Staying Focused

The last few weeks have provided me with many, many challenges. The result of having so many challenges at once is losing my focus. It's as if I can no longer focus on more than one task at a time. I almost feel like a guy in that I find it hard to multi-task. In fact, I started this post twelve hours ago and am finally focused enough to finish the first paragraph. That's just sad.

A good friend of mine has suggested that I am spread too thin among the many aspects of my life. I'm not sure that is the case since I am in need of adding more into the mix. Yet, his explanation sounds all too plausible. Between all my music classes, church callings, and being a young single woman, I can find no other explanation that suits it all. However, I have to wonder what I would cut out of the mix, rather what I would give less attention and time to. My social life? Perhaps. School and music studies? Certainly not! Church callings and study? Highly unlikely.

Do you see my predicament? I can find nothing that I can give less attention to and still have things work out. Nothing short of ditching all my friends and being unsociable other than at ward events (which is where I see most of my friends anyway) would work. I am a social creature; I'll admit it. The worst thing anyone could do would be to place me in solitary confinement. I would seriously go mad- even more than now.

I hope and pray that I'll survive this focus problem and regain my focus again.

Paka

Singing While Using Sight

I'm jumping back into being a music major this term, and it is HARD work! Seriously, I don't remember Ear Training being so hard! We had a sight singing quiz yesterday in class, and I was amazed at the miracle I was blessed with.

For those of you who are wondering, sight singing is just that- singing by sight. The instructor is being nice to us and letting us practice the several selections prior to our test; therefore, this wasn't true sight singing. When you sight read a piece of music, you play or sing it on the first try without having looked at it before hand.

My miracle is this: I made it through to the end of my test! That may not seem like a lot, but it is. I hadn't studied too hard for this quiz because I was studying for other quizzes from the same class- intervals identification, melodic dictation, rhythmic dictation, harmonic dictation. There is a lot to study!


Once again, Heavenly Father has blessed me with a crisp mind to remember the solfège for minor melodies and staying somewhat on pitch through my quiz. I am so grateful to have a keen mind that remembers what it has learned. I pray that I'll gain more confidence as I practice and study more this term.

Second Monday Moanings

Today is the start of the second week in this school term. I'm finding it hard to return to a good scheduled routine after such a long break between terms. Three weeks is the amount of time it takes to form habits, and my break was basically three weeks. So, I'm struggling to undo the terrible sleeping schedule I created during my break to be at my best to start new and better habits that will aid my success this term and next.

Through a lot of thinking and praying, I've decided that the best academic path for me is to finish my AA at my current school before looking ahead to a University. It will help me in the long run when I transfer because I'll have a degree to transfer, not just a random bunch of courses and credits. I've started creating my road map for the courses I need to take within the next five quarters at this school, and I find myself in the same predicament I had when I first started school here. Music classes take a lot of work for the few credits earned. Take three performance classes, one theory class, and an ear training class, and you'll find you are already at the full time student mark. That leaves little room for any non-music classes you might need to take. However, my plan to overcome that predicament is this: I'm going to cram as many classes as I can survive into the summer term! The only music classes offered during the summer are private lessons, so I'll have room to focus on other subjects.

I've discovered that things come in pairs in my life. I start one of the hardest school terms thus far and find a friend who, unknown to him, is having a profound effect on my life. The last month I've spent getting to know him has been amazing and full of laughter. He has shown me reasons for improving my life that I never knew were there. Every day I can make him laugh is a day worth living. I don't know where this friendship will lead, but I won't worry about that just now. I realize that I have to be careful in how much I allow him to distract me from my studies. I could very easily let this developing romance have top priority in my mind's thinking. So far I've stayed balanced, but there is still much of life ahead of me. All I know is that he is the hardest person to say goodbye to, even when I'll see him the next day. :D

To sum up, I leave you with one of my favorite scriptures.
"Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." (Alma 26:16)

Time for band. If you hear a piccolo, that's me! :)

Reflections of A Silly Girl

As the countdown to my birthday draws closer and closer to zero, I've been reflecting on who I am as a person and what I've accomplished in my life. Some reflection sessions have been given to important dreams, goals, and my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Others, much like this one, are about trivial details- like hair and attitudes.

I think I've just spent about an hour looking through pictures from 2005 to present looking at the changes in my hair, of all things! Over the years, the length of my hair has changed many times ranging from super long in 2005 to super short in 2008 and all else in between. The biggest change, however, was my color change last year.

On my last Friday in Russia, all eight of us girls dyed our hair. I even dyed mine twice that night. Seriously, I love my red hair! I had sworn right and left that I was going to reach the end of my life without having dyed my hair at all. But, there's something about being in a different country with a bunch of girls- Hungry, you know what I'm talking about- you loose your resolve over the silly things.


