I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Mine was wonderful, filled with family and friends. I'm really excited about the guitar I got for Christmas! Not only will it serve for my pleasure and enjoyment, but I look at it as a tool for my future teaching in case I end up teaching elementary and need something to accompany the students with, or even start a guitar club in middle school (where I'll hopefully be). Today I watched one of my favorite movies, The Duchess. The movie is based on the real life story of Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire from 1774 until 1806. The movie tells about her horrible marriage to the Duke, who only wants her for her abilities to produce an heir. Georgiana is a passionate person who is unloved in her own home. Because she doesn't immediately give birth to a boy (she has three daughters before finally having a boy), the Duke has many affairs with the household maids and eventually with Georgiana's only friend, Lady Elizabeth Foster. Though it is clear the Duke and Lady Foster love each other, and the Duke insists Lady Foster live with them he denies Georgiana the right to be the man she loves, Charles Grey. Ahhh, I shouldn't spoil the whole movie. You must watch, it's a great drama. I couldn't imagine living my life not being able to be with someone I love or being forced to live with someone who doesn't love me. Her circumstances were dreadful. I'm glad that I'm living a life where who I marry is based on mutual love for one another - not money or status. This poem by Maya Angelou reminds me of Georgiana. Though she was a duchess and was the admiration of many, her personal life away from the public eye was tragic.

A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

~Maya Angelou

Christmas Time is Here

Wow, I haven't updated in a while. I guess I feel I never have very profound things to say in this blog, so updating is just a bore for whoever reads this thing. But nonetheless, I am updating! Christmas break has been pretty good so far. It started off with a slight argument with my parents, which I believe stemmed from my not coming home as often this past semester. They're coming to the realization that I'm grown up. I'm not the little girl they've had to take care of these past almost 21 years. But things have worked out well, and I definitely needed their care this past Sunday night when I was sick. Oh it was terrible, but it was such a comfort to have my mom and dad right there to help me and bring me anything I needed. I know deep down inside that I'll always need my parents, and I have to remember to be sensitive to the fact that they're always going to need their little girl.

Ok, sorry for the mushy-ness. I do love my parents and think they're pretty much the best that there are. Mom and I are having so much fun planning Christmas activities. One thing I'm especially excited about this Christmas is Drew and his family are coming down Christmas evening for dinner! That's the best Christmas present I could receive. It's going to be nice to have the house filled with people I love! So exciting!

I'm also using the break to prepare myself for my joint recital with Lauren next semester. I'm really looking forward to being able to perform a polished recital. I don't consider myself the best player, but I'm hoping to be able to show off a little. At least show I can make a beautiful sound.

Well, this house still needs cleaning and picking up, and presents still have to be wrapped! An update will happen after all the Christmas festivities are over! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Sneezy

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

And so it is Reading Day. More like Jury Day to all of us music majors. I had my jury this morning at 10. I felt like it went ok, my piece was definitely the best part of it. I feel a sense of relief that it's over, but also dread of what Dr. Taylor will tell me in my post-jury appointment. I really never know how things went until that meeting. We'll see. Hopefully I don't have much to worry about. The exciting part is, this is my last reading day jury! The next two will be recital juries! Ahhhhh!

It is very cold outside today! I dread having to walk back to the music building in it. Brrrrrr. My new earmuffs kept my ears nice and warm though! I'm just spending my time inside relaxing and preparing for Christmas. I'm in the process of writing some Christmas cards at the moment. I'm not too worried about my exams. Tomorrow I have a conducting exam which should go fine. The other two are not really exams. For brass methods I have to arrange a 5-part brass chorale, which should be fairly easy since I'm pretty good with transposition. For marching band techniques we are presenting our show design projects. I just need to sit down and get all of that taken care of. So not too bad. I woke up this morning praising that I don't have any more ear training finals! I've paid my dues.....

Tonight, my roomies and I are going to have our Christmas and exchange gifts. It will be a lot of fun. I love this time of year. I'm really looking forward to the time I'm going to get to spend with my family and Drew and his family.

