My Life of Wonder

Let me just say first that I really enjoyed SSS. It was a good relaxing class while learning about how to manage time and stress. Now to talk about how I've changed and haven't changed. Before I came to Converse I was really worried about money,  how the classes were going to be, if I would be able to make friends since I was a commuter. I was also happy and excited about coming here. After I realized that I had all the money I needed, minus books, I was really relieved and more excited about coming to Converse.

When I got to Converse I became really happy. I knew this is where I belonged and I wasn't as nervous about the classes. So far this semester I've learned that music theory is not as bad as I thought. I can actually do it and I'm making an "A" in the class. I've also realized that I can sight sing, but I'm still a little self conscious about doing it. In high school I used to just study a little bit and breeze through my classes. I made good grades but I didn't work that hard. In college, I can't do that. I actually have to study really hard in order to get a good grade.

Due to all the things that I have learned this far during my freshman year I have changed some things about me. I study harder now and try to manage my time a lot better than I used to. I also feel more independent and grown up now that I'm in college. since I have made so many new friends that was a big confidence booster. Its good to know that people like me for who I am, not some fake person I try to be. By the way, I never ever am fake about who I am. I have a personality that is special to me and I don't want to cover that up with some other fake personality.

In the future I plan to graduate. Music therapy is my plan right now but I am completely open to change and I'm pretty sure that music therapy is what I want to do but I'm not 100% sure and I want to be in something that I am 100% sure I love. Maybe I'll grow to love music therapy, who knows. I also want to become more confident when it comes to playing guitar, playing viola, playing piano and whatever other instrument I may learn. In order to meet these goals I have to study hard to keep my GPA up to keep my money and discipline myself to practice even when I don't want to.

I am very lucky to have a had a lot of people influence me all throughout my life. Of course my family has been a major influence because I live with them, but my friends and boyfriend have been there too. Of course I said this quote in class but I love it so I'll say it again: "Good friends are like bras. Supportive, never leave you hanging, make you look good and always close to your heart." I'm not sure who made up the quote but I love it. My friends are awesome and I include my cousins in this. They have always given me good advice to follow and always made me feel like I am capable of anything/ My boyfriend is the same way. He has always wanted what was best for me and for me to be happy. I love my friends, family and my boyfriend for their never ending support.

Now here is another thing that I have learned about myself. I have a hard time letting things go. For example, orchestra and colorguard. These were the two things I was involved in during my high school years and I loved them both. These activities really made me who I am and gave me many opportunities. In orchestra I was able to play a solo piece with a piano accompaniment and conduct the orchestra. I conducted Titanic in memory of my mother. This conducting experience gave me the opportunity to see what it was like to be a orchestra director. I definitely realized that music education is something that i probably should not go into because I would not be able to deal with students not being quiet and not paying attention. In colorguard I was captain of the guard my senior year. This gave me leadership opportunities and I really enjoyed that. I also got to perform a solo which made me be more critical about how I was spinning and performing so that my solo would look good.

The last thing I want to say before I stop writing the book or my life is I want to talk about the person that has been the most influential in my life, my dad. I love my dad so much. I am a hard core daddy's girl and proud of it! My dad has been through so much in his life like playing in bands, being away from his family a lot and loosing his wife but my daddy has stayed strong and never given up hope. I know he loves me like crazy and wants everything in the world for me. One of  my biggest fears in life is loosing him. After loosing a mom it would be absolutely devastating to loose my dad. He is really a hero to me. My pop song in music theory is about my dad and I thought I would share the chorus I wrote for it. This is kind of a rough draft but I like it: "Talk to me and show me you're there. Hold my hand and never let go. All my life even when I'm grown. Please promise me...you'll always be there."

Well, there's my life. Who I was, who I've become and who I am now. Plus, all the experiences that have shaped me along the way. Hope you enjoy :)

A New Tradition

I'm really happy that this was a blog topic because this idea that I'm about to describe is something that I've been thinking about ever since I came to Converse. Since people say that parts of the college are "haunted" I think it would be cool to do something that deals with the hauntedness (if thats even a word) of Converse. Sometime around Halloween I think they should cut all the lights off on campus, well mainly the places that are suspected to be "haunted" and let people get flashlights and walk around. If people believe in the paranormal then they could try to communicate with the ghosts or if not I think it would just be cool and scary to walk around the old buildings at night in the dark. I'm really interested in ghosts and paranormal so I would love this. Also, people could walk around the graveyard on this night. I know people do it anyway but it still would be cool. I would go to the Hazel B. Abbot theatre in upstairs Wilson. I've heard people say that that theatre is haunted and I would love to go in there in the dark. I wouldn't go by myself though because I would get freaked out if I were alone. I would also go to Dexter residence hall because I've heard that is also haunted. I loved learning about the history of Converse and I am definitely buying that book that Dr. Willis wrote. I'm glad we did that as part of our class.