I came home with a drastically non-red color. It was fun to see the reactions of me not being me, and I really wasn't me for a while. I was a different person. Months after I came home, I still was shocked to see a girl with dark hair staring back at me in the mirror. There surly was an attitude change in me as well. I was more adventurous and had a ready-for-anything attitude.

Over the last eight months, I've slowly watched my red roots grow out. Most people can't see them because the darker color has faded a lot, so the two colors blend well. (It still surprises me, though, when people call my hair red. To me, this isn't red. I'll admit, it is more red than the dark brown I had returning home.) Somehow, I feel that I've had another attitude change. Maybe I've just gotten older, maybe I'm more experienced at life. I don't rightly know. Part of me wishes I had that carefree, tackle-the-world attitude again as I start this year.


I suppose I'll just have to learn how to capture that attitude with my returning red!

A Life Lesson

Life Lesson: There are no coincidences when you are living by the Spirit.
Fact.

I firmly believe there are no coincidences in life. I will stand by that belief till the death if I have to. I was reminded of that fact today many times. I think it was a great way for Heavenly Father to start my new year. I needed the reminder that things happen for a reason. I might not know what that reason is, but the reason is there nonetheless.

At the YSA dance, I was invited to a post-dance party at my friend's house. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to go since I wouldn't even be getting home from cleaning the dance till after two in the morning. On the way home, I decided to go to the party. I was up anyway. What's a few more hours? I'm young; I can sleep it off later. After I said good-bye to my date, I drove to my friend's house to join the party. I arrived around three in the morning, which wasn't a big deal.

I arrived after a lot of the people already left, but there were still about ten people there. We watched a Disney movie, which ended around five. After the movie ended, a few people left, and I felt like I should stay. The group of us crashed- literally- on the floor and chairs of my friend's house. We all just fell asleep. Who could blame us after four hours of dancing and four more of partying? I know I was tired!

One of the guys woke up around 6:40am and decided it was time to leave. So, he woke up his brothers and the majority of the group left. That left myself, my friend and one other person in the house. Again, I thought about leaving, but I felt like I needed to stay. At the time, I made the excuse to myself that I was too tired to drive home safely. The third person left about twenty minutes after the main group left, and my friend and I promptly fell asleep on the couch.

What I found out later was my friend had been wondering how she was going to get the other person out of her house. She told me that I had been an answer to prayer. The feelings that I needed to stay were promptings from the Spirit. I am so thankful that I am able to listen and follow the promptings of the Spirit even when I am half asleep at seven in the morning. What a blessing that knowledge is to my life. I hope I don't have to test my listening skills too much with that little sleep, but it is nice to know I can still pay attention.

My friend and I don't know what would have happened had I left when the main group left, but I'd rather not think of the "what ifs" of that situation. I truly know that I was supposed to be at her house that night. She and I spent the day talking (well, we didn't actually wake up until noon) about everything. We talked about life, guys, the gospel, guys, dreams, guys. We were both really amazed to realize the "coincidences" that had occurred that night.

I love having gem experiences like this that remind me that I'm on the right path for my life. Even little things like staying when everyone else is leaving can have a profound effect. That's the life lesson for today.

Beginning A New Year

Happy 2009!

I have to say that 2008 was one of the best and rewarding years of my life to date. I grew so much as a person through living the gospel, exploring friendships, taking risks, trying new things, going on adventures and really grasping a hold of what life is all about. Last year taught me so much. I could sit here and list off lessons I've learned from each experience, but I won't. For one, that list would be too long to be polite. Secondly, most of the lessons I learned last year were random personal lessons that may or may not be too personal to share.

I am so thankful for this time in my life to learn and to have fun. I'm eleven days from my twenty-first birthday, and I couldn't be happier. Life has generally treated me well, and I'm loving every minute of this era of my life. For the first time in my life, I am a social butterfly! I have different groups of friends that I divide my time between. Frankly, I have no idea how people do this. Being so social is hard work! You have to be careful not to overbook yourself. I have a day planner, but I still double book myself on activities! I love being in this predicament though. I love having friends who uplift me and remind me of my goals.

New Year's Eve, I went to the regional YSA dance! It was so much fun! Well... my date was kind of a downer, but that was for some unexpected reasons. So in reality, the last two hours of the dance was "so much fun". It was then that I decided not to worry about my date and just have fun. It was the last opportunity to have fun in 2008, and I wasn't going to miss it! I danced and had the time of my life! I would relive last night again and again if I could. To leave all cares behind and let go of problems I tried solving is the best feeling in the world!

I'm looking forward to a new and unknown year! I don't know what's up ahead, but I'll find out soon enough!