Cold Weather Stuff

Hey guys. Hope you're all doing well. My schoolwork's been going well. So well that I was voted President of the United States today! I mean, it was technically just a simulation, but...I'm President now :)

GUYS. THANKSGIVING IS NEXT. WEEK. WHAT.

Where the heck has this year gone? I feel like I just started school two weeks ago. This is crazy. Have you guys gotten any Christmas presents finished or bought? I haven't started on any of mine yet, but I'm kind of waiting for Black Friday, since I can't afford anything otherwise. I'm so excited for holidays, guys! As much as I despise the cold, I kind of love this time of year. I have an excuse for staying inside all day, I can drink hot cocoa without being judged, I can wear layers of clothes, I can wear socks and slippers all around the house, etc. It's quite wonderful.

Anyway, just thought I'd check in with you guys.

Sagerific

Self-Worth

Sometimes it's hard to remember your self-worth. It's something that's always there, but it can get hidden by various things: the opinions of others, being alone, and sometimes it's clouded by your own personal thoughts. And the problem with it being hidden is that you can't really improve it until you can see it for what it truly is. I have this problem a lot. I forget that I really am worth the love of my Heavenly Father. I might be doing what I'm supposed to, being obedient, etc., but the 'why' escapes me, and I lose purpose. When that happens, I'm glad I have people around me to remind me of how my Heavenly Father sees me. Because I really am worth something.

In all my silliness, I am a beautiful daughter of Heavenly Father. I read children's books and I collect frogs (not the real ones). I have an intense love for hot cocoa and mint chocolate chip ice cream. I freaking love Captain America and Iron Man. One of the happiest days of my life was when I got a bookshelf for my room, and I sat and stared at it for...a long time (I have a lot of books). I procrastinate and I'm forgetful and scatterbrained. I can have really pretty handwriting when I want to. I have three or four sketchbooks that are only less than half-filled. My piano is one of my best friends. My family members are some of my best friends in the entire world. I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I love it.

This is who I am. What makes me beautiful? To others? I don't know. But all of that paragraph above, in all its imperfection, is what makes me beautiful to myself.

After all that, I want whoever reads this to remember that, even though you shouldn't necessarily have so much influence over how a person sees them self, you do. What you say matters. So why not say something nice and make someone's day? There's enough hate in the world as it is. Since I'm writing this at sometime after ten at night, I challenge anyone who reads this to go out and say something nice tomorrow. :) You'll feel better, and so will they. Go forth and make smiles!

Sagerific

EFY

So yesterday I got back from EFY. And guess what? I had good reason to be excited, like I so obviously was in my last post. EFY was an incredibly amazing experience. This year was not like last year, though. Last year was fun, I met cool people, made a few friends, I strengthened my testimony, I went home, end of story. This year, while it was really fun, it wasn't about fun. For me, anyway. I didn't just strengthen my testimony, I rebuilt it. I made friends with people who loved me for who I am, after only a week together. I cried (those darn allergies). A lot. But only with the girls:) I had amazing counselors, an awesome company (No guts, no glory!!), and a fantastic experience all around. I would recommend EFY to absolutely everyone. It's awesome.

Sagerific

Update On Life - EFY

Hello you wonderful people. Guess what I'm doing next week. EFY!!!! I'm so excited. I get to spend a week at a campus that looks like a castle (UPS). :) Seriously fun stuff. EFY is the best. I could not say enough good things about it. On another note.....Actually I don't have another note. EFY!!! That's pretty much all I can think about right now. YAY!!!

Sagerific

Comedy of Errors Wordle!

Wordles are awesome. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with them, but they're so cool! Here's one made from the text of Shakespeare's 'A Comedy of Errors':

Coolness, right?! Haha I love it.

Sagerific

P.S.

If you want to make your own wordle, go to wordle.net and check it out.

General Update :)

Hey guys! Been a little while since I posted. Let's see, what's happened since then?

I turned 16. - Yay! I'm 16! I don't feel any older. Maybe slightly more responsible. But not really. I had a good birthday, and an even better birthday party. Yay for friends! :)

Our ward boundaries were redesigned. - They switched a bunch of things up in a few wards. Three, to be precise. They took a bunch of people from our ward, put them with Centralia ward, took some people from Rochester ward, put them with our ward, and then moved our ward out of the Centralia building and into the Rochester building. Change is weird. And different. And I don't know how I like this yet, but I think it will be alright.

Other than that, not much else has happened. Oh yeah, Spencer turned 5! He's such a cute little stinker. Unfortunately, he knows it. And uses it to his best advantage. But he's awesome, and makes me laugh daily.

So....yeah. That's what's up!

Sagerific.

My personal tribute to Beethoven

So this last week has been a little rough, so far. My research project was due on Wednesday, and I was stressing out. STRESSING OUT. I don't honestly know if I did my best. I certainly gave it a good shot, though. The subject of my research project was Musical Composers of the Romantic Period. My choice. I picked it. I wanted to learn about and show how things in the lives of the composers influenced and/or affected their music. I learned a TON about several composers, but the one I really connected with was Beethoven. 

Whenever I used to think about Beethoven, it was always like, "Yeah, that guy who was deaf and a little crazy and wrote Ode to Joy. Cool beans." But as I read about him more and more, I began to understand him. Here's a passage from a book, Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times, and What the Neighbors Thought:

The saddest thing about Beethoven's life was his gradual deafness, beginning in his late twenties. But he was used to writing music he couldn't hear. As a child he had been too young to play the compositions he wrote. As his hearing grew worse and worse, he lived inside his head more than ever and kept on writing music with no loss of energy. He broke strings on his piano trying to pound loud enough so that he could hear the notes. Frustration made him more moody, even at times suicidal.

I'd read that passage several times during the course of researching for my paper, but as I was actually writing the paper, it hit me a lot harder than normal. 

Music is my life. It's my passion. It calms me. When I'm stressed out or I can't think straight, I go play Bach's Inventions, and the repetitive notes and complex fingering gives me something to focus on so I can think. When I'm sad or emotional I might play Chopin's Nocturnes. Sometimes when I feel happy or kind of silly, I play Princess and the Frog music and Sydney and I sing 'Almost There' at the top of our lungs. I am connected to music. Imagine how much more connected Beethoven was. 

Beethoven did not have an easy life. His dad was an alcoholic who humiliated himself at court and was very abusive to Beethoven. When Beethoven was older, he fell out with many of his friends, including the prince himself, whom he felt treated him like nothing but an accessory to his wealth and societal stature. He also was rejected by every woman he loved. The only thing that never failed him was his music. But of course he lost his hearing in his twenties, and then even his music was gone. He said, "Music is like a dream I cannot hear." So when I read that part about him playing the piano, and pounding so hard that the strings broke, I guess I finally understood. Beethoven wasn't just a great musical talent. He was broken, but he was amazing. And he managed to endure the devastation of losing his hearing, his connection, his ability to experience music fully. In my opinion, that's what makes him so great.

Sagerific