The benefits of classical music...

For about a week now, I have been gracing my ears with the beautiful classical sounds found on "Classical 89." The radio station, in my car.
Some of you may call me classy, others a dweeb, and some a hoob.
It is for this reason that I have created a list of benefits to listening to classical music.

1.  You never have to worry about hearing naughty words. In fact, you don't have to worry about hearing any words at all! No words, no worries. 
2. You don't have to flip the station because you hate the song. The probability of me actually knowing what the song is called is about...0.0010. 
3. You don't have to flip the station because of commercials. The only break in music consists of a deep male voice informing me of the pieces being played or a british lady informing me of the world news. Niether of which are annoying commercials for "Ginger's Cafe". 
4. I don't feel bad blasting it really loud. I can actually hear it over the roar of my heat.
5. I don't have to know the words in order to sing along.
6. I don't have to sing along or focus on the words so that means I can actually think.
7. Satan doesn't like classical music.
8. When other people get in the car, I don't have to turn the music off so we can talk. Instead it provides a nice ambiance for our conversation.
9. It makes me feel classy.
10. It makes me feel hipster. NOBODY does that. 

So my friends. Try it. 

Snarky

Comments.

1. Dr. Who is like Harry Potter. I've seen it obsessed over so much, that I have no desire to experience for myself.

2. You just ruined the rest of Downton Abbey for me by posting that on Pinterest.

3. If you showered more, you wouldn't stink.

4. If you came to school, I wouldn't hate you.

5. I KNOW you're avoiding me.

6. Auditions are a personal choice.

7. Just because your hair sucks, get off mine.

8. The pledge and the national anthem are 2 different things. We don't usually sing the pledge at sporting events.

9. I hate my senior year. And yes, I know that's all up to me to determine.

10. I used to love cats, but the prospect of becoming a cat lady had made me stay to dislike them. This is bad news.

11. Being alone on choir tour is not okay.

12. I'm a little needy.

13. Dear School, if you want me to come, I would expect that you at least clear the parking lot of snow so that I may park without dying.

14. I don't always sit by myself on Friday nights...no wait I so.

15. I'm not bitter. I'm as sweet as coffee.

16. Only one semester of high school left.

17. I'm sorry.

Do YOU hear the people sing?

After many days of waiting my turn to see the "movie of the century", I finally got a chance to see Les Mis.
So here's the deal. I was expecting it to be the most amazing thing that ever happened to my life. From what I'd seen on facebook and in the newspaper, I was pretty darn excited.
NOW. Don't get me wrong. I thought the movie was amazing and stunning, but it was not the best thing that EVER happened to my life. It, like any musical theater performance, had so much for me to analyze. It had weak characters and little flaws here and there.
Seeing it live is JUST as good.
And I'm sort of mad that now everyone will know about Les Mis. As my good friend Heather said,

"Les Mis movie, now overly emotional teenage girls who DIDNT know about the song "On my own" will discover it and we will all be bombarded with 1000000000 of facebook posts containing "without me his word will go on turning" "the world is full of happiness that i have never known" and "on my own pretending he's beside me". I cant even tell you how EXCITED i am."

And let me add on to that, "In my life..there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem wrong..." or "You're here..that's all I need to know." 

Let's be real. When I was in Les Mis, I definitely posted my status as, "In my life.." one time. But that was before anyone knew that I was quoting Les Mis so I'm obviously cooler.

And as much as I loved walking into the theater and hearing, "It's not musical theater, it's an Oprah." No, I didn't spell that wrong. SHE SAID OPRAH. It's OPERA. OPERA. OPERA!! Who are you?? And to be real, it's actually an operetta because there are some lines in it. I'm pretty sure....don't judge.

And it was super fun when the girl next to me was saying, "Yeah, I told my mom I was coming tonight and she said her and my dad were maybe going to come too. But she gasped when she found out it was all singing." 

Phew. It's okay. Not everyone is a musical theater junkie like me. 

That being said, let me give you my basic opinion on the main characters in the show in the shortest way possible.

Hugh Jackman. Marry me.

Aaron Tveit. Marry me more. Plus, I loved you before everyone else even knew you existed.

Anne Hathaway. Far exceeded expectations. Stole the show. Made me weep. Not even real.

Beautiful man who played Marius. If your head didn't shake with your vibrato, I would snatch you up in a heart beat. Your freckles are adorable.

Amanda Seyfried. I wish you weren't cast. Of all our possible options, I'm so sorry, but you were probably the worst. 

Gavroche. HOLY CRAP. Best part of the show.

Russell Crowe. I didn't even think your voice was that bad! You're acting however...not so much. 

Eponine. I respect that. 

Well. There's that. Do with it what you will.

An Aggie?

Well hey there folks. It's been awhile since we've last met. This Christmas break was a much needed one. I have relaxed as much as is humanly possible and have therefore not even thought about homework. Don't tell me to do it yet, you'll burst my bubble.
I've had lots of time to think and reflect and stew and be frustrated. And time to make decisions and have Satan come back at me to doubt them all. That's what a testimony is for my friends, to be able to throw it all back in Satan's face and say, "Nice try LOSER!!!" A wise man once said, "You know where Satan lives, tell him were to go." Touche, right?
People change, circumstances change, nothing is the same forever. But that is what is so beautiful and wonderful about life. People make mistakes. Learn from their mistakes.
We're not on this earth to prove that we're perfect or to be better than someone else, but to make mistakes and stumble and fall and be embarrassed. THAT'S THE POINT.
I've been doing it right all along!
Anyways.
In the middle of a very stressful time in my life called "Into the Woods", college applications decided that they were going to be do. So it turns out that I'm not the smartest person in the world and I thought my chances of getting into BYU were pretty slim. I have a 3.9 GPA, but my ACT score is less than perfect. Last year I figured I'd just keep taking the ACT, do my best, and apply for BYU summer semester. There were a couple of things that I knew for sure.

