Last comment

I posted a comment on azninvasin's blog called “Roommates!”

I am a very passive person too. I had some small issues here and there with my roommate, but the truth is that by now they have REALLY added up. I think having this one year of dealing with another person and having them maybe have to "deal with" you was a good learning experience. I learned that not everyone can be reasonable all the time and I learned just how different people can be in so many different aspects. However, most importantly I learned to never go pot-luck on a roommate again haha!

Oh, and this comment as well:

I made this comment on April 17, 2009 on CEC’s blog post titled: "Who Cares if Johnny Can't Read?"

I agree with what Andrew said. There seems to be a common theme in this course that people are just looking for convenience through technology. Our lives are becoming very fast paced. And as we have found out from previous readings it is changing our society and the way we do things.

 

It was surprising to me that Americans are in fact reading more now than they did fifty years ago. But I am sure people always wanted convenience so I am sure back then they were just watching TV. Online reading is easy and very beneficial in my opinion. So, I would have to disagree with MacFarquhar and say that any kind of reading is constructive.

Woops! I forgot to add this comment to my blog.

I made this comment on April 13, 2009 on CEC’s blog post titled: Is Bibliophobia a Social Disease?

 

Beyond belief's comment reminded me of something that was implemented at Elementary school that I had totally forgotten about. We had a designated time called DEAR (drop everything and read) in which we could bring a book or magazine from home of our choosing or get a book off the shelf in the classroom. I did hear some people talking about how they just pretended to read, but there were also many students who got so involved in their book that they would sneak peaks in during class trying to finish up a chapter or something that they were dying to know about. I personally think this was a great idea and I enjoyed DEAR time very much.



 

Another thing that came to my mind when I was reading this portion of Mark Bauerlein's book was from something that we had read earlier this semester about how kids are becoming too competitive academically by their own free will just to get ahead of everyone else. However, Baurlein mentions the fact that "...students know that reading skills determine their high-stakes test scores. But the retreat from books proceeds..." (47). I find this so odd that these two readings were saying completely opposite things about this generation. 

Case structure for my next paper:

Claim: Not all reading benefits students' intelligence levels. 

Reason: There is so much more value in reading classic novels with great plots and messages than reading poorly written material online.   

Evidence: You are more likely to find grammatical errors and nonsense online. (Source: Motoko 2, 4, and 6) 

Evidence: You gain more knowledge of vocabulary words used in the correct context in novels and become a stronger writer. (Source: personal experience) 

Evidence: People who read more tend to do better academically. (Source: Bauerlein 51)

Sleep- Eric Whitacre

Eric Whitacre is by far my favorite composer. This song is beautiful and I thought I would share it on my blog with everyone. The emotion that music evokes is an amazing thing. 

Comment

I posted a comment on Britney Speare’s blog called “How to be an appropriate formal date”

Haha I loved this post! Breaking down those rules like that makes it seem so simple and actually as far as I am concerned it kind of is. Just don't embarrass us and be polite could have summed this up. 


 

I am still dating my high school sweet heart of a little bit over two years that goes to the University of North Texas and from reading this story I feel really glad that I am not out on the dating scene in college. I am noticing that everything in high school seemed so much simpler. Which is weird because as we get older we're supposed to get more mature right?

Am I playing music or playing at music?

Something that has been on my mind recently is why am I here? I am at college trying to balance all of my schoolwork with 3 hours of practicing my instrument every day. I am starting to feel like playing my instrument is becoming more like a chore that I do not look forward to. Which is terrible right?! I used to just pick up my trumpet and play it when I wanted to because I wanted to. Which was actually quite often because I loved it and I loved getting better just doing my own thing. But now I have countess etude books to prepare every week at a lesson (sometimes not spaced out very well), material to prepare for master class every week, Orchestral repertoire to prepare to perform on my weekends, and not to mention the music that is expected to be perfect at rehearsals and concerts for Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Music. It is all too much!!

