Someone Pinch Me!

Hello all! Hope you are having a wonderful Friday! Golly, I just finished my second week of being an upperclassman. I'm already ready for summer break again. School has literally taken over my life these past 14 days. I have not loved the weekend as much as I do now! Anyhoo, the few things that have taken my mind off of school have been very goods things. First, half-marathon training. That's right! I'm running my first half marathon in November. I'm SO excited! More updates on training to come. The second thing I have been even more excited for is Coldplay's new song that will be on the Catching Fire soundtrack, "Atlas". It was supposed to be released on the 26th of August, however (due to some delays) it will now be released on September 6th (a week from today). I'm so excited to hear it! Everyone's wondering what it might sound like. If you remember, the Hunger Games soundtrack was a lot of the sounds of District 12. Do you think "Atlas" will have a District 12 sound or maybe a Capitol sound? I'm leaning more towards the latter. I suppose we'll all have to wait though! Let me know your thoughts! 

Whole Steps, Not Half

Hello everyone! How are you all? I gave my very first piano lesson this morning, and I've still got the new teacher jitters. Now that my dear older sister is going off to college, I have been handed down her piano students. Never in my life did I imagine that I would be teaching piano. I've had quite an experience with piano. I began around seven years old and really enjoyed it (for the most part, I enjoyed it because all my friends thought it was so cool I knew how to play the piano...). But as I got older, I began to despise the piano with all my heart and soul. I hated it, I really did. I even wrote songs during my practice time about how much I despised the piano. But only a few years later, when I got a new teacher, I realized how wrong I was. I have a different teacher now, and though I'm not completely passionate about the piano, I do find ways to enjoy it. This afternoon I spent a lot of time thinking about   my change of heart. How did I grow to enjoy the piano again? I want solid methods that build good foundations for my piano students. I want to help them find their potential in the music field. Not everyone was born with a full-blown, fiery, passion for piano. To those who were, congratulations, I hope you do exceed with flying colors. But I know I wasn't born with that. I don't know that my students were born with that either. Piano is not easy in the slightest. I think it's the difficulty of the piano that makes it less desirable. All the math, the coordination, the reasoning, and just the mentality that it takes to play the piano well is certainly not what everyone wants to spend an hour doing almost everyday. So what makes piano enjoyable? Those of us who were not born with the fiery passion for piano have other interests and strengths. We enjoy lots more things outside of piano (not that those with a fiery passion for piano don't as well). As I reasoned this out this afternoon, I realized it was something my piano teacher did when I had my little piano awakening. She had me play two pieces every week. One piece was a challenge, it made me work hard. And the other would be a piece I loved, and I had no trouble whatsoever getting the urge to practice. Though it would have been easy to simply practice the pieces I loved, my teacher had me make a practice schedule every week. She wanted to see that I was giving the right amounts of time to each and every piece. Though I did not see it then, I see now how those practice schedules have helped me be more organized in other areas of my life as well. I think what helped me enjoy the piano even more was something my next (and current) teacher did. She literally sat me down and explained the piano. Everything. Once I had a full grasp and understanding of what I was doing, it made the piano so much more enjoyable. It's like playing a game with your friends. Its always more fun when you fully understand how to play, rather than being confused and unsure of yourself for most of the time. So there you have it, that is the message I want to get across to my students. Piano should be thought of as a blessing, not a burden. You will be challenged when you play the piano, but it only makes it easier for yourself in the future. And always find a piece you love a lot (those usually end up being Disney songs for me...haha), so you can get that urge to play. If you play the piano, or any instrument for that matter, I'd love to hear what helps you get the urge to practice and work hard!

Back to What?

Hello everyone! How are you all doing on this fine Monday? I hope splendid! Me though? Not as splendid as I wish. Mainly because I know school is upon us students. This summer literally flew by, but nevertheless, we must start school once again. I must admit though, there are two reasons I actually like going back to school (bear with me here, I'm not crazy). First, I like getting back to a schedule. I like things organized, and I tend to be more organized with a schedule rather than the lazy days of summer (which I typically do enjoy for the most part, I might add). Second, I just love purchasing and designing my school supplies. Maybe its a girl thing or maybe its just me. All in all, I love it. So...here are some cute supplies and designs I found inspirational for this school year. Maybe all you other students will be inspired to create things to make the school year slightly more enjoyable. Let me know your thoughts! Have some cool and creative ideas? I'd love to hear!

Deliciousness!

Hello all! Hope your Saturday is treating you well! If you didn't know, I love smoothies. A lot. Ever since we got our Ninja blender, not a day has passed when I haven't made a smoothie. Smoothies are so awesome because not only do they taste delicious, but they boost your health! If you haven't made a smoothie before, I encourage you to give it a shot, you may just like it! Here's some info I personally use when making my smoothies! 

BIG News!

Hello all! Hope you are having a fabulous Friday! I never thought I would ever write those words in the picture above. That, my friends, is the end of my first story. You see I have this problem with not being able to finish the stories I start because I come up with wonderful new story ideas, and leave the others ones to be neglected for all eternity in my idea notebook. But after three years, I finally finished this book. And it has been so exciting to see these words, the end. But as you can see from the "...but only for a little while", I have an idea for a sequel (yay!!). Anyhoo, this is not an incredibly long book, only 120 pages (I have a cover page, and a dedication page as well.) I regret to say I will not be posting any parts of my story on this blog, due to the fact it is not copyrighted. Which leads me to my next little "announcement". I plan to go back through this story and edit it. Then, once that is all done, I'm hoping to try to send it to some publishers. If I get rejected, I get rejected. J.K. Rowling was rejected 12 times before Harry Potter was ever published. So to all you writers out there, I just want to tell you to never stop working hard on your pieces. Even if we never get published, we have our stories, and they can stay with us forever. We can tell them to friends and family. We can use them. Mose importantly, let God take the reigns of your stories, you never know how He can use them. God's power is beyond all comprehension, why not pray and ask Him to use your story? You never know what He could do with it.

Disney Pixar: 22 Rules of Storytelling

Hello everyone! How are you today? I hope swell! I wanted to share with you all something that I found extremely helpful/inspiring for writers. Now, I have no idea whether this is legit from Disney Pixar Studios (if it is, please do let me know), but either way these are wonderful tips. Let me know your thoughts!

Decisions..Decisions...

Hello readers! Hope you are doing well on this fine Wednesday! We make decisions on a day to day basis more than we realize. Most of the time we consider only the big decisions to be actual decisions. Big decisions meaning, choices that change our lives in some way. But every decision is a decision and we should treat them as such. We sometimes overlook the small decisions, not really thinking of how they look in the big picture, and that's where we can go wrong at times. Every choice you make affects someone, including yourself. Whether it's a choice to say something kind to someone who looks like they are having a rough day instead of walking on by and go about your own busy life. Or maybe its to take a deep breath instead of blowing up after a family member has stomped on your last nerve. "Little" decisions can make a big difference too. "Big" decisions just appear to make more of a difference in your daily life. Although big decisions do make a difference, those little decisions (that we have a tendency to cave in and do the wrong thing) can make a long term difference. Whether it's a relationship with a loved one, or just simply following God's will. So, be careful about the decisions you make, big and small. They make a difference in you, and the make a difference in the world. Try it and see what happens.