I hope everyone stays warm today and the rest of the week! Good luck on finals! Drink some hot chocolate!

Sneezy

"Gobble Gobble" Means "Happy Thanksgiving" in Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm so glad we have a day set aside to be with family and/or friends and remind ourselves what we are thankful for. Sometimes we don't take the time to think of all the ways we've been blessed throughout the year. I know personally, I should thank God much more everyday for all the blessings his given me. So in honor of this day, I'd like to make a list of the some of the things I'm thankful for (I'm sure I won't think of everything!).

Firstly, I am thankful for my family who have raised me, stood by me, and have always supported me for the past 20 years. They are the reason I am the person I am today. My parents have set such an example for me to live by. My little babe shew has been the best sister one could ask for. I don't know what I would have done without her at times.

Someone I am especially thankful for this Thanksgiving is my wonderful boyfriend, Drew. He is such an amazing person. I am constantly blown away with the love and kindness he shows me and others everyday and how he is always there for me. He inspires me to be a better person each day. He is truly my best friend. I love how we can laugh and play with each other, but I can always go to him and talk about more serious things. I smile each day just thinking about the things we can share together and grow closer to each other. I love you pumpkin!

To all my friends, I am truly thankful. Without some of my friends, I don't know how I would have made it, especially in college. All of the fun times at lunch, helping each other with homework, and just being there as a soundboard for all the things frustrating us has helped me more than they'll ever know. I appreciate all my friends for giving me the opportunity to learn about people and experience things that have helped shape me as a person. You guys are great!

I am thankful for music. Music has been a constant in my life and has helped me connect with myself and others. It is my passion, especially when you combine teaching with that. I'm thankful that I am able to go to college and be in such an incredible music program that will allow me to one day teach music to children.

There are so many things I am thankful for; food on my table for every meal and then some, a safe living environment, having things that I want but didn't really need, medical care, and having people protecting our country both overseas and right here at home. I'm sure there's so much more I'm leaving out.

I encourage everyone to think about the things they are thankful for tell them to God and to the ones you love. We take so many things for granted, but we aren't guaranteed the life we have tomorrow. It's important to appreciate each day.

I'm looking forward to this weekend of shopping and getting the Christmas decorations out! It's my favorite time of the year! I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving!

Oh Shoot! She fell off!

Frosted Flakes could pretty much be the best cereal ever! I'm sitting here devouring some while watching The Office with my roomie, Teenia. We are such nerds. Everything makes us laugh! I'm pretty sure some people would think we were intoxicated if they saw us during our most giggly moments. Hahaha, anyways....

We are so close to the end of the semester! As we head towards the end, I'm working on really solidifying my clarinet playing. I feel like I'm back at a good playing level now. I'm working on becoming very musical with my playing. I feel like I get really bogged down with notes, which actually causes me to not read ahead as well, leading to missed notes or fumbling with notes. I think if I concentrate on trying to be musical, my mind won't concentrate on all the black. Sounds like a plan to me!

This evening is going to be spend relaxing and going to bed here pretty soon. Sorry for the lack of inspirational thought!

Enjoy the Baby Halpert Blog!

http://www.halpertbeesly.com/baby/#item=144745


Sneezy

Music makes me do the things I never should do!

Greetings, blog readers!

It has been quite awhile since my last post. The end of school is very close, so crunch time is upon us! I've been up and down a little with my clarinet playing these past few weeks, but I feel like I'm on the road to success now! I do get frustrated with my playing sometimes, but I don't really let it affect the rest of my day. I don't really see the point in becoming that upset over a not so great day at playing. My thoughts are, I am still an undergraduate, learning and growing as a musician. And in reality, I've only began playing "correctly" just 3 years ago. That's not a long time. If I was already the best clarinet player, there would be no reason for me to be here. But I am here, and I'm here to learn. Unfortunately when we learn, sometimes we have to go through rough spots to come out stronger and better. It's the same thing with my studies. Even when I thought I could never become good at ear training, I didn't let it get me down (ok, maybe I let it a couple of times, hahaha). I learned from my mistakes, and ended up passing every semester with an A or B. Keeping a good attitude about life in general will take you farther than anything, I've come to realize.