 

Now don’t get me wrong I do love performing and the feeling of making great quality music. However, all the time in between is rough sometimes and I never realized all that is demanded of a college trumpet player here at SMU. I would never want to give up my place here and I am very thankful for the fact that I successfully auditioned here. But lately I have had to remind myself a countless number of times that I love music and there are about 50 other kids that auditioned for the two spots here in the studio. 

I am blessed... but stressed!!

Comment

I posted a comment on Thyrston's blog called “I’m lucky I know, but I wanna go home...” -Michael Buble:

 I totally agree with this. I have only seen my family three times since I have been at college. Two were times that I actually got to go home and enjoy the comfort of my own house and one was when they came to visit me and listen to one of my Symphony Orchestra concerts. And I have talked to a few of my friends that are from the Dallas area and visit home almost every weekend. So there are definitely going to be different times in which we feel separation.

But I am on the same level with you. I hope that time for me does not come soon because I enjoy the small distance I have (from Houston, Texas) but I really do get homesick sometimes. It really does make you appreciate your family and home even more though doesn't it?

Revision

I revised my post about my argument of whether or not music should be free today in case you wanted to go check it out. 

Spirituality

            In Wellness today we had an assignment to share our spirituality with the class. We had to bring a phrase, poem, passage, verse, song or anything that has special spiritual meaning to us. It was really cool to hear everyone’s responses to this question, because it feels like you’re getting to know what drives them to live their lives the way that they do and what they think about each day. Not many people seem to know each other in my Wellness class or make an effort to socialize, but just hearing them tell the class what has spiritual meaning to them seemed to bring everyone closer. Standing in front of the class and sharing your inner most thoughts brings about a kind of vulnerability that people do not usually show. About half the class had nice bible verses, some that I hadn’t put half as much thought into as they did. A few actually stuck in my head, which was the best thing about this assignment because it made me see things in a new perspective. I hope that the verses that I brought in will stick with people because they are very uplifting and special to me. These were my versus: 

 

Verse #1:

I Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

 

Verse #2:

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”

 

            These two verses have a similar message and in my opinion, as a faithful Christian, these are the two most spiritually inspirational things I have ever read. The first one was a caption to a painting that was in the dining room of my grandparent’s house. My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family was a preacher, and my grandmother and him passed away when I was twelve, but unknowingly left me with one of the most valuable lessons. I have no idea why I remember this verse to this day, but it always seems to come to mind exactly when I need it the most. It is not only a daily reminder of how thankful we should be for the things that we are blessed with in life that make us happy, but also those choices that God makes that are a bit more disguised. For example, something that is happening to us currently that may not feel like it is best for us now, but in reality, God is doing what is best for us in the long run and we should be thankful that we have him to look after us like that.

 

            The next verse I found at a later time from a service called “The Daily Bible Verse”. And I have found countless versus that have helped me through some hard times, but I found this one to be most beneficial. It reminds me that having confidence in the Lord is a purposeful life decision. And replacing my emotional reactions to circumstances with the faith that I have in the Lord is one of the best ways to calm down and have a better outlook on life. Once you realize that if you are living your life for God, than he will take care of you, things become easier and your life feels as if it has more purpose and sustenance. 

Another Comment

I posted a comment on Kee's blog called "Are We Really Stealing Music?" today:

I wrote a blog about this topic too and researched it a little bit. I found out that there are a few repercussions from our small choices we make everyday about obtaining free music. So I do feel against it, but I also forgot how much of an offender I am of what you were writing about. If I am riding in a car with a friend and they're playing a great CD I don't think hey I am going to go to the store and pay like $20, I just ask to borrow it and upload it onto my laptop or something. This was a good point that I never thought of and I am sure that many people do this and it really adds up. However, I really am not sure of the statistics and am really curious as to how big of a problem this really is.

Comment

I posted a comment on Kee's blog called "Facebook Addiction" today:

I have noticed that the number of adults on my friend list on Facebook is going up, and I agree with "iheartquestionmark", it is mostly because even though I find it odd to be accepting friend requests from old teachers and friends of my parents, I would feel bad not to. 

