Study Break

I'm trying not to get overwhelmed with the loads

of school work I still have yet to do before the semester ends.

So, I'm finding the bright spots in the steady stream

of academic work. Take tonight as an example;

I'm doing the reading for my online health class because

I have a test coming up in that class. The chapter I was

reading on tonight was about the integration

of mind, body, and spirit, and surprisingly

(for being a health class), the lesson was infused

with spiritual discussion. Like this quote by Elder Packer

that I read and absolutely love:

"No greater ideal has been revealed than the supernal truth that we are children of God, and we differ, by virtue of our creation from all other living things. No idea has been more destructive of happiness, no philosophy has produced more sorrow, more heartbreak and mischief; no idea has done more to destroy the family than the idea that we are not the offspring of God."

Isn't that the greatest thing ever?

For some reason the piles of homework and papers and

projects and tests don't intimidate me anymore

because I already know of the greatest truth

I could ever learn--that I am a daughter of God.

As long as I've known that fact, any time I revisit it,

the truth of it rings louder and brighter in my

. ...well, in my body, mind, and spirit. =)

How does this truth make you feel?

The Art of Music

This is my fourth and final semester of music history coursework. (Well, if you count Music 201 and 202, then I've had some sort of music hisotry class every semester). Hallelujah! For every multiple choice test we take, we also have a listening exam where we have to recognize and answer a few questions about pieces from audio tracks. In studying for these exams, I always download all the music for the test from the CDs to my computer. The other day I made another playlist for my next exam. I titled it "Last Music History Test Ever," and for being 20th century music, it's actually quite intriguing. Which basically means that most of you probably wouldn't like it, and honestly, I thought I wouldn't either. But, it's pretty rad stuff. Musicians are so dang creative! That's why we're called artists. I love it. Have you ever gone to an art exhibit where there are works in several different mediums? Well, that's how I feel about 20th century music; the toolkit (to use Dr. Johnson's terminology) that composers use literally has no limits. It's really cool.
And as another random fact, I put all of my entire downloaded music on shuffle, and here's just a sampling of what I got. After 6 semesters of music history, and a few random other pieces on there, it's a pretty wide variety of music.
1. Haydn Piano Concerto
2. Bach: Chorale Prelude: A Mighty Fortress is Our God
3. Safe Inside (some cheesy EFY thing)
4. La Serva Padrona: an aria from some opera we studied. maybe music 303?
5. Bach: Prelude in C Minor (gotta love the harpsichord)
6. As Vesta Was: don't remember composer, but it's a beautiful Renaissance choral piece
7. Handel: Water Music
8. Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (which piece is more fun to play than to listen to, but it's incredibly fun to listen to)
9. The Marvelous Light (another cheesy church thing)
10. Armide: opera by Lully. He was pretty much the founder of French opera. Look him up; he's pretty interesting.
Man, I've got so much more . ..I think 1562 clips all together, but it's a fun mix. As hard as music history classes are, they are really fascinating.

Breakthrough

Why do I like posting on my blog so much? Hmm . .I suppose it's because I'm a few days behind in writing in my journal, so I dump my feelings on the Internet for everyone to read. Perfect.

Anyway, I had a breakthrough tonight. Something that my roommate said in a passing conversation actually happened tonight, and to me it was the sign that I didn't realize I was looking for. And it was a good, if a little bittersweet, sign. I think my problem had been that while I was trying to focus on this one thing, I kept having this thought in the back of my head that sometimes I would wonder about. So in the events of this evening, I finally realized that the little worry in the back of my head has not only diminished greatly in size, but it has completely disappeared. What surprised me even more was that not only was I okay with its absence, I rejoiced in it. Because now . .. I have the focus and outlook on life that I really and truly need. The funny thing is that the person who this post is really about probably has no idea, but that's just how it should be.

It just . ..started bleeding!

So, I'm using Heidi's famous one-liner to title this post.
I've donated blood twice in my life. Once as a senior in high school, and once a few months later in my Freshman year. The thing about donating blood is that I have to set aside a huge chunk of time to do it . .time I rarely have. You gotta read the materials, wait in line to get checked, wait in line to donate, etc. And the whole concept of needles usually makes me a little squimish anyway, and I've gotten a little lightheaded both times I've donated. But each time I sign up to do it, I get all hyped up, even though I'm quite nervous about how my body will respond.
Okay, so in the past two years, I've been to two blood drives. I'd try to go to more, but you know . .the whole time issue. Anyway, both times my iron count was too low was I was ineligible to donate. So, I got all hyped up . ..just to be turned away.
Then comes today. I have time to donate; I'm gonna do it this time, and by golly my iron count will be within the eligible range. Surprisingly, I wasn't really nervous today .. .perhaps because of all my blood work and vaccinations I've had recently for my mission. Gosh darn it, I'm gonna save a life! Yeah. I only had to wait half an hour in line today, and hoorah! My iron count was great! So, I answered all the health question form, but alas . .. I still could not donate. =( I've had a Hep B vaccination in the last three weeks.
Stinky.
Apparently, I'm better at supporting the Red Cross by running 5Ks instead. =)