Music that relaxes my mind and body

As I sit and think about music that i listen to that helps relieve my stress I can't think of exact songs. I listen to a lot of diferent genres and thousands of songs. Usually I'll have my ipod or itunes on shuffle and just listen to whatever comes up. I'll end up shipping a bunch of songs until I find one that I feel like singing/listening to that day. These are three of the many songs and genres that I usually stop on:

• The first one is anything from any musical I have on my ipod. I have songs from "Mamma Mia", "Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Sweeney Todd", "Glee"(even though thats not really a musical I still have the songs) and probably more that I can't think of righ know. The biggest reason that I like these songs is because when I sing them I act them out a little as I sing. Sometimes I go all out. This helps me escape the stress and act like a totally different person.

I figure a lot of people know this song but I love it so I wanted to put it on here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S47MTZKsbCk (I tried to get the video but I couldn't figure out how to do it so if you are interested this is the link for "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Show)

• The other songs that I would stop on are the couple of songs I have by Beirut. Beirut is a new band that my boyfriend introduced me too. He just started listening to some of their songs and put them up on facebook so I listened to them. They are a very different type of band. One of the songs that I like (and I'm using this in Dr. Berry's class) is "Elephant Gun". It has a mixture of a lot of different odd instruments like ukulele and trumpet. I like listening to the instruments and singing along. It has a very free feel to it that helps me relax. Another song that I like by Beirut is "Nantes".

This is the youtube video for "Elephant Gun" by Beirut:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWSz_PAfgNc

• The third songs that I would stop on are songs that have a moment in them where the singer busts out a big note such as in "Keep Holding On" by, Avril Lavigne and "I Want to Hold your hand" from Glee or Across the Universe. I love to sing these songs when I'm driving or at home alone and just belting out the big parts. I feel like I'm performing them and it relaxes me.

This is "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gcrx2Ab0FM

• These are just a few of the songs that help me get through stressful times.

Drinking Age

I do not think that the drinking age should be lowered. First of all let me warn you that my opinions are very biased because of things that have happened in my life. After things I've been through that deal with alcohol, I have a lot to say. The biggest reason that I believe the drinking age should not be lowered is because of alcoholism. The prime example I have is my mom. Now, everyone in the class knows about what happened to my mom and it was all because of alcohol. She started drinking at a young age and that didn't help with the fact that she developed alcoholism that early. She was never able to stop after that. She became an addict and it eventually led to her death. I'm not saying that everyone who drinks at an early age is going to die, I'm just saying that starting young can really boost alcoholism. Which in turn says that the earlier you start the more likely you are to become addict to alcohol. People use the arguments about how we can smoke when we turn 18 and vote and become a legal adult but those things are so much different than drinking alcohol. Even when you are 18 your brain still has not finished growing and maturing. Alcohol can really mess you up, especially when our brain is not fully ready and mature enough to know when enough is enough. Now, I think drinking in moderation is ok, but it needs to be mature adults who know when to stop.  There are scientific tests that show that ONE GLASS (and only one glass, not the whole bottle) of wine a day or every few days can be beneficial to your health. I definitely agree with the that fact that teens hide it when they drink and then when something happens they don't want to get medical help because they are afraid of the consequences. I know that there are many different things that support lowering the age but I think from personal experience and what effect it has had on me and my family the drinking age should not be lowered. I know I won't ever be drinking, (Maybe a little when I come of age but don't plan on it).

Futurizing the flock

Just as FYI, I would love to come back in two years if you two are still teaching together. If I had to come back and give a "speech" to my little sister class this is what it would be:

"Hey little sister class, first of all, good choice for coming to Converse. Whether you've known all along that you wanted to come to Converse or, like me, you decided to come at the last minute, welcome. Before I give you my speech I want to tell you a little about myself. I was born and raised here in Spartanburg. I have two younger brother, two dogs, a dad and step-mom, whom I love very very much. I also have a boyfriend that I've been dating for 4 years and I love him like crazy. Coming to Converse was a great decision that i made. I have made some many new friends here and I love it. At first I wasn't sure about the whole all girl thing and said no I'll never go to Converse, well I'm here. I like being around all girls all the time. I feel secure and comfortable. And for the people who don't have boyfriends, you don't have to worry about looking cute for guys because there are none.