My best friend's mom recently got a Facebook and she also texts constantly. I notice my friend texting her mom frequently even in college. I always found this to be weird because my parents do not even know how to work the text messaging feature on their phones, much less do they even know what Facebook is (to my knowledge). However, I have also noticed much more connected my friend and her mom are. They are always sending each other jokes and telling each other about their day, but I on the other hand, find it difficult to even set aside the time it takes to call my family on the phone and have a decent conversation.

I think this would be an interesting topic to write about, because I know that I personally value my constant contact with my closest friends, but I always wonder if many others share the same kind of contact with their parents as my friend does.

Argument- Should music be free?

            Almost everybody listens to music and has their own personal collection of what they listen to. Whether it is a physical collection of music (CDs, cassette tapes, etc.) or a device that it is all stored on (MP3 player, IPod, etc.) all of these listeners have made their choice of how they want to keep their music organized and also how they obtained their music. I am not sure if everyone else has put as much thought into this subject as I have, but I personally have done it all. I have purchased cassettes, CDs, an IPod, an MP3, I have downloaded music (legally now and also used Nabster for free before the complaints from the artists were highly publicized), I have also bought music from ITunes, I have created online Radio Stations and playlists, and much more. But the question has always been, should music be free?

 

            I remember back when file sharing on websites such as Nabster were completely legal and I personally did not see anything wrong with it. And now that it is illegal I still know MANY people that still continue this trend. There are apparently severe consequences, but I do not know anyone who has suffered any. The people that continue to share files and burn CDS without paying for them argue things like: I should not have to spend money on something that I listen to, what if I spend $20 on some CD I do not even like, or what if I only like one song. However, there are many ways to get demos of songs and ITunes even has a feature that makes this possible. And I found out from doing a little bit of research in this topic that websites like LimeWire are completely legal. However, the purpose many people use it for is not. “Downloading copyrighted music, videos, or programs without the permission of the author is illegal. This is called copyright infringement or piracy.” So the government is not typically going to bust everyday people that just take a couple of songs for their iPod.

 

            I am sure people do not think through and take into account what exactly would happen if all music were free and it were legal to download all music though. Would the artist still be successful at all, would there still be all the same music out there, and what about the CD manufacturing companies? Those are just a few problems with this idea of free music. But a writer from another source online did bring up the point that the companies are still making a profit from selling expensive tickets to shows and band merchandise. However, I still feel like we are cheating them in a way.

 

            There is no way that the government can catch all of the offenders involved in this process of free music so theft of music will continue to be a problem and will continue to have some negative consequences. It is sort of like recycling, it would be perfect if everyone would help out, but that will never happen with our quick moving lifestyles of today.

 

1) http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/alumni/dm31/napster.html

2) http://taskboy.com/writing/fictional/napster.html

Another Comment:

I posted a comment on Almost Famous' blog called "Friends for the Rest of College?" today:

This is a great topic to post about, because for most students our age, the change to college meant the biggest change of best friends you've ever experienced (because of the locational change of course). I still keep in contact with a lot of my old friends and hung out with them over Thanksgiving, but for the most part the set of people that know most about what's going on with me and the ones I spend my weekends with right now are my new SMU friends. And I never really considered until I read your post that these new friends of mine are totally not set in stone either. 

And I know everyone wants to have the perfect situations like the television shows (Friends, Sex and the City, etc.) but the truth is that you can't always be with your "besties" forever because life might take you somewhere else. However, I think it's important to value the friends that you make along the way and just enjoy the people you're around in the present and not worry too much about the future.

"God will help you overcome any hardship."

So after practicing my trumpet, piano, and singing ALL of my Thanksgiving break in preparation for my semester juries I returned to school feeling so responsible and great for having kept my work ethic up. However, the first day back I came to the realization that I am TOTALLY swamped with other things to do: papers to write, music to write, a debate to prepare for, workbook pages to do, chapters to read, and a fire safety class to attend. Geez this week was really stacking up in my planner more than it usually does! And I found out that I have 2 finals on the day of my birthday and then 2 more after that, which was disappointing because I just got through telling my parents that I'll be home again soon on my birthday. 

