Transitions Update- Family

This is my final update as the semester comes to a close, so I thought it appropriate to talk about who has helped me make it through the semester. My family. I love how my family never ceases to come through for me. All of those times that I forgot to bring my paper and my mom takes the time to find and email it to me last minute. All of those times that I forget something at home and my dad takes the time out of his day to bring it to me. And my sister, who is nice enough to drive me everywhere. My younger siblings who always make my day better.

I have come to appreciate the time I get to spend with them more. In high school, homeschooling, I saw them every minute of every hour of every day. Now, i'm lucky to see them in the mornings for a little bit, if they are awake, and when I come home for dinner. I am very greatful for a family that loves and cares for me, is always there for me, always eager to help me succeed, and keeps me set straight no matter what I'm going through.

 

This girl, UGH! what would I do without her! I think I can solidly argue that I have the best older sister in the world. She's always there for me, no matter what I need. Always ready to hear about my little "Freshman problems" and help me fix them.  

My awesome parents! Ever-ready to get me out of any scrape that I can't get out of myself. Always loving me and worrying about me.

 My little sister who helps keep me crazy.

 

 

Baby Brother #1, who should seriously be the next Andrea Boccelli, and if not, then Frank Sinatra will do just fine.

 And Baby Brother #2 who's always there to give me hugs and kisses when I'm feeling down. I couldn't decide which picture was cuter, so I'll just let you decide.

  Love these people so much! These guys are my support group, my team. They're always there for me, and I am so so SO grateful for them every day.

 

 

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.

Here it comes!

Here it comes! The end of the semester! Packed full with nerves and excitement all blended together until you can't tell the difference between the two. Nerves about Juries, and vespers, the upcoming semester, finals and final grades. Excitement for the holidays and perfomances. It's all coming around. By now I have started to feel some relief alongside the tension. Some classes are coming to a close while others are going at full speed. Registration is over and done, I am signed up for every class I needed/wanted. Next week is Thanksgiving and I get a little breath of rest and relief.

 

Looking back, I feel so blessed to have had so many oppotunities come up. I have gotten to perform at Paten Elementary, a friend's art show, another friend's wedding, and am looking at maybe another opportunity to play at a Christmas party next month. I also feel a little overwhelmed at how much I feel I have learned in such a short span of time, particularly about music. If you had given me a sheet of music this past summer and told me to sing it to you then and there, I never would have been able to. If you had played an inerval and told me to name it I probably couldn't have without some struggle. If you had asked me spell out the chords in a scale or write out a simple melody for the progression, I would have looked at you like you were crazy, and I NEVER would have thought I could learn so much on piano so quickly! And it all does seem like it happened so quickly. I still remember going to commencement speeches and fall regisration like it was only last week, and now the semester's about to be over soon.

 

 I'm excited for next semester and what it has in store for me. New friendships, new things to learn, new opportunities. If next semester goes half as well as this one did, I will be very happy :)

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.

Update on my Transition into College

Yesterday, I was walking across campus thinking about how well and how smoothly  my transition has gone from high school to college. For me coming to college hasn't felt like a huge deal. This is thanks to my older sister, who we call "the family guineapig." Since she is the oldest, she always has to experience the huge life milestones before anyone else in the family. She was the first to homeschool through high school and graduate, first to get her driver's license, and then first to go to college. With all these things, I have always had the chance to get used to the idea of things before having to experience them for myself. The same was true for college. She had already started here at TLU last fall, before my senior year, so I kind of knew what to expect. Now, here I am.

 

Thinking about where I probably was at this exact moment last year. I woul probably be sitting in my bed, in my pajamas (don't say "lucky homeschoolers" just yet!), reading my physics chapter trying to make heads or tails of it alone, or writing one of the two 3 page essays I had due every week, plus written homework responses and all of the reading I had to do. Just the usual routine I have had over the past 12 years of my education. Now, here I am going from class to class like it's no big deal.

 

The routine has become fused in my mind already, and like I said earlier, I don't find it wierd anymore. My study habits are improving and declining at the same time. My procrastination levels are still about the same, but I am more focused since I have bigger goals now that I have my mind set on college. My junior year, I loathed the idea of college. I thought, "what is the use of spending tons of money for classes I don't even care about. I want to teach music!" Now, I see it as improving myself to help me improve my future students and the extra classes help make me a well-rounded person academically (TLU has me sold over the "liberal arts education" idea). The better I become, the better I can help them become. This "bigger picture" focus, helps to keep me set to my work.

 

However, now I don't have my mom here to make sure I'm working on my essays instead of on facebook. Responsibility is about the same, although in different ways. In high school, I was responsible for both teaching myself the material, and making sure that I learned it well. This is a HUGE load for any person of any age, and has really matured me. Now, in college, I just have to take notes, and make sure I'm learning enough to pass the tests and (in the case of music classes) make sure I am prepared for my career. In this way, responsibility has even decreased a little. In other life areas, however, I have had more responsibility placed on me. I don't have my mom to make sure I'm where I need to be on time, I am responsible for managing my own money, and as I mentioned earlier am solely responsible for getting my work done.

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.

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.

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.