This week was the NCMEA conference. I absolutely LOVE conference time! I enjoy getting to see familiar faces and meeting new people....people who might one day help me get a teaching position! On Tuesday I attended two clinics on beginning band. They were so helpful and insightful. I can't wait to start teaching hopefully middle school band! Really, I wouldn't mind teaching middle school chorus either. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to share my passion with students. It's a great feeling to be able to say, "I helped a child love music!"

Well, it's about time for me to head down to the recital hall to the Casella concert. My pumpkin is playing in it and has a very big solo in one of the pieces! He is a fabulous musician (and teacher), and I can't wait to hear him shine! And I get to see his family which is always a wonderful thing! I will try my best to update more often as we come into my favorite time of the year.....the holiday season! Cheers!

This picture is for my pumpkin!

Sneezy

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Ok, so I am really in a Christmas mood. Not for the presents or anything like that...I'm just ready for the feelings of Christmas! There's something about sitting in the living room with only the glow of the fireplace and lights on the Christmas tree that gives me a feeling I can't describe. The air is filled with the smell of spice and pine. Everything just looks....beautiful and peaceful. Rawr, I want that now! I guess it's coming soon enough, lol.

This has been a pretty good week! Yesterday I didn't have nutrition class and I won't be having my lesson tomorrow. So it's been pretty low stress. But I do have a trumpet playing test on Friday that I'm not looking all that forward to. I'm just having trouble getting higher notes out. I can't wait to be on trombone! I almost considered playing trombone when I was joining band. So it'll be fun to see what I could have ended up playing, hahaha.

I'm about to go down and practice some more for the day. The weather doesn't look so nice outside my window, so I hope it doesn't start to rain on me before I get down there!

I have watched "You've Got Mail" twice already this week! And I still want to watch it again! I love that movie, it is one of my favorites! Maybe I'll watch it again sometime this weekend!

Thursday, my awesome roomie Teenia and I are going to my sister's dorm where they're having a Halloween dance. We are going to dress up in our costumes and par-tay! 'Twill be great fun!

Well, that's really all I have to share today! Enjoy life!

Once you get past the naked factor...

My goodness, it's been awhile since I've updated. There really has been a lack of things to blog about....rather a lack of things appropriate to blog about. There's been a lot of drama in my life with a particular person that my friends and I have had to deal with. I don't feel like I should go on and on about it here because 1) it's not really appropriate or professional to do so and 2) this is a happy blog! (well, for the most part!). So for the most part, the rest of my life has been pretty groovy.

I'm hitting a spot in my clarinet playing again that's frustrating me. Although this time I don't feel like it's so bad. Rather than bore you with all the details of clarinet technique and what I'm doing, let's just say I need to be listening more to my sound. I really concentrated on listening to my sound a few weeks ago, and it came! Lately though, I've concentrated on keeping my jaw down and keeping the space open in my mouth....not the sound. So I didn't realize that I was undervoicing (which means my tongue is low making the pitch too low for my non-music peeps) until my lesson today. It's just frustrating to be at a good place and think you're finally getting somewhere, then all of a sudden you're a step back. It doesn't help that my reeds have been horrible this past two weeks, which can be blamed on many factors, but I also shouldn't have gotten to that crisis point. My goals this week are to listen and really express myself and make color happen in the music. I will get this!

We have a marching band competition this Saturday which I am looking forward to! It's really satisfying to see the students I've been working with put their all on the field and hopefully be rewarded for their hard work. Even if we don't place at awards, it's just fun to see the kids perform and enjoy themselves. I'm so glad to be a part of that and can't wait for the future when I have my own students feeling that excitement.

Speaking of the future, I had my advising appointment today and I'm taking 19 credit hours next semester! Oye. Well, I did 19 last semester so I'll make it through somehow, lol. Lots of prayer and hot tea! And some Just Dance right before bed, hahaha.

You're probably wondering what's up with my title. Well as I was walking up to the music library where I'm currently at, I randomly heard someone say this and it made me giggle on the inside. I love when little things like that can make you laugh and brighten your day. Well folks, it looks like my blogging for the day has come to an end. Enjoy life until your eyes and my blog meet again!

Sneezy

Lincoln and Chocolate

Wow, it's been awhile since I've updated this! My days have been pretty busy this past few weeks. Right now we're on fall break. For me it hasn't been much of a break since I've been on a trip to Washington, D.C. with the UNCG Teaching Fellows! I got up super early Saturday morning at 5 am to get on the bus with everyone else and begin our journey. It was really great, because the UNCG School of Education paid for this trip. We got to our hotel (the Hilton :0) Saturday afternoon, then we went to the play "Shear Madness" at the Kennedy Center that evening. It was a pretty funny play that involved audience participation. It was sort of like a murder mystery where the audience votes who committed the murder. Whom ever the audience decides is the murderer, that's how the actors play it out. So the next night the play could be different. Still, I would have rather seen the National Symphony Orchestra playing that night. Sadness. We spent the rest of the evening (and into the wee hours of the morning) walking around the city at night looking at the monuments and exploring. It was great fun! The next day was all to ourselves for self-exploration. I visited the Holocaust Museum which was very humbling. We also visited several of the Smithsonian Museums and the National Archives. We had an amazingly delicious dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and then turned in early for the night. This morning, we checked out of the hotel and then spent a couple of hours at the Arlington National Cemetery. It's always been a humbling experience for me to visit there and see all the lives that fought for my freedom that I enjoy. We had lunch at Pentagon City Mall and then started the long bus ride back to Greensboro. Overall, it was a great trip with some of the most amazing and fun people I know!

Now it's just time to relax at home and then tomorrow I'll see my pumpkin who's been away to Iowa! I've really missed him and can't wait to see him! Until the next major happening in my life....

Sneezy

Just when the catepiller thought the world was over, it became a butterfly

Hello all!

I know, long time no update. Things just got super busy this week. It seemed like I really wasn't pressed for time until this week when everything was due. And those who know me well know that I'm the Queen of Procrastination. It's a work in progress, lol. Things have been going pretty well clarinet wise, which I am thankful for! My etude this week has been a little hard because there are very large interval leaps that are quick. While I feel that I have the right setup and sound, I'm not sure that I have everything in control, because sometimes the intervals are not very smooth and connected especially from the throat tone notes to altissimo. With hard work and dedicated practice, I'm sure it'll get there soon.

This weekend is going to be pretty busy. The marching band I am interning with has a football game this Friday and then a competition at Ledford on Saturday. I think they'll do well and hopefully place! They've been working hard, it's just a matter of focus! Isn't that true with so many other aspects in life?

Tonight I am going to see my pumpkin play in the orchestra for the musical Ooooooooooklahoma! Even though he hasn't been feeling so great the past few days, he's been a trooper! But I do hope he gets to feeling 100% better soon!

So I wasn't going to watch Glee last night because I missed the first episode of the new season, but I saw they were going to sing Paramore's "The Only Exception" which is one of my absolute favorite songs. So I tuned in at the end and watched it. It was so good! It's such a powerful song.

Well, in just a bit here, it'll be time for me to go practice some more, have a CMENC meeting, Teaching Fellows seminar, dinner with the fam, then Oooooooooklahoma! But it's great...tomorrow morning I get to sleep in because there's no marching band tech class! Waaa-hoooooo! Good day, sunshine! Until the next blog!

Sneezy

You are always been a fine fig!

So just when things don't go your way, and things seem hopeless, the Lord smiles down on you and things get better! I had a great lesson today! After some serious thoughts and practice in the practice rooms (and fervent prayer) this past week, things are clicking together! And in my lesson we discovered the key things I was missing to take my sound from good to sparkling.

What's difficult about playing an instrument, especially one that you blow air into, is that what you hear is not really what others hear. The sound is vibrating through your bones which sounds different than what it sounds like to someone sitting across from you. I had to remember what that "sound" sounded like. I pretty much got it back on my own in the practice room this past week and my teacher could tell. Two things said in my lesson made it really work though......open the space in my mouth and jaw forward. Two basic, fundamental things, but it was all I needed to get me back to where I was. Now to make this consistent, and I'll be set!

My two big pieces this semester that I will probably play on my recital next semester are Bassi "Rigoletto" and Debussy's Premiere Rhapsody. The Debussy has been giving me the most trouble. Dr. Taylor said he's never worked with someone here on that piece where it hasn't been a semester long project. It's just note stuff for the most part. I don't know, I find it difficult sometimes to learn things just because it seems like my fingers can't find the notes. I guess I need to change how I practice parts like that.

Ah, it feels good to feel satisfied after a lesson. It makes my day so much better! This weekend, I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family, as we are having our annual fall family get together on Saturday. Good times. Yesterday, my lovely wee sister took pictures of me and my pumpkin with her awesome new professional-ish camera. It was a lot of fun, and the pictures came out great! My pumpkin was really sweet to do that with me!

So the Charlie Brown Christmas cd just came up on my iTunes playing "The Christmas Song." I decided not to skip it, and now I'm really in the Christmas spirit! Hahahaha, yeah, it's a little early for that right now. Well, that's all for today little hauney baunnies. Enjoy the day!

Sneezy

sei sempre stato un bel fico

G'day all my little hauney baunnies! Not much exciting to post, I just thought I would update! My lovely room mate, Teenia and I are just chilling in my room watching someone with dreads sing on the Ellen show. Now we're laughing at what I just typed. More laughter. The dude with dreads underwear said "Ellen" on them! Ahhhhhhh! Alas, we realize nutrition class will be soon and we are contemplating on what to have for dinner.

This is just a rambling, but that's how life is. Teenia is helping write this blog, as I really don't have much to say. Teenia and I have come up with an idea to Elmo-ify many songs that we hear and enjoy. Starting with Bad Romance. "Elmo wants your love and Elmo wants your revenge..." Crazy, I know. We all have that friend that brings out our personal crazy! :)

In other words, I had a very lovely weekend with my pumpkin and his family. We went to a wedding on Saturday which was lovely and Sunday we went to church and just enjoyed time at home! I love that we can talk about anything! He is the absolute best!

Well, tis din din time, then off to learn why what I ate was terrible for me! Farewell loves!

Sneezy

And I guess that's why they call it the blues

I'm feeling sort of down this morning. While I won't go into detail about exactly what it is, I will say, why can't things just click? Like, I know what I'm supposed to do, I understand it in my head, why can't it come out of my instrument the way it should? My teacher says I'm making progress, but I'm just not feeling successful like I was at the end of last semester. I guess it's just a matter of working all the harder and it'll get there. It's just easy to feel defeated when everything just doesn't get better.

Anyways, it's too lovely of a day to sit and worrying and complain about things. I hope everyone enjoys their day!

Maybe I need to start "struttin' that butt" (yeah, I don't say bad words, hahaha)

Nothing special, just updating

Isn't today gorgeous outside? I'm really loving this weather! Now if only the music building could feel this good. I think I'll make it a point to complain how cold it is in there every time I update, hahaha. Marching band tech was a lot of fun this morning. I like the feel of that class, because it's more like a discussion then just someone lecturing at us. And Mrs. Wagoner tells a lot of funny stories! Today she was telling us about an African piece they did where the band actually sang. She said, "we couldn't understand the words they were saying on the CD recording, so we made up our own Swahili words!" Hahaha! It's always motivational to hear stories like that, reminding you that teaching is fun and sometimes you end up teaching other things and learning things yourself. I'm really excited about teaching even though I feel like I have so much more to learn. I guess I'll figure it out along the way!



Speaking of things to learn, I got out my euphonium to practice today since we have a playing test on Friday. I think I've been doing pretty good, not great, but not bad either. Well, this morning I played for one of my trumpet friends and this horrid noise came out that I've never heard before. He said I was "double buzzing." Weirdness. I hope I can remedy that before Friday. Perhaps my pumpkin or Adam can help me before then! It may have had to do with the fact that I had just played clarinet for an hour! My clarinet playing is getting back into good shape I believe. I just have to remember not to hold back the voicing especially in the upper register. Maybe one day I'll master the thing ;)



I'm really looking forward to this weekend! My pumpkin and I are going to see a movie and hang out with friends Friday, and then we're going to a wedding the next day! I enjoy weddings, as do most girls I suppose, lol. I just love seeing two people celebrating their love and starting out on their journey together. It's a great experience to share in.



It's just about time for me to head up and meet my pumpkin for lunch! I love spending time with him! He always makes me smile! Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this post, hahaha. Until there's something else to blog about!

And through music my soul began to soar...

Tonight was the third Collage Concert by the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. This year, I got to actually play in the concert with the Clarinet Ensemble. We performed "Nimrod" from Elgar's Enigma Variations which is hands down my favorite piece of music. The whole concert was filled with wonderful music and excellent performers. There's something about hearing good music that just makes it feel like something is taking your soul and sending it flying up into the heavens. Music is truly magical. That's the great thing, you don't have to study music or be a musician to feel the power and healing of music.

Well, just a short post tonight. I'm looking forward to church tomorrow morning with my family and pumpkin! Church always helps me prepare for the busy week ahead. I love praising God through song! Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend! Until the next post!

Enjoying the quiet to myself

I love this time on Thursdays! Right after my lesson, I have a little more than an hour before I eat lunch with my pumpkin. I use this time as me time....no practicing (I just got out of my lesson), no homework, no worries! It's a great way for me just to wind down and relax. I'm sitting outside of the School of Music underneath the organ hall because it is so lovely outside today! That, and it's FREEZING in the music building. I'm not sure why they insist the air conditioning be on full blast on there. Strangeness!





I had a lot of fun last night cooking dinner for my pumpkin and babe sister! It was great to be able to just spend time with them. Well, they were doing homework, but I was enjoying myself! After dinner, we popped in some episodes of "The Office" which my wonderful pumpkin introduced me to! It's so funny! My roomie Teenia and I always get the theme song stuck in our heads! What made watching it even more awesome was the fact that we projected it on the wall! Maybe picture quality wasn't as great, but it was neat to be watching a projector instead of a tv. Next will be Teenia's Wii game - Just Dance!





I know I tend to ramble about random and seemingly unimportant or very cliche things on here, but oh well, it's my blog, hahaha. I'm really enjoying myself thus far in my junior year and I hope it continues. I really feel like I'm growing into my adult person now, which is exciting. Life is quite grand! Well my little blog readers, I shall leave you to your day as I continue to bask in the warmth of these last few days of summer and shuffle through my iTunes.

Heehee, cute kitty!


Arrivederci!

A Perfect Weekend

This weekend, I went with my pumpkin down to Jordan Lake to camp with his family. It was such a great time! I hadn't been camping since I was much younger, but I loved everything about it! We also went out on the lake in their boat which was great fun! My pumpkin tried to teach me how to knee board, but alas, I was unsuccessful. It provided some entertainment for him and his family at least, hahaha! His whole family made me feel so at home and complimented me more than I deserved :). The best part was just being able to relax with my pumpkin and share all the fun together!

I spent today at home with my family. Mom and I went to the mall and had some girl time, and now I'm sitting outside on the deck while Dad grills the hamburgers and chicken for dinner tonight. Not really looking forward for classes again tomorrow, but I guess it's class that makes weekends like this so great and so much fun. Sure, I'd love everyday to be like this weekend was, but it wouldn't be as special.

Well, it's time to eat, then back to school I go! I hope everyone else had a great Labor Day weekend!

And today you know that's good enough for me

As we all start to already get bogged down with school work, practicing, trying to maintain a social life, and keep up with family, I am reminded of a song that reminds me what I should truly be thankful for.

"I'm Alive" by Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews

So damn easy to say that life's so hard
Everybody's got their share of battle scars
As for me I'd like to thank my lucky stars that
I'm alive, and well

I'd be easy to add up all the pain
And all the dreams you sat and watched go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me, I'm alive

And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathin' in and out's a blessin' can't you see
Today's the first day of the rest of my life
And I'm alive, and well
I'm alive, and well

Stars are dancin' on the water here tonight
It's good for the soul, when there's not a soul in sight
This boat has caught it's wind and brought me back to life
Now I'm alive, and well

And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathin' in and out's a blessin' can't you see
Today's the first day of the rest of my life
And I'm alive, and well
Now I'm alive, and well

Just as the song says, I'm alive, and well, and today that's good enough for me. It's so easy to just settle and say oh, well life's hard and now my day isn't going to be great. What? That doesn't make sense. As cliche as it might be, think about your life in comparison to most and realize how good you have things. Life can always be much worse.

Hopefully the next time you're feeling down, you'll remember this song. And perhaps just meditating these words can change your attitude...and who knows.....even your day!

So here it goes!

For a while now, I've been wanting to start a blog.....really for no specific reason. I always thought the idea of a blog was a great way to sort through life's discoveries and challenges and also to share with people. Whether people read this or not, I'm just looking for a place to write out my feelings and opinions, and hopefully discover more about myself along the way!

So here I am, sitting in the School of Music library waiting for symphonic band to start. That's really why I started this blog now, hahaha. I'm looking forward to sym band today, because we should be playing the part in a song we're playing where the flutes, oboes, and clarinets play tin whistles! Oh so fun! I really enjoyed learning the part, but I need my fingers moving faster! I find that is the case with my clarinet as well, so I've been working on smaller finger motions closer to the keys. That's the thing about being a musician. You're constantly having to think about so many different layers to your playing. It's awesome in that you always have a challenge, because really....no one can play perfectly all the time. But there's the flip side to that as well in frustration. There have been (and will be) so many times where I have gotten so frustrated with my playing. But where does frustration get you? No where. And some would argue that it motivates them to do better....I think that's a lie and strange. Haha. I think focusing on what you're doing right should be motivation enough to tackle the aspects of your playing that aren't so great. But that's just my opinion. So this year, I'm taking a new approach where hopefully I can feel more calm and patient in my practice sessions which will perhaps help me to grow even more in my playing.

I feel like all the aspects about being a musician are the same as being an educator. Teaching children (no matter what age) is such a great challenge! It has it's good and bad sides. Teaching is something I have always wanted to do. I have found that teaching music is really special. Really, most other subject teachers don't develop the kind of relationship that music teachers do with their students. And I think that relationship rubs off on the whole group of student musicians which is why band (or chorus or orchestra) feels like a family for so many. In the internships I've had, I've already felt the joys and heartache that teaching can bring. I don't know how many times I've thought about, cried over, or prayed for the children I've taught. There's just something about helping a student not only learn academic subjects, but also lessons for life that connects you in a way that you'll always care about them, worry about them, and hope for the best for them. I've taught many kids that come from not so stable or happy homes. And I pray each day that they're doing ok and will make it through to a better life. I guess that's just one of the things about being a teacher.

Well, I've rambled a lot in this post, just about some very broad things. I do have to mention my sweet pumpkin (for that is what we call each other). He is without doubt, the sweetest guy I have ever met. We just had lunch together outside in the warmth, trying to thaw out from the freezing cold music building! But he is wonderful and amazing!

So, it's time to depart for the wonderful music makings in symphonic band. Until next time!