The Saturday I came back to campus I had a football that I had to play at for marching band and I also had to continue to prepare for a very physically and mentally taxing trumpet playing test for Monday's Masterclass and finish up some music theory homework. On Monday my day lasted from 8AM (my first class) until 9PM (the end of Masterclass) with only 2 hours of break in there. And of course there was lots of homework to keep me up for a while after that. Tuesday was a little bit better only lasting from 8AM to 6PM, with 1 hour of break (my other 1 hour was used to attend a mandatory fire safety class) and of course lots more homework at the end of that day. Today lasted from 8AM to 6PM, with a 2 hour break (1 hour was used for a trumpet lesson) and a terrible scheduling error sent me running across campus all the way from where I work to McFarlin Auditorium in the middle of my day, because I wrote down an incorrect time for my conference and missed it entirely! UGH! 

However at the end of today I got a chance to squeeze in a second to sit down and have a nice dinner with some friends. And the thing I do everyday is get a fortune cookie and today my fortune read:

"God will help you overcome any hardship."

This usually lame or funny fortune cookie gave me the best advice I could hear at the time. It is something I always know to be true, but need to be reminded from time to time. I taped it to the front of my over-booked planner where it is needed most ha ha :) 

Hopefully I can remember this while running around like a crazy person tomorrow as you all should too!! Good luck with finals, juries, recitals, debates, papers, and whatever else you are taking on everyone :)

Making Connections

When I read the third assigned reading from "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon I did not understand why the author spent so much time with Miz Alice's discriptions of her philosophies on life. But after considering what the author is going through I realized that there was a clear connection between the two.

Miz Alice explains that, "Education is thinking, and thinking is looking for yourself and seeing what's there, not what you got told was there. Then you put what you see together." And her philosophy about learning in that sense directly applies to what Least Heat Moon is doing himself.

He is on a journey to find himself in a way and not necessarily to just get away from his problems. He left his old life and is now traveling and just taking the world in and seeing it for himself. He is meeting new people and seeing new places and it seems as if that is what that is what Miz Alice would find great value in.

Another Comment

I posted a response to A Roach's "Cell Phones Used as an Educational Toll" today: 

Wow, I thought all of this posting homework on blackboard and using that site for information and communication was a great idea, but in my opinion that is as far as we should go with classroom technology for now. I think the office hours and school emailing system is a good enough communication method and we should just concentrate on putting in the work ourselves and not get too caught up on pushing the technology envelope. 

Maybe in the future smart phones might be a useful classroom tool, but personally I could go without the extra expense for now. 

This is a really interesting topic. Do you have a link to the article you quoted?

Revised: "'Till Death do us Part?" Hardly...

There are tons of variations of what relationships are, what they mean, and how real they really are. The main point I'm bringing up that is in question to me right now is a boyfriend/ girlfriend relationship. 

I had been dating the same person for almost two years now and it suddenly all ended last night. I thought our relationship would be forever and so do a lot of people my age and even younger, but the truth is that nothing is set in stone. I looked back and realized that my feelings had changed and then I thought how could I have felt this way one day and another way the very next day. 

Then I thought about little kids in middle school and even elementary school that break out the "L" word without even thinking twice, they even go so far as saying that they're going to marry that person. It's insane. 

However, I have come to the conclusion that no one can really know all these answers for sure 100% of the time even if they're wiser with age. Some people get married and say "I do... 'til death do us part" but then get divorced within so little as a year. Relationships questions are kind of something that are unanswerable. However, I also feel that I may just be ranting because I felt so secure in my relationship, but then ended it myself and now I am miserable. I do not feel happier than I was by any means. Unexplainable.

If I am so sad now how could it be the right thing? Friends keep telling me "It'll be ok" and "you'll feel better later". But why go through it? It hurts my grades, my skill level as a musician, my sleeping and eating patterns, and even other relationships (as in ones with other friends).   