1. I did NOT want to go to UVU. Don't ask me why, I just knew I wasn't going there and I wasn't going to apply there.
2. BYU Idaho didn't really seem that great either. Just not my cup of tea...hot cocoa...
3. I want to become an elementary school teacher.
4. I was, without a doubt going to apply to Utah State.

I did some asking around and found out that Utah State has one of the best Elementary Education departments in the state. Not only that, but they are great for specializing in something in education. For example, Music Education, Deaf Education, etc.
I did some asking around for BYU as well. BYU, in the past has had a pretty crappy Elementary Education department, but recently has been building it back up and they aren't so bad anymore.

NOW these are all things that I heard from people, so I have no idea how valid or accurate they are. But they seemed to be the same from multiple people so that's the information I gathered.

Back to application time. Utah State started to have this pull for me. It sounded right, it felt right, I knew for a fact that I would get in, etc. Because of this, I eagerly started the application and had it finished before the deadline.
About 4 days before the deadline, I realized I hadn't even looked at the BYU application. I realized I needed to get an ecclesiastical endorsement FAST and I hadn't even given thought to the essays. As I said before, this was right in the middle of opening "Into the Woods." So the night before we opened, I left rehearsal to be interviewed by a member of the Stake Presidency. I didn't know what to expect, my mind was racing and I knew that I had to get back to rehearsal as fast as possible.
The interview was horrible. I felt dumb, I felt stupid, I wasn't prepared for the interview and in all honesty, I had already made up my mind that I didn't want to go to BYU.

I left in tears and started to think. Why even was BYU one of my college selections? It's close to home so that was good. It's cheaper than most colleges since I'm a member of the church..etc. Unfortunately my biggest reason for applying was that everyone else was doing it and I thought I was obligated to as a member of the church.
That night I talked to my mom and dad. We had a pretty heated discussion about my current circumstances and about the future. There were plenty of tears and plenty of snappy remarks. It was really hard for me to hear stuff that I already knew but didn't want to admit to myself.

So I didn't end up sending the BYU application in. I can still apply, I just have an even more slim chance of getting in. But a few days ago, this little Christmas present came in the mail for me.

My acceptance letter from Utah State :)
Everything felt so good at that moment. I was at peace and was very content. So at this moment in time I can honestly say that I'm an Aggie.
My plan is to attend Utah State in the fall and complete a full year. I'm considering a mission right now, but that decision requires a lot of prayer and fasting and I still have time to work on that.
So there you have it. College is scary and growing up is scary, but that just how it goes. Life goes on and I guess I'll keep moving. :)
Merry Christmas!!

Going to be Desperate

I am in need of:
7 hugs
1 Jamba Juice
1 Snuggie
1 New Head
2 New Vocal Chords
2 Weeks of Christmas Break
1 Apology
19 Boyfriends
45 Dollars for Gas
3 plates of cookies
2 Tutors. One to do my math and the other to write my Current Issues paper.
....And a partridge in a pear tree.

Part 2

I can no longer keep track of what I'm catching you up on....SO I'll do my best.

1. INTO THE WOODS. The rehearsal process was literally the worst experience of my life. It was hard, people were dumb, I felt like I was the only one who cared. I was so upset because I loved the part so much and I wanted the show to be so good. But performance time came and we somehow pulled it together. Being the Baker's Wife was everything I could have hoped for and more. The character growth that she experiences throughout the show is astonishing and heart wrenching. I was able to relate to her in so many ways (minus making out with a prince...). It was awesome.

Basically after Into the Woods was over, it's been non stop Christmas:)

I'm having a really hard time loading my photos, so just imagine me decked out in all my Christmas garb. That's about all I have to say for now! More to come later!

I'm not a ghost...I promise.

Dear everyone.
Contrary to popular belief, I am still alive!!! Miracle, right?
These past few months have been anything but calm. I've literally been running from one place to the next. So I warn you that this post will be lengthy as I try and catch up on documenting my life. Bear with me.

1. Halloween. Somewhere between Political Issues and Thanksgiving...it happened. I didn't actually dress up for school, but I felt the need to be a little festive so I dressed up that night. 

 

2. I quit work at Jamba Juice. Thank the heavens. It was really just becoming a pain to have to balance my schedule across the board. I'm feeling a lot better now. 

3. I got in my first "car accident". Thankfully it wasn't really an accident and it was just my dear friend Claire. It was just in the parking lot one morning, I was pulling in, she was pulling out, she didn't see me, our cars clinked and...that was that. Her mother draws pictures on her lunch bag every morning and this one was on her bag the following morning. Love. 

 4. Haley and I went to an MDT class at BYU to see them perform a condensed version of Into the Woods. It was kind of underwhelming, but I learned a lot. We were less thank pleased to walk up these stairs. 

5. I got bangs. What? It was on impulse..it happened. It's taken me 3 months to start liking them.

6. Into the Woods rehearsals. So weird. So different working with a double. Happened.

7. Chamber Tour. SO FUN.

 Ethan's favorite pastime is to take my phone and take pictures of himself...

The gang

8. Got my Political Issues Paper back. Wouldn't look at the grading sheet for forever when we got it back because I was SO worried about the score. I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw:)

...bad news...the photos won't load. So just imagine seeing a wopping 300 out of 300 right now:)

9. Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping. Great news.
These photos won't load either...so now imagine the clock saying 12:00 and 6:00...the times that we went out to shop until we dropped!

None of these pictures are loading...sooo...We'll call this part one of my catching up. Cool.