Homecoming Week!

Yep, it's that time of year again. The days get shorter, the air gets crisp, and there's an unexplainable electricity in the atmosphere.
Fall is coming!

It's my favorite season and I'm still not really sure why. I've never really been into football (except when my high school is playing), and my family has never been the type to celebrate Halloween, so that's not it either.

It's gotta be the weather.
Late September to early November is the time of year when the weather is absolutely perfect. There's a cool breeze always going, but it still gets warm in the afternoon. Mosquitoes are no longer a problem. Grass is dying so it doesn't need to be mowed. Marching band rehearsal is bearable. Bugs are dying by the truckload. It's cold enough in the evenings to go out on my back porch, wrap up in a blanket, and drink hot chocolate to my heart's content. And the best part: it means Christmas is coming!
There's no other season that gives me a better feeling than Fall does.
One thing that's going to make THIS Fall the best is my parent's 25th wedding anniversary. We're renting a huge luxury cabin up in the Tennessee mountains to have a big party with all my relatives that I haven't seen in forever. I can just imagine how awesome it'll be to live in a huge, amazing cabin:


Amazing. That's what it'll be.

School!

I'm officially a senior...

...and Economics is officially kicking my butt.



I'm hoping that it'll get better as the year goes on. I can tell that I'm gonna have to do most of my learning out of the textbook cause I don't learn much in class.
All my other classes are good though! I think that this is going to be a pretty good year :)

Falling Behind...

Just thought I'd post since i haven't done that in a while...

A lot has been going on in my life since April 1st (my last post).
For example, on June 5th at 11:11 PM, I traded being single for a wonderful boyfriend :)

I also did a bit of world travelling!! I went with my teacher, one of my best friends, and two other students to France! :)
It was absolutely amazing. I love to travel anywhere, but going to France was exceptional. I had a marvelous time, and I can't wait to go back sometime.

This past week I was down in Leesburg at one out of two of my favorite camps: Young Musician's Camp. Actually, the name got changed to Older Children's Music and Worship Week, but i don't know why. Young Musician's Camp is so much easier to say...
Anyway, it was a blast as usual. However, it's really sad to know that i won't be a junior counselor down there anymore since this year marked the last time the YMC would be operating :( But i had fun anyway. I love being around kids and keeping them in line. And having JC parties, helping with recreation, fishing (and almost catching gators) on the dock... it's a blast. BUT, Harmony Bay is still going to be running, so at least i have that to look forward to for next year.

Something that's coming up really fast, though, is band camp. woo. Something I look forward to EVERY YEAR. But at least this is my last year!! That's a bittersweet thought though... I mean, going to band camp is awful, but i'm really going to miss playing in the stands at football games, riding on the bus to and from the football games, and getting home at 4 AM from competitions, then going out to eat after the football games and competitions. But I'm not sad about not having any more rehearse-a-thons, no more 7:30-5:30 days of band camp, no after school rehearsals... those will not be missed. I'm really not THAT sad though, because i know i'll be coming back to visit and see how things are going, so I'll be alright.

Here's a slide show of pictures that i took while i was in France. Since i took 1,124 pictures, i had to narrow it down to my favorite ones.

STRESS.

I hate the week before Spring Break.
Seriously.
And i hate having to make an audition tape for Mr. Kaminsky. And I hate the fact that the aforesaid tape is due in 3 days.
I'm screwed.

Perfect Days

Yesterday was undoubtedly one of the most relaxing, fun days that I have ever had.
It was a late start/FCAT day, which means that Juniors like me and my 3 friends don't have to go to school until after 12:35. So we spent the night at Lisa's house and stayed up till about 3 AM doing our hair for no reason, went to sleep, and then got up at around 10:00, and headed over to Starbucks (pretty much the best place ever) for a nice little breakfast party. After that, we walked out to the little park near Starbucks (where the dandelion picture was taken) and ran around and made fools of ourselves.
We were spread out around the grass a little, and I was laying down with my eyes shut, when Lisa said, "There's a weird man coming over here" in a low voice. I didn't really think anything of it except that he was probably just walking around enjoying the park like we were. I didn't think that he'd actually TALK to us. But the next thing I hear is, "So, are you ladies having a nice day?" My eyes popped open and I sat up to see this weird looking man who seemed to be in his late 50's walking his little white dog right next to us. I didn't want to be rude so I told him that we were doing good, at which point Lisa scooted a little farther away from the creepy man.
He didn't say much else... just polite conversation, but it was still weird and the four of us were exchanging our weirded-out glances the entire time. Then he mumbled something about his friend Frank and walked off.
After that little episode, we started laughing and then I remembered a game I had played that was called "Ha Ha." It's where everyone lays down with their head on someone else's stomach. Then the first person says "HA." the second says "Ha ha," the third says, "ha, ha, ha," and so on down the line. The point of the game is not to burst out laughing, but we could never get past 4 laughs...
After that we just laid in the grass enjoying the perfect weather for about a half hour, and then we headed over to school where we spent an uneventful afternoon. I wish we could have a late start every day...