*****

I wrote the above post about two weeks ago and once again my feelings changed completely (typical haha). I think it might be kind of distasteful to share all of the details of my relationship on a blog that I created for an English class, but my boyfriend and I are now back together. Maybe true love and "real" relationships are real... who really knows? I feel as if our relationship is stronger now though after experiencing some distance, discomfort, and facing the realization that we're crazy about each other. I guess we do not necessarily need each other (no one should put that kind of burden on another person, because it's not fair to either one), but we definitely want each other and that is good enough for me.  

I hope this blog doesn't sound too cliche, but now I am finding the value in a good relationship. Though it might be some consuming, complicated, ride of emotions, I want every part of it and I am thankful for the person I am with. 

Geez it is so weird to see my emotions that completely changed typed out on a blog. 

Breathing is Easy, it's Easy to do

"Living is Simple" by Switchfoot is one of my favorite songs. The tune as well as the meaning of the song itself just relaxes me and makes me feel less stressed. When I think about the lyrics, I begin to realize myself that there are bigger problems out there than mine. In this song Switchfoot is singing about the fact that simply living is so easy to do, like breathing it's just kind of an involuntary motion that just happens. And maybe it means that living a bigger more meaningful life is harder, but when they sing the part about how they've "made their choices" and "chosen today" it just kind of puts everything into prospective for me and I realize that I can't dwell on little troublesome things that make me feel as if "I'm falling apart" because the truth is... I'm really not. Everything will be okay as it always is and God will take care of me, because everything happens for a reason and I just have to put my faith in God to make things happen for me. The "gravity" that they sing about will take me where I'm supposed to go so there's no use stressing and feeling down about little things.

Here's the lyrics:

Living in simple
Living is simple

Living is simple
It's gravity; gravity isn't so hard
Living is simple
It's entropy; entropy, falling apart
I'm falling apart again

Living is simple
And breathing is easy, it's easy to do
Living is simple
And losing is easy; I'm losing my cool
I'm losing my cool again

All will be made well
Will be made well
Will be made well
Will be well

Is this fiction?
Is this fiction?
Hope has given himself to the worst

Is this fiction or divine comedy?
Where the last of the last finish first

Living is simple
Living is simple
Living is simple

Living is dying
Your mercy, Your mercy is how I believe
Living is dying
I can't understand it
I'm down on my knees confessing my needs again

I've had my choices
I've chosen today
I've had my choices
Choices remain

Is this fiction? Is this fiction?
Hope has given himself to the worst
Is this fiction or divine comedy?
Where the last of the last finish first

Living is simple
Living is simple
Living is simple

$$$

Upon entering college, most teenagers find themselves making their first financial decisions of their lives. By becoming more and  more responsible for paying for necessary things, the money choices are in their hands now (whether they earned it or get a set allowance from their parents) and with that newfound freedom, some teenagers tend to go a little overboard with spending and don't make the best decisions and that seems to be a very potentially harmful problem.     

I had never thought that I would ever take out a loan before I entered college. The idea of having to borrow money for something I want later seemed like such a bad idea. However, I found the choice to come to Southern Methodist University despite the extremely high tuition fees, dorm costs, and meal plans to be a wise investment. And even with all of the scholarship money and grants I got from the school of music there was still going to be a relatively small loan that I would have to take out. 

So I made my choice to come here because I wanted to and took out a very demanding job over the summer. I became a baker with some friends and was working about a 30 hour week (while attending a music conservatory at the same time because I wanted to keep improving as a musician in order to be competitive in college). And even though my friends went out all the time to shop with their big pay checks, I made my first financial decision (beside the one to actually take out the loan) to have my checks directly deposited to remain untouched by me all summer. This was a great benefit to me and a great life lesson.

And now I see others in college that are always buying new things and making financial decisions that are not always in their best interest and then I found out that their parents are paying for the college education entirely. I think that is not a very wise decision and potentially very harmful to the student later on. They will not know that feeling of devotion necessary for working hard now and not getting all the little things they want now, but getting the big things that they ultimately need later. This is a very essential life skill in my opinion and not obtaining that since of frugality in college at the least can lead to a not so prosperous future.