Take A Moment to Say Thanks

"Be thankful for what you have and you will end up having more. But if you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." -Oprah Winfrey

Honestly, we all of something to be thankful for. Are you thankful for the car you drive? How about your friends and family? Are you gracious for the food that you consume each day? Overall, no matter how hard it can be to find it, we have something to be thankful for. The main things that I am thankful for are my friends and family. I love being able to come home to a house where I can show my true colors and not be judged for it. I am so unbelievably thankful for my mom and best friend. Without them, who knows where I would be? My mom is one amazing woman, and I am so thankful to be able to call her my own. Although she is a busy kindergarten teacher by day, she always has time for me at night. No matter how wild and crazy her kids were that day, she still wants to know how my own day went. My mom is an extremely independent woman, and I am so thankful for that. Both of my parents try their hardest to give me what I need to succeed in my life. I am very blessed to have the best friend that I do as well. My best friend would do absolutely anything for me. We have been best friends for four years now, and there has never been a dull moment. I am so thankful to have a best friend who knows all of my flaws and weaknesses, yet loves me the same. She has literally been there for me through thick and thin. No matter what the situation is, I know that she will never, ever leave me. I know for a fact that I can always count on her over any other of my friends and I wouldn't change that for the world. :)

So at the end of the day, what are you thankful for? Do you ever take the time to think about the people in your life that mean the most to you? If you had to answer honestly, do you think that you take those people for granted? If so, try to stop it now. I think we all (including myself) need to realize more of what we have and start being more gracious for it. We only have so long on this Earth and we need to embrace it while we can. Look around at your parents, your best friend, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your pet, your possessions, and your teachers. Take all of these things into consideration and just take a moment to say thanks.

9/28/10

Colder by the Day

Lately, this weather has been absolutely beautiful. Fall is finally here and it is spectacular. It's very hard to believe that summer has came and gone, but I'm not complaining one bit. Fall is my favorite season by far. I love the pumpkins, Thanksgiving, Trick-or-Treating, and the leaves changing. Fall's weather is perfect. It's not frigid or roasting outside, it's just right. Halloween is also an exciting factor of Fall. It's always so much fun to see everyone dress completely out of the ordinary for one night. Although, sometimes it can be a bit disturbing to see some people completely morph their wardrobe for an evening. Even though Fall can be a bit of a bummer because of school starting back up, it's still exciting in a way. It's nice to know that it's the beginning of a new year. It's so fun to see the leaves changing in the Fall. My mom absolutely loves the way the leaves look during Fall time. The colors are so warm and bright almost every where you look.

Going to Silver Dollar City is also a blast in the Fall. They always have a Fall festival during the season, and it's beautiful. They have so many crafts, pumpkins and Fall Decor everywhere. It almost feels like Silver Dollar City smells better in the Fall? I might be crazy, but I think that Fall, itself, just smells better in general.

It's so exciting whenever the seasons change. Although, most people get so used to the current season that's it's very hard for them to adapt to the new one. I feel as if Fall is definitely hard to get used to again. Even on days when it's 70 degrees out, it feels so brisky at first to all of us. Fall gives the feeling of a brand new start, and I'm so happy that it's finally here. :)

Singing

Singing can be a very complicated task for some people. All throughout my years of school, I have been in a choir. Attempting to explain how to sing seems like it is much harder than just simply doing it. From what I’ve learned from my various choral teachers, warming up is the key. In order to feel prepared and comfortable, you must be loose and warmed up. Warming up consists of singing scales, doing various relaxation techniques, and sight reading. Sight reading can be one of the most challenging warm-up techniques. If you haven’t been involved with music for very long, sight reading can be your absolute worst nightmare. Fortunately, I was in band all throughout middle school, therefore I did much better at sight reading in high school. Once you feel like you have warmed up enough, it’s time to sing. Before you physically open your mouth, you need to know what pitch you are starting on. Normally, a pianist or teacher will play the first few notes to get you in the groove of things. Once those chords have been played for you, you can begin to sing. While singing, there are various aspects to look at. You have to pay attention to accents, dynamics, crescendos/decrescendos, tempo, and key changes. My high school choir teacