be an extremely long post. Extremely long. But don't worry, I kept things on the short(er) side. After all, it's family. There's so much to be said!
Well, here's the gang! Though this picture is from, like, 2 years ago...
I'm so white...
I absolutely love my family. I am so incredibly blessed to have been born into the family that I have. My parents are both wonderful; they have done a great job raising my siblings and I. Now that I am older and am no longer living at home, I realize just how good of a job they did. And even though my parents and I had our disagreements, I still respect them a lot. I never ever ever lied to them about where I was going when I went out at night, I always kept to my curfew, I never rebelled when they didn't let me do something that I really want to. (That's not to say that I didn't complain. I wasn't an emotion-less teen, after all). Even once I went home for the summer after having been away at college for a year, I still held to their rules out of respect. Even though it killed the independent side of me.
My parents are so different in their personalities. I take after my dad - he is a people-person, not afraid of being in front of crowds, loves to tease... and my brother Ryan and sister Jenna are also outgoing like him. Meanwhile, my mom is more reserved, as are my siblings Johnathon and Carissa. And yet... they get along well. I love them both very much though... and despite my tendency to be more outgoing, I've still inherited my mother's tendency to get embarrassed easily, depending on the circumstances. I'm rather sensitive haha... but my mother has a great drive. When she wants to get something done, she'll fight to get it done. It's been helpful when things go wrong with classes or activities etc. at high school because if I felt like I couldn't fix it, then she would. And she would be persistent about it. Yet, she is very loving. She loves little children, she loves the gospel, she loves supporting her children in our endeavors. As for my dad, he is very hard working. He grew up on a farm and learned the value of work at a young age. He's got a great sense of humor, and he is very intelligent and philosophically-minded. He takes great pride in being able to figure out the plot of an in-depth, confusing movie before he's even halfway done watching it, which I think is hilarious.
My parents are both good examples to me.
I love my siblings!!!! My brothers are both hilarious in their own ways. I love teasing Johnathon because of his reactions... he's got quite a bit of wit that I didn't even realize he had until recent years. Ryan is a little stud-in-the-making, and when I talk to him on the phone he doesn't even really have to say anything and I'll start cracking up. Funny kid. Carissa is like my living, walking, talking, breathing journal. I tell her EVERYTHING. Which could be dangerous if she were malicious, but she is the sweetest little thing ever! So quiet, so cute... well, not as quiet when she's around me. I bring out her "crazy" side, and I pride myself in that. As for Jenna, she is the most energetic child I have ever met in my life, and she is soooo smart and talented. She's a lot like me when I was her age, only she's way more energetic and crazy. I have a feeling that she will have a bit of a flair for the dramatic, like I do. I just hope there's a new theatre teacher at Bullard by the time she gets to high school... for her benefit. Oh, Mr. Hoff...
Johnathon sent me this picture a while ago. Funny!
This is one of the reasons why I didn't mind being home for 4 months between semesters: my family is great! I could talk to them forever on the phone if that were an option, I really could. Especially because there are so many things to tell them, particularly Carissa or Mom. So, it's preferable to talk to them on Sundays when I can afford to just sit in my room and talk for over an hour and do nothing else. Oh, family...
I'm so grateful that my family and I can be together forever. I could not imagine the eternities without any one of my family members. And not only my immediate family, but extended family too. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins... they're all great. My uncles are crack-ups, and I just happen to be the type of niece that they all love to pick on. I think it's because I take their comments, flip them around, and send them right back. And they love it.
In any case, I'm thankful that my parents and siblings all love me and get along well enough and are all active in the church. I'm thankful for what my parents sacrifice for me. I'm thankful for how my siblings are able to put up with me. I'm thankful that my mom takes the time to make our house a home. I want to do as good of a job with my future family as my mom has done with hers... because she's doing things right.
Making a house a home, Tip #23: Use nature, scriptural quotes, and pictures of Christ. Badabing, Badaboom. I did this arrangement in our living room...
"Sisters... never were there such devoted sisters..."
Let me reiterate... I love my family.
Thank the Lord that we can be together forever.
I don't know what I'd do if we couldn't be.
I'm thankful for our veterans.
It only seemed appropriate to address this on Veteran's Day. I'm thankful to those who have fought for our country, for our liberty, for our independence. I'm thankful for those who have given their lives for these causes. I'm thankful for the families of those men and the support they show our troops.
Although I do not have any family members or close friends serving in military services right now, I still appreciate what the troops do for us and what they go through. My grandfather was in the Navy way back when, so I suppose I have a veteran in my family, but be was never negatively affected by his service... for which I am thankful.
So take a moment to remember the men who serve our country... not just today, but everyday. My grandfather is particularly good at doing that, he's very patriotic. He's a great example.
Freedom is not Free
By Ashley Persyn
There is a price we pay for freedom
For it is not truly free
But rather paid for by the contributions of veterans
To buy our liberty
As their blood drains from their body and runs like a river through the grass
Over the years it's forgotten, war is placed in our past
I don't think we all realize the importance veterans play
as the voluntarily serve America each and every day
We should honor the veterans for they act like a shield
Protecting us from danger, keeping America healed.
I'm thankful for Fresno, California.
Some people really don't like Fresno. And I have discovered that I am NOT one of those people. I lived in Fresno for my whole life until college... and now I call Provo my home. I never felt antagonistic towards Fresno, but I never loved it either.
I came to Provo, and I loved it. Don't get me wrong, Provo is great. But then I went back home for Thanksgiving during my freshman year and I realized... I really like Fresno. Maybe it's just because I grew up there so I'm familiar with it, but Fresno is great.
Sometimes I wonder why I like Fresno because it gets so hot in the summer and you have to be a little more creative with entertaining yourself than in other cities... but there's lots of good things. Autumn time in Fresno is pretty nice. Nearly my whole family is located in Fresno/Clovis. I have great friends there, and people are really accepting. I love my singles ward back home! Everyone is so nice, we aren't too cliquey. I dunno... it's just... home. So I love it. I suppose that I'd end up loving any place I call home though... because I love Provo now and all...
In any case, I don't mind visiting home between semesters. Some people don't like going back home, and I admit that the loss of freedom and privacy that comes with going back home isn't the best, but I can deal with it. I moved back home for the summer... exactly 4 months back in Fresno, to the day... and I survived just fine. That's because Fresno is just wonderful... as are my friends and family. But that's another entry :)
I'm thankful for technology.
This is an extremely broad category... then again, everything I've touched on in the past several posts has been very broad... but there's just so much technology that has revolutionized my life. The world. Although there's much to cover, this post is going to stay relatively brief.
Firstly, computers. This blog is brought to you courtesy of these amazing inventions, in addition to other helpful tidbits such as... oh, I dunno... the internet... Just think about how much computers play into our lives! Now, instead of having to hand-write essays, we can type 'em up and print 'em out!
We can communicate and send data instantly from opposite sides of the world via computers, phones, etc.
We can read hundreds of books on a 8x5 inch Kindle that's less than half an inch thick.
We can watch movies and tv shows, play video games, compute mathematical equations in a heartbeat.
Instead of having to walk or ride in a horse-drawn buggy, we can drive a car. Ride a train. Fly across the world in a plane.
We can construct great buildings in a relatively short amount of time. I recently talked with some electrical engineers here at BYU who showed me a contraption they made that reads your brain waves and somehow uses those readings as energy to make a ball levitate and power a little race-car around a track. So basically... mind control. Makes you feel like a Jedi.
I am rather thankful that we have a tv in my apartment this year. I missed being able to watch this or that tv show back when we didn't have a tv. Plus, it's nice to be able to watch a movie on a screen that's larger than that of my laptop.
I'm thankful for my cellphone that lets me hear the voices of my family, despite being hundreds of miles away. I'm thankful for a little gadget called an i-pod... listening to music has never been so convenient. It makes walking to school more pleasant.
I'm thankful for the people who put their time, money, and expertise into developing new technologies every day. I'm excited to see what we come up with in the future. Looking at the progress we've made just in the past year or two, I'm sure it's gonna be good!
I'm thankful for clothing... and everything that comes with it!
I'm a girl... so naturally, I tend to enjoy getting a new outfit, hearing that what I'm wearing looks cute, going window-shopping with friends even if I "don't plan on buying anything"...
And what is clothing without accessories??!!!!
I admit that I'm a bit of a jewelry person... earrings, charm bracelets, and long necklaces in particular. Oh, and big rings that fit on my middle finger. Not too big though. Or too flashy. Flowers are cute. Both in the form of big rings, and hairbands. I've really come to love hair flowers.
I'm also thankful that the weather is getting nice and cold because now I can wear scarves and hats and mittens! And those can be really fun to wear. Oh, and knee-high socks!
I got a free BYU hat today. One with ear-flaps, pink and navy blue stripes, and a pom pom on top. I really enjoy wearing it, mainly because it was free. HAHA! That's my reward for consistently going to club nights on campus.
I'm thankful that I have the money to afford the clothing that I need (and want). I'm thankful for my aunt who's basically my same size. Half of my wardrobe is made of her hand-me-downs... and I don't mind in the slightest. She has good taste in clothing. I'm also thankful for my church's standards on modesty. I love living in a place where girls aren't hanging out of their clothing. I don't understand how girls come to think that it's attractive to wear less! Sure, it attracts some boys... but in the wrong ways. They become attracted to your body, not the whole package. You don't want a boy who falls in love with your appearance over your personality. That just won't fly in the long run. So cover up and get them to focus on you as a person, not you as an object of lust.
Even though most of the famous figures in Hollywood and such don't mind showing things off, there are some here and there that make a stand for modesty. One of the examples that got the most publicity (and was by far my favorite) was the statement of Emma Watson on the subject of modesty. While she's not the perfect example of modesty, I still really like what she has to say about it.
"The less you reveal the more people can wonder." Here's the rest of her quote on modesty.
I'm thankful for modest clothing, and girls who have a high enough self-image to dress modestly. I'm thankful for being a girl! Whoo! I get to have a lot of fun with clothing. Guys can have fun with clothes too, but let's be honest... girls get the better end of that deal.
And no, I've never owned Apple Bottom Jeans. In case you were wondering.
I'm thankful for animals.
When it comes to animals, pets are the ones we connect the most with... but that doesn't mean that we can't love and appreciate the "untouchable" animals. I have always wanted to pet a tiger. To cuddle with one, play with one, just sit up close and watch a tiger live its life. Tigers... and pandas... and horses... and so many animals! I like watching Planet Earth, not just for the amazing shots of nature, but for the animals that I learn about, most of which I had never previously known about or had heard very little of.
Pets are wonderful. Some people can live without them... and I suppose I can live without pets too (I've been doing it for over a year) but they are still nice to have. My family has had a variety of pets over the years: a couple cats and dogs, a bunny, a parakeet, a random exotic green parrot that got trapped in our garage one day (so we kept him for a while), hermit crabs, a turtle, a lizard, a wolf spider, and a wide range of aquatic creatures such as typical feeder fish, algae-eaters, a Pacu fish, crabs, miniature sharks, shrimp, etc... my dad has a particular fondness for Cories... a type of South American catfish.
In any case, I was having one of my rare "off days" today where my mood keeps going up and down (no, it's not PMS) and this emotional roller coaster was cured when I went to my TA's apartment to do some scene rehearsal and she had a brand new kitten! A tiny, black, furry ball of cuteness! And it cheered me right up. It's interesting how the tiniest thing can make me instantly cheerful... and since then, my evening has been just great.
Just watch, I'm gonna be one of those crazy cat ladies. Friends, please don't let me go senile to the point where cats are my only friends. Put me in a retirement home. Or hopefully my children would be kind enough to let me live with them. I just don't want to go crazy talking to cats, no matter how much I like them.
Getting back to the main point of this post, I'm thankful for all the many, many animals that God has placed on this earth with us. Some animals are very useful to us, and some seem to have barely any benefit at all. Some are eye-catching, some are plain, but they all have their own type of beauty, their own complexities. Having animals on this earth just makes life so much more interesting! How many times did we delight in going to the zoo as children so we could see all the cool animals? Even as mature adults, some people still get so excited to see a single deer on the side of the road, so they pull over to take a picture. (City folk. Tourists. Haha!)
I'm thankful for the animals that have been a part of my life. I'm thankful for the animals which provide me sustenance. I'm thankful for the creatures whose beauty and grace I can admire, if only from a distance. Someday... I'll walk with tigers. And won't that be such a cool experience?!
Gorgeous.
All that furry beauty just can't go ignored.
I'm thankful for temples.
I'm grateful for the buildings themselves, and for the things that happen inside them.
I'm so thankful that my family can be together forever, thanks to the temple ordinances. I love to spend time in these buildings. Inside the walls of these sacred places, I feel so peaceful. My stress leaves me. My thoughts are clear. I feel like I can figure things out better when I'm spending my time serving in the temple.
I don't know everything that happens in temples. As I get older, I will learn more and I look forward to that with much excitement and anticipation. But what I DO know is that I can feel the spirit there. I can help those who cannot help themselves. I can draw closer to the Lord.
Temples are so gorgeous! I've had several different opportunities to go to various temple open houses throughout California during my life. Two of the most memorable open houses that I went to were for the Fresno temple and the Newport Beach temple.
The Newport Beach temple was memorable mainly because of the grounds.
When I first laid eyes on this temple, it looked unreal - like a painting. The day was perfect, and the colors were gorgeous. I remember the outside more than the inside. Depending on the time of day, the sun can make this temple look more orange than it really is. It is so pretty!!!!!!
And of course, the Fresno Temple open house was rememberable because it's the temple of my hometown. I got to see it get constructed, and I got to sing in a children's choir for part of the open house. I turned 8 on General Conference Sunday in April that year, so I was baptized that day and then the Fresno Temple was dedicated the next week... so I was old enough to go to the dedication. Just barely. It was wonderful timing (not to mention it was so great to get baptized on my actual birthday on General Conference Sunday.)
I've gone to that temple many times. It will (most likely, although it depends on my future husband) be the temple in which I get married. You could say it holds a special place in my heart.
I love temples. I look forward to the day when I will be able to take full advantage of what they have to offer me. Also, I want to create an environment in my future home that mirrors the environment of a temple; after all, we are told that our homes are like temples and they should be places in which the spirit can reside. I thankful that I have these beautiful places to visit and model my home after.
I'm thankful that my possibilities are limitless
Great things and small things,
I can do all things
All that the Lord may require
Though the world may assail me,
God will not fail me.
He will remain by my side.
Whether He asks for the great
Or the small,
I can do them all! - "Great Things and Small Things" from the musical fireside From Cumorah's Hill
It is so good to know that I can do anything in my life with the Lord to guide me. I am thankful that I can have His hand there to strengthen me and lead me. I'm thankful for all the opportunities I have to learn and grow. I want to do all I can in this life to live up to my potential, and as a Daughter of God, that potential must be very great. The sky is the limit, and He will help me along the journey.
I'm thankful for dancing
I think my appreciation for this art has developed more in the past couple years of my life than it has in the past. When I was little, my mom used to ask me if I'd like to take this or that dance class, and I would always say no. Let's just say that I regret it now.
My first real experience with dancing came when I started doing musicals in high school, and then once I got to college I really kicked off with dancing in my second semester of my freshman year. I took a beginning Social Ballroom Dance class and was also a co-chair in charge of a Disney-themed skit for an activity in my stake called the Spring Sing... and I ended up doing some simple hip hop choreography for our routine. Ever since then, my dancing skills have been progressing dramatically.
Our Disney "Spring Sing" skit
I'm in the middle... bright white shirt
I had a test in my intermediate Social Dance class today on Triple Swing (aka East Coast Swing). When my teacher handed me the list of comments he made on my dancing, he told me that he had a hard time finding anything to criticize. He said he would keep watching me to see if he could find something for me to improve on (he said maybe I could go a bit lower with my bounce) but other than that, I was doing really well. Sure enough, I looked down at the comments he made and saw nothing but praise. Good posture, great energy, articulated footwork, and my spins have evidently improved a LOT since my cha-cha test. I think I've made the right choice in deciding to minor in ballroom!
I'm excited for tonight... the guy that I tested with in my class today invited me to go to a masquerade hip hop dance with him. It starts at 9:30... I don't have a masquerade mask, so he and I are both going to search for one, but it's perfectly fine if I don't have one. I'm just going for the dancing! It's been a while since I've done some real dancing other than ballroom.
I want to take a tap class next semester. It's time for me to branch out and add other things to my repertoire other than ballroom and hip hop. It would be fun to take a jazz dance class as well!
I love how you can use just your body to express so many different emotions. It's a great way to release energy, and it can definitely give you a work-out. It's probably my favorite form of exercise of all time! I'm so grateful that I have a body that functions properly so I can enjoy dancing.
I am thankful for the earth.
I love love love nature! From the big grand mountains all the way down to the tiny grains of sand on the beach. Size does not determine beauty. Thankful...
For flowers
For forests
For rivers
For awesome views and sunsets
If I displayed everything, this would be a very long post. Just saying.
I cannot wait to see what the earth looked like in its Edenic state... it must have been gorgeous. And there is still plenty of beautiful nature left in this world. Even in the middle of a city, you can find beauty. I particularly like to be out and about during the minutes just after the sun has set, but it's still light. The colors of the world around me take on vibrant hues right before they fade away.
I go on hikes more for the nature rather than the exercise. Put me by a river or waterfall, in a tree, on a cliff, and as long as I'm comfortable I'll enjoy myself.
I love this earth. Let's do the earth a favor and take care of it, shall we? I like nature the way it is... and would prefer to preserve what we can of it.
I am thankful for music.
Music is a universal language. It speaks to our hearts rather than our intellect. Not to mention it is used in so many ways in our everyday lives without us realizing it. Try to go for a whole day without hearing any music, singing any songs, etc... It's far more difficult than you might think. Music ranges from the songs on our ipod to the short jingles you hear in commercials. Music is a mood-setter. Some songs are very catchy, and their lyrics repeat in your head over and over.
Which is why you should be careful about what type of music you listen to. Once the lyrics are in your head, they can be hard to get out.
It is truly amazing that I can walk to school and listen to music with crystal-clarity through the earphones of my ipod. I'm one of those people who can start singing a song using words from the conversation I'm having. It's a little game I like to call Make The Musical Connection. (Actually, I just now made that game up. And now the name is going to stick.)
I'm thankful that I have been blessed with talent in the realm of music. I'll never be one of the legendary singers, but I can sing in-tune and harmonize and riff... and I LOVE to sing, so that's what matters.
I'm thankful that my mother forced me to continue with my piano lessons for as long as she did. Even after I stopped taking lessons, I continued to teach and challenge myself. I can sound out songs by ear and create arrangements on-the-spot for songs that I'm more familiar with. I got to sit down for about an hour today and play around on the piano at my apartment complex. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that... I miss being at home where half of my free time could be spent sitting at the piano, even if I was only playing the same thing over and over again. I can't really just sit down and play whenever I want here because there are other people who use the piano...
I've attempted to teach myself guitar and have the basics down. I can play the flute, some percussion, and I rock at Guitar Hero... haha... Instruments are great. End of story.
I feel that music is part of the Lord's Language. There are songs that He has definitely inspired... one such example being Handel's Messiah. Handel himself claimed that he had Divine help with the composition of the score. When Christ was born, angels sang of His glory. When the He returns, there will be angels singing praise to His name. Music is definitely an effective tool for helping people to feel the spirit. Some of my favorite songs of all time are about spiritual matters. Music and the Gospel go together perfectly!
Music lifts my heart, helps me find expression for my emotions, gives me an outlet for creativity. It is, without doubt, one of the biggest parts of my life. I honestly do not know how I would live without music. As the title of my post suggests, music is basically like my source of life. As long as it runs through my veins, then my life can keep on going!