Now, I want to talk to you all about some challenges that I faced as a freshman and how I overcame them. I'm sure a lot of you are going through the same things, especially since you are music majors. First, a big thing that can help you succeed big time in college is time management. I had a very hard time my first few weeks of my freshman year with this and it hurt. I would know that I had to do something and instead of making a time chart to know when to do it I would just say I'll do it later. Then I would end up doing it at late hours of the night because I forgot. Spread your time out too. I would study for a exam for 30 minutes then practice piano for 30 minutes then work on a paper for 30 minutes and so on. Spending only a certain amount of time on things kept them from getting boring and I got them done a lot faster. Another challenge I faced was actually having to practice. I never practiced in high school and now if I don't practice then I won't get anywhere and I'll never become a great musician so I make sure I practice at least 30 minutes a day on each instruments. Yes, I said instruments with an "s" because I am learning how to play piano for the first time and learning more on guitar. The last challenge is distractions. I love facebook texting and and talking on the phone and everything else, but I had to start forcing myself to stop doing those while I was working on homework because I wouldn't get my work done.


Some things that surprised me were how independent I was. There wasn't any teachers reminding me about assignments coming up that I needed to turn in until the day they were due. I missed a few assignments because I didn't realize that I had them. Look at the syllabus that the teacher gives and write everything that you have to turn in or read in you planner or whatever because that will help and you won't forget. Also, my parents were not on my case anymore wondering how my grades were or what I had coming up to turn in or wanting to read my essays. They really don't ask me anything about school besides "how was school?" I like that but it surprised me when I was a freshman.

I have learned a lot since my freshman year and I'm about to sum it all up with these four things: 1. Manage your time 2. practice 3. get a planner 4. don'committed t get distracted while trying to do your homework. Thanks for letting me come talk to you. Sorry if I talked you ear off, I love to talk to people and give advice for improving their lives, that is why I am a music therapy major. The last bit of advice that I want to give is how to survive in the face of adversity. My mom committed suicide when I was in 3rd grade. I tell you this because instead of giving up on life and saying I quit I told myself that I wanted to be the very best I could be and succeed in everything. That thinking and determination got me here to Converse on a full ride scholarship. One of my favorite quotes every is "never, never, never give up" and I add to that "no matter what happens. "

Time Management Challenges

There are many challenges that I face that mess with my time management. Facebook, the phone and lack of motivation are just a few. Every time I come home and turn on my computer the first three things I do are check my Converse e-mail, regular e-mail and then my facebook. Sometimes I'll get occupied on one of them and end up spending a lot of time on it. Then, when I start working on some of my homework I realize that I have a lot of it and should not have spent so much time on facebook or e-mail. Sometimes when I am typing something on the computer I'll pull facebook up and chat with people while I work. This usually distracts me and I don't get as much work done as I should. Same goes for the phone. I'll think that I can talk on the phone and do work but I usually get distracted trying to hold the phone and don't get my work done when I should. Lack of motivation is the biggest problem I have. I'll look in my planner and know that I have things I need to do but I put them off because I'm not motivated to do any of it. These three things are definitely things that I need to work on and fix for me to be successful in college.

Answers to blog 1

1. I chose to go to college because I felt that college was my next step. I completed elementary, middle and high school, now it was time for me to go to college. I also wanted a good degree. With the way society is going today, if you don't have a college degree it is kind of hard to do well. I figure that going to college will help me specialize in a specific field and help me get a good career in that field.

2. I decided to come specifically to Converse because of financial reasons and the music therapy program. At first I wanted to go to Furman. I was already accepted and ready to go, except for the money situation. I still had a lot of money that I had to find for Furman that I didn't get in financial aid or scholarships. About the time I started realizing this, I heard about Music Therapy and looked into it to see what it was all about. I liked it from the minute I read about it. I had a friend, Kayla Barker to be exact, that told me that I would be good in that field and that Converse had a good Music Therapy program. I applied to Converse, got accepted and soon realized that financially, Converse would work better for me than Furman because if i stayed at home this first year then everything would be paid for. Also, the Music Therapy program at Converse was a lot better than what I would have had to do at Furman, so I decided that that is what I wanted to major in and came to Converse.

3. At first I did not want to be a music major. I liked music but I didn't want to perform or teach it. That was before I found music therapy. Helping people has always been something I enjoyed so when I found out that I could help people using music I was very excited. After I decided to become a music major I figured out that studying music is what I really want to do.  Music has been something I have enjoyed my entire life. I was blessed to be from a musical family, especially with my dad having been in the Marshall Tucker Band. I got to hear him play a lot and also go on stage with him a couple of times and play tambourine when I was younger. I really enjoy music and I am very excited about learning thinks about music that I never knew.

4. Honestly I would not want to go without either cereal or sandwiches but if I had to pick one I would pick sandwiches. Even though there are a lot of different types of cereal, there is still more combinations that could be made with sandwhiches. You can put whatever you want on a sandwhich if you like it and the sandwhich will taste good. If people put whatever they wanted in cereal besides milk, it probably would not taste very good. Also, sandwiches are good at two meals and not just one. People can eat sandwiches for lunch or dinner and cereal is only good for breakfast.