Life Is Wonderful!

It's days like today that make me wonder why i have bad days. All i have to do on those bad days is just remember all the great days that i've ever had!

My morning started at a leisurely 7:00 (No jazz today!), i got breakfast at Starbucks, and then went to school and had a very good day. I have no homework (unless i want to study), and I've just been relaxing and looking forward to the weekend! I'm having a movie afternoon tomorrow after school, then going to a sleepover with the girls in my youth group. Saturday isn't going to be all that great though cause the BHS band is going to Starke for District MPA (Music Performance Assessment) all day to be judged on how well we play. Hopefully we'll get superiors!

Last night as I was driving home from church, a song that I'd never heard before came on the radio called "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman, and I love it! It made me cry because it's such a sweet song. If you're a girl and you love your daddy, i highly recommend it :)
Here's an acoustic version:

Not Such A Great Day...

Today was alright, but it didn't start out too great...
I woke up this morning -like I have to do on most mornings- at 6:15, but when I got out of bed and stood up, I had the most enormous headache ever. It was so bad that I just fell back in bed for a moment until it went away, and then I got up veeeeeery slowly to see if it went away. There wasn't so much of a head rush the second time, but it was still there.
So I went through school which was pretty uneventful as usual.
When I got home though, I did my homework and then laid down in my favorite big chair to watch a movie. When I stood up though, the same painful rush happened that did this morning started. I don't know what the matter is, but I'm pretty sure it's not normal... I haven't been getting headaches anymore than usual, just these rushes when I stand up after being down for a long time... I'll see if it keeps up.

My Day

It's pretty interesting how simple pleasures can cheer you up when you're having a bad day...

I didn't have a very happy day today because my mom insists that I play Cinderella on Saturdays instead of relaxing and hanging out with my friends.
When I came back from hanging out at Satchel's (I'd never been there before, but it's the coolest place in the world!!), I was greeted with a long list of chores that had to be done. So I started by vacuuming the whole house, doing 2 loads of laundry and folding them, sweeping the back porch, cleaning (and organizing!) my room - which rarely happens, I might add - setting up a color printer for the computer, pulling weeds and sweeping the front porch. I was pretty mad that I had to do all of these things by myself while my brother was out having fun with 11 of his friends (and is STILL with them at this moment) and didn't have to do a single thing today.
However, as soon as I walked out the door, I smelled the delicious scent of the little Tea Olive tree by our door, saw the little pink flowers on our Taiwan Cherry tree, and a gorgeous sunset. All of a sudden I couldn't be mad anymore.
It's funny how nature does that to you :)
So my day ended pretty well after all. Plus, I'm going to plead my case about how I did ALL the work today so that Darrel gets to clean up the kitchen all by himself after our huge Sunday lunch tomorrow cause revenge is fun.

Gods Great Goodness

Here are some pictures that I took on February 9 & 12. Didn't enhance them because God already made them perfect :)
click on the image below to see the rest at my photobucket

Happy Singles Awareness Day!

Yes, I admit that the title is kind of grim.
However, "Singles Awareness Day" is not my view of Valentines Day at all. I was a bit worried thinking that this might be a lonely day for me, but instead of moping and leaving school to go home and stuff myself with chocolate, ice cream, and chick flicks, I decided to make the most of everyone's favorite Hallmark Holiday.
So, I jumped right into the festivities by handing out princess valentines to my friends, wishing Happy Valentines Day to everyone, and resisting the urge to pop every one of the millions of heart-shaped balloons that floated around me.
Even though I didn't have the wonderful feeling of having "that special someone" to spend the day with, I surrounded myself with the people that -in my opinion- are who Valentine's Day is for: friends.
And it was much better than drowning myself in a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream. Well, maybe. ;)

Life Isn't Always What You Expect...

I'm pretty sure that everyone know that life isn't always what you expect it to be, but it seems like my life isn't what I expect it to be when I'm least expecting it. I mean, i usually expect the unexpected, but today i was apparently off guard. If you didn't get any of that, don't sweat it.