Sister Chronicles #3

Remember all my wonderful sister stories? Well, in trying to think of something clever to put in my post this evening (yes, it's the middle of the month, and I only have two posts so far . . .), I must be following the gratitude/happiness trend. You know what I love about blogs? It's the chance to write about things that make you happy, things you love, or even just the little things that help you get through the day. So, I thought about maybe writing about the highlights of my awesome week, but then I decided to continue a previous thread of posts about sisterhood. For some reason, writing about others, even when I've had a great week, makes the week even better.
This sister entry is dedicated to my 5 wonderful sisters. Let me tell you about them . . .
LISA: Lisa's creativity and busy-ness gives me optimism for my future. If she can be successful while being busy, then I certainly can as well. Lisa has an incredible ability to make people laugh and make cute children. Lisa gives 100% to everything she sets her mind to; she uses her well-set goals to make her life well-balanced and fulfilling. And Lisa is incredibly honest. In everything she does and says.
MICHELLE: Michelle is one of the greatest conversationalists I know. Even when things in her life may seem very routine, she's an expert at asking and remembering what's going on in your life. Despite dissapointments caused by situations outside of her control, Michelle remains cheerful and bright. Her creativity is expressed through her interactions with others. And I'm pretty sure that her excitement about being a mom will help to make Stetzon one of the luckiest little boys ever.
JENNIFER: Jennifer serves with her entire heart in all of her relationships with others. Jennifer is so willing to experiment on new life experiences. She's not afraid to go after what she wants, even if it's a long, busy road ahead. In practical matters, I don't think I've ever met anyone else who is on top of things as well as she is.
EMILY: Emily makes me laugh. Instead of complaining about difficult times, she finds the best way to find the positive in every situation. She knows how to have fun and include others. Emily is patient, and she has learned how to find joy in the journey of life that may have a different timeline than she had in mind.
HEIDI: Heidi is so considerate of others. She doesn't like being an inconvience to others (or scoring higher on tests), and she will go out of her way to be a friend to those in need. She's like a miniature mom; there's not an unkind bone in her body. She rarely gets upset, and she's a great classmate to have at BYU. She has great self-control over her eating and study patterns, and she rarely complains.

Of course, a tribute to sisters wouldn't be complete without including my two sister-in-laws either . . .
TANYA: Tanya has an incredible ability to adapt in response to different situations. Sometimes I wish I could be as involved in my ward as she is in hers. Tanya is very service-oriented, both with her crocheted blankets that she donates to Humanitarian Aid and her services at Blake Park-n-Ride. Nobody appreciates or loves family more than Tanya.
WHITNEY: Whitney is seriously one of the kindest people I have ever known. There's never a negative thing that comes out of her mouth (or attitude). And I have to say that I love her sense of fashion, and her ability to make a tiny cracker-box apartment a beautiful and cozy home. Her creativity gushes out in so many outlets, I wonder sometimes where it all comes from!

And even though she's not my sister, the best SISTER BLAKE deserves a shoutout as well. Sister Blake is the truest and dearest friend to her young sisters and daughters. Her frank honesty and straight-forwardness in conversation gives others a much needed reality check. Her passion for service is evident in her missionary service and teaching on a daily basis. Sister Blake has this incredible ability to make others feel as if everything is going fantastically well . ..even if I feel like it's not. Her presence reminds me of home-- full of comfort, good company, laughter and friendship. Her spirituality is evident in her conversations and relationships with others. Sister Blake is the person I would like to be, both in name and spirit; you are my inspiration.

So, folks, perhaps the greatest blessing I feel to share with you tonight is the blessing of my 8 wonderful sisters. I love you!

A Prickly Sensation

I was running a little late this morning, so I was bookin' it to my first class. My legs were still a little sore from the 5K on Saturday, but I figured they hurt because I was walking rill fast. I was a couple buildings away from the HFAC when my left knee started . ..well prickling. I thought maybe it was my muscles protesting, so I figured it would go away. I got to my first class, and I totally forgot about it.
Then, when I was going to my next class, String Workshop, I felt that weird prickly tickly sensation again. Curious as to what it might be, I felt my knee, and there was this narrow bump that I could feel through my jeans. It was pretty thin, but it was about 7 inches long. Weird, I know, right? I couldn't figure out what it could be.
"Whitney," I said to one of my friends in class, "there's something weird in my pants." She gave me a look that said, "That's an awkward way to start a conversation . . ." Then, I took her hand and made her feel my leg. We were both wiggin' out 'cause it was the weirdest thing to feel in my pants. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was . ..I thought maybe it could've been the wire lining from my laundry hamper that somehow came out in my last load of laundry.
Luckily, I had time to step out to the bathroom to retrieve the object before class. You'll never believe what it was. It was a pine needle! And not just a lame double one either . ..a rill live triple pine needle . . .in my pants!! How the heck did it get there?!
I gave it to Whitney as a gift.
She promptly threw it away. =)

What Did You Learn Today?

Do you know anything about Arnold Schoenberg? He was brilliant. With the need for something new in music and the ever increasing chromaticism existing at the turn of the 20th century, he was able to create and compose in a completely new 12-tone row form.
Did you know that in West Africa, the clothing they wear corresponds to the type of music they perform? It varies in brightness, texture and color, paralleling the rich variety in the music.
And in consideration of the self, "I" am the thinker, and I think about "me."
The Bb Major scale is really not that difficult to play on the cello.
And teaching the recorder is not as painful as I thought.
Ammon was a brilliant missionary in introducing himself and his message, being a true friend through service, and teaching the basics of the Gospel.
Kore wa ikuradesuka? (How much does this cost?)

I love to learn! I'm not the greatest student, I sometimes fall asleep in class, I don't remember everything, and I don't make perfect grades, but I love going to class. I feel like I'm constantly getting just a tiny dabbling of everything there is out there to learn. (Which may be why I always take a ton of classes every semester). When day-to-day life gets bogged down with a busy schedule, sometimes it's such a relief to be able to read about stuff and learn. It's just so fulfilling. It reminds me of what Dad used to say at the dinner table everyday, "What did you learn today?" So, friends .. .tell me .. .what did you learn today?