Music, Music Everywhere!

      Of all of the changes in my transition from high school to college, my favorite part has been all of the opportunities I have had to enjoy and participate in music. In high school, I had been able to attend many symphonies and concerts with my family, but not quite so much as I have in just these past few weeks of college.

      First of all, as a Music major, I have my recital attendance requirements to meet. This means six TLU sponsored music events every semester. I have no problem meeting this requirement and have been enjoying every bit of it. Thus far, I have attended four of the music events. I went to see "The Power of Music:  Music in the Lives of Children," where they had guest speakers come and talk about how music played a part in their childhood development. I also went to see the pre-screening of Alive Inside, a documentary about the influence of music in the lives of alzheimers patients at "The Power of Music:  Music in the Lives of the Elderly". I got to see the Navy Band Country Current Perform at the Jackson Auditorim, and tonight I went to see Mark Alexander play the music of Franz Liszt on piano. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to hear all of these amazing speakers and musicians and get credit for it! I don't know about the other music majors, but I know that I sure am enjoying all of this! 

       Another big thing that I have been enjoying is all of my music classes. As a Freshman Music major, most of my classes have been pre-selected for me. I have all music classes besides my Freshman Experience Class and Composition I, which this blog is for. I struggled a little bit in my first couple of weeks of music theory, but am back on track and doing my best. I have discovered a knack for sight reading/ sight singing while here at TLU. Before I never would have thougth it would be this way, but it is actually one of the classes that I am enjoying the most. Because I love all of my music classes, I don't mind all of the work. I just enjoy it and soak up all that I can. I know that I probably won't be saying this once I get to Music Theory and Ear Training and Sight Singing IV, but for now, I am really enjoying it all.  

      This past week I had my first major choir performance during Homecoming. It was great getting to meet so many alums who had been in our place years ago and who came back to celebrate TLU's 100th anniversary homecoming. It was also great that we didn't fall off of the stage when all 200+ of us crowded onto the stage to sing "Beautiful Savior" together. 

      There is such a great music community here at TLU. Almost everyone I have met here on campus is involved in music in some way, or has a great passion for it. It was fun going to the coffee house evening in chapel a few weeks back to hear so many talented singers and instrumentalists. I'm hoping to maybe get up there myself, at one of the next ones. Overall, I am very excited about where these past few weeks have taken me in my journey with music, and am even more excited to see where the next four years will take me.


Questions, nice comments, and ideas are great. The whole idea of this blog is to help me better my writing. Any positive feedback is welcome.

Get your Head in the Game!

This week's topic is focus- a difficult thing to keep when you are surrounded by so many sources of distraction in our technology flooded world. Focus is important in academics as well in sports. Just like  an athlete will lose a match if his or her head isn't in the game, a writer or student will miss deadlines and get bad grades if they don't get their head in the game and get to it. During any sport, an athlete always needs to be in the game one hundred percent. If they get distracted, they will most likely fumble, maybe miss a catch, and ultimately mess up the play entirely. 

The same happens with students. It is very difficult to keep focus when you are surrounded by so many distractions an are living in such a fast-paced world. There are emails to reply to, texts to read, status updates to look at, Pinterest projects to try (my guilty pleasure), TV shows to watch, and your best friend- the bed- to doze off on. So many distractions! It's no wonder almost every student I have met to date has to deal with procrastination. There is just so much to do. And yet, half of the time we don't do what we really need to do.

I know that my biggest problem is distractions in my head - worrying about what I have to do and when I need it done rather than actually doing it. I can sit down for hours on end planning and worrying and not even write one word of my essay. I've been struggling with this more and more as I get further into my school year. This is no bueno...not good! I know that if I want things done, I've got to get to it and do them, I just struggle getting started.

 Usually what it takes to get me started is turning of the music, blocking time-wasters on the internet using "Chrome Nanny" (my best friend- look it up in the Google chrome apps), going somewhere to be alone, and grabbing a snack so I have no excuse to leave my work undone. I know for many people it can also help to turn off your phone, or an even better solution, someone recommended giving your phone to your roommate or friend while you study. For a while, I argued with my sister and mom that I could focus with music playing in the background just as long as it wasn't anything loud. I began to find myself so bored with my work that I would get distracted by the music no matter what kind or how soft or slow it was. Now, I just turn it off completely. The most important thing to remember is to just get to work. Just worrying about it won't get it done, you have to sit down and get to it. Okay,... go now...I mean it! Get to work!

Questions, nice comments, and ideas are great. The whole idea of this blog is to help me better my writing. Any positive feedback is welcome.

Going For the Win!

Have you ever had a huge opportunity come at you, and ended up missing out big time because you didn't go for it when you had the chance? I know I have. Three years ago I had the opportunity to go to Guatemala on a missions trip to a girls home. I ended  up missing out on a big life experience because I wasn't willing to stepout on my own to try to raise the funds. I was afraid I couldn't do it and let practicality get in the way of my faith that God would provide.  In short, I hesitated and before I knew it, the opportunity was gone. It wasn't until last year that I had that opportunity again and got to experience the life-changing adventure of going to another country. See, If I had stepped out the first time and gone for it, I could have gained all of that experience earlier. I just had to be willing to take that leap and go for it. Since I didn't, I missed out on that opportunity and had to wait a while for it to come around again.

 This concept of going for the win is very applicable academically as well. If you want the most out of your education, you have to be willing to get out there and go for it. This means going past the assigned page length, with more research than required. Taking things a step further and taking your education into your own hands. For many, this may also mean an attitude adjustment. After all, you can only go as far as your attitude allows. If you don't believe in yourself, you will most likely fail, but if you beleive that you can do it, you have a very large chance at success.

That year that I missed out on the missions trip, many of my friends came home with stories of life changing experiences. That was when I knew, I had missed out on something big. The next year came around with the opportunity to go on the missions trip again, but this time, I had something else planned. A trip to Colorodo to attend a conference with Summit ministries. This trip also required me to take that step out and raise my own funds. This is where God stepped in and changed my attitude. He showed me that He could and would provide for my every need. The next time that the Guatemala missions trip came around, I was prepared. I went for it and came out of the experience with so much more than I ever could have expected. All of this came from that one little leap of faith. I went for it, and am so glad I did!

The same can come from taking that extra step academically. If you get out there and believe you can achieve, you will! So go out there, and take that leap of faith - I'm sure you won't regret it!

Me (far right) at Prince of Peace Home for Girls, Summer 2011, with some girls from my team and from the home

Questions, nice comments, and ideas are great. The whole idea of this blog is to help me better my writing. Any positive feedback is welcome

Balance: Maintaining the Equilibrium Between Work and Play

This past week I have been learning a big lesson that almost every college student can probably relate to. No, I am not talking about procrastination. I am talking about finding how to maintain the balance as I transition into college. Balancing my work, fun time, family, maintaining my health, etc. This is something I have really been struggling with this past week. To help you see my situation a little better, let me tell you about my schedule.  

On an average school day, I get up early, get my things together, grab a quick breakfast and head to school. Once there, I hurry from my first class to the next squeezing in a quick lunch in between.Somewhere during the day I fit in thirty minutes of practice time, if i'm lucky. I prefer to practice my guitar on campus because there is less chance of me leaving it for the last and not getting my practice time in. My priorities at home are a little different than at school. After practicing I  head over to my next class early and have another snack while I study, because I rushed during my early lunch. The room is empty and the only noise around is the students next door practicing their Spanish. I'm able to get quite a bit done in those few minutes. Other than this, I often leave studying until I get home. This is because I'm more comfortable working in my room on my own computer and can get stuff done faster, but there are also more distractions. After class, I head home, where I unwind for a few minutes by practicing piano or my latest choir piece. Once dinner is ready, my sister and I help my mom get the table set, my three younger siblings situated, and finally sit down for a good home-cooked meal. After dinner, I help clean up then go to my room and study until I can't tell the difference between my siblings' names and keys in the circle of fifths. I go to bed saying scales in my sleep. Hope for eight hours of well needed rest,  rinse, and repeat. Throughout the week, work keeps getting piled up. By the time the weekend rolls around, I have no choice but to devote it entirely to writing essays, filling my books with notes, and praying i didn't forget any assignments. Add on trying to keep my room from looking like it was just hit by a hurricane, wanting to spend time with my family, attending fun events to keep me sane- mix it all together and you get sleep deprivation. I won't even mention trying to stay physically fit. It's hard finding the time to fit it all in, but then again, isn't that what college life is all about?

Sometimes I feel like there aren't enough hours in a day to get it all done, but know that if I really tried I could make the time. If I would just cut out all of my time wasting, or "diddle daddling" as my mom calls it,  and got to work, I know  I could get my work done. The downside is that I might not get to sit down and watch that movie with my little brother, or enjoy dinner with my family. I could get my 2 hours of practice in and not look over my notes. I could write that essay, and let my room look like a war-zone for just one more day.  I just have to find that balance.






Questions, nice comments, and ideas are great. The whole idea of this blog is to help me better my writing. Any positive feedback is welcome.

The Goals Make the Game!

Goals are a very important thing in the world of sports. If a team goes out onto the playing field without any plan of action and just decides to "wing it", the odds are that they will most likely lose. I don't watch sports very often, so just bear with me if I say something wrong. The purpose in their playing will become muddled as they go for the win and by the end of the game, the whole team will just be one big wreck. The players will scatter across the playing field and run around hoping for the best. In  a hopeless game of "hot potato", the ball will be passed from player to player and finally end up into the wrong hands. Or, the ball won't be passed to the right person, and that person will get tackled because his teammates didn't know what was going on and weren't there to watch his back. Because of this, the team will lose badly. Basically, the lack of an aim or purpose in their game led to a big loss in the end. 

This idea of having goals set in mind also applies to writing. Before writing, a writer- whether published author or college student - needs to sit down and set his or her goals for writing into place. They need to decide what they will be writing, how they will do it, and who they will be writing for. Without these few goal marks set in place, this their writing purpose would be unclear, their thoughts scattered, their writing unorganized, and their paper hard to read overall. With the goals put into place before writing, your paper will clearly state its purpose, it will be very well written, and clearly understood by the audience it is intended for. Just like in a football game, where the coach has the perfect game plan. The players will be in the right place at the right time, the ball will be passed to the right people, and it will all end in a touchdown! Clearly, purpose and goals make the difference. 

Lately, I have been trying to apply this idea of setting goals into my own life. I have set goals in the past, but over time, they have become muddled and needed some "resetting." Where do I want to be a year from now? 5 years? 10 or 20? In the next few years, I am hoping to be a Certified Suzuki guitar teacher, with a well-established studio. These are all things I am beginning to work out as I set out in this new chapter of life in college. I know that setting these now as I am looking ahead at my next four years in college, will help make the bumpy road ahead of me at least a little bit smoother. Or, at least give me something to hold onto while i'm out there. In the end, I'm hoping to reach that finish line, look back, and be able to say that I did my very best and made it through well.






Questions, nice comments, and ideas are great. The whole idea of this blog is to help me better my writing. Any positive feedback is welcome.

Transitions and Finding the Time

The toughest part of my transition into college so far has been finding the time to practice playing my guitar. Before starting college, It was easy for me to make the time to practice. Being home schooled with a clear focus on my path in music, I could take two or more hours out of my day no sweat. Lately, though, I have been struggling just finding a few minutes to do it. Toward the end of this past spring I had lots of auditions to prepare for, because of my coming graduation, and had been working myself like crazy. I practiced every spare moment that I had. The result was beautifully polished songs, but a very tired out musician.

 As soon as the auditions were over I decided to take a short break and cut down on my practicing.  This was for many reasons: first, I was tired; second, this was my first summer without lessons, and the freedom brought out the worst in me; and lastly, I had developed an arm injury and was unsure if I would be doing myself harm by continuing to practice. Luckily, it turned out not being serious at all, and I was able to practice again.

 As I got into the swing of summer and got my plans together for college, I completely dropped off of my practicing. By the end of July I was only practicing maybe once or twice a week.  This is a very bad thing for me going into college as a performance major. And now that I am in college, things haven't gotten any better. I have been able to practice maybe thirty min before classes or when I get home, but at my level of playing this is barely enough time for a decent warm up. 

As a result of all of this, my arm muscles have gotten out of shape, I have less dexterity, and less accuracy. When I am able to find the time, I use it to kind of quick play all of my songs just to keep them under my fingers. However, I haven't really had the time for critical playing. I haven't been able to just sit down and perfect individual pieces. This is a very important and necessary thing for a musician. The lack of it has made my songs sloppier, made them lack tone, and I have developed many bad habits overall. In short, it has all been one downhill ride.

 I need to find some way to schedule in some time for practice. After all, this is my major! I am hoping to improve on this during my next few weeks in college.  This is something I need to set straight now before my classes become harder and I need to spend more time on them.

Questions, nice comments, and ideas are great. The whole idea of this blog is to help me better my writing. Any positive feedback is welcome.