Today, when my Choir director asked to speak to me 30 minutes before choir practice, I was positive that he was going to give me a lecture about how I've been late (or absent) to practice lately, but it turned out to be something totally different. He actually asked me if i would be (semi) in charge of YCAM (Youth Creative Arts Ministry). That came as a bit of a shock because I never really come off as the type who is particularly organized, but apparently I fit the role.
Basically, I go in about 30 minutes before practice to set up the chairs and the sound system, I do the opening prayer with the group, I help plan events and tours (series of performances at churches around the state, visiting nursing homes, etc.), get new members interested and comfortable, and just generally help the man in charge.

Honestly, i think it's just an tactic to get me to practice on time.

You Learn Something New Everyday

I decided that the title of the post is true, so i've made a New Years Resolution (meaning it probably won't be kept) to write about something that I learn everyday.

Ok, so today I learned that staying up until 4:30 is amazingly fun!
But, like nearly every fun thing, it has it's consequences. I'm SO TIRED! I figured that the 4 day weekend that I have off from school would be an awesome time to get back on a "normal" sleep schedule, but boy was I wrong!
I've also learned that when you don't have a normal sleep schedule, your immune system decides to take a vacation, which explains my sore throat. Actually, I already knew that, but it's just a fact that I choose to ignore. :)

Here's a random thing that I just wanted to post... I can't stop listening to this song!
I just rediscovered recently a band that that was my absolute favorite during my preteen years: ZoeGirl.
I want this song to be my motto from now on, because I've realized that I don't tell my friends how much I love God because, like many people, I'm scared of who they'll see me as. I have no problem telling complete strangers about my savior, which is why I want to be a missionary, but I know that being a missionary starts in your hometown.
I figure that if Jesus wasn't ashamed to die for me on a cross, I definitely shouldn't be scared to do something as simple as confessing my faith, so here's my theme song as of now:

"Believe"

I used to close my eyes and pray the time would pass me by
So I could fly away in my dreams to anywhere unreal
And I'd hide away from everything
I didn't know what was real, I didn't know the truth
There was a day when somebody introduced me to You
And You breathed Your life in me
You set me free...

[Refrain:]
Now I'll shout it from a mountain
That I'm not the same that I used to be
I believe in God, believe in God
I'm not ashamed to talk about it
To a world that slowly slips away
That I believe in God, believe in God

Now at the end of the day when nothing seems to go my way
I've got a friend, I've got a life that's never gonna let me go
Since You gave Your life for me
You set me free...

[Refrain]

Oh, when I feel so alone
He comes to sweetly say
It's all gonna be okay
Oh, when my emotions flow
He comes to sweetly say
It's all gonna be okay

[Refrain]

Bonding Time

These past few days were a great way to end my break.
I camped with my dad in the Florida Caverns and had a blast. It was a cold blast, but fun nonetheless.
We had fun geocaching and exploring, and I even squeezed into a few caves on my own and took a few pictures too.
It's pretty cool how much fun my dad and I are able to have just on our own, except I didn't like him turning my mattress heater off to get me out of bed in the morning...
My friend Bryan (Bo) lives nearby, so he came over often and tramped around in the woods and sat around the nice fire with us.
On our last full day there, we took a tour (for the second time) of the only tour-able cave in Florida, and it was still as fun as the first time.
All in all, it was a good ending to my vacation. I'm still not looking forward to going back to school though...

Music is the Universal Language of Love

Tonight I saw August Rush -which features one of my favorite little actors (Freddie Highmore)- and it was nearly the best movie that i have ever seen.
It was very powerful and moving, thanks to the amazing music that was intertwined with the plot.

In our society today, we have to many ways to communicate: Cell phones, land phones, texting, yelling, whispering, body language, etc... But there is one form of communication that most people don't usually recognize.

Music.

Through music, we have the power to convey our most complex emotions. It communicates feelings of love, passion, anger, hatred, friendship, tenderness, and every other emotion possible. The true composer can infiltrate one or even all of these emotions into one masterpiece.
How this is accomplished will always be a mystery to me, which is what makes it so wonderful.
To me, music is like the stars. Since time began, people have been looking at the stars and wondering what exactly makes them so fascinating. Perhaps it's how far away they are, or how their brilliance contrasts the dark sky... there's no one characteristic that makes them magnificent.
Music is the same way. There's no one element that makes it powerful and moving. For centuries people have created and enjoyed music and wondered at how something so simple could be so impressive. It's that feeling of wonder that keeps us listening, and I hope the mystery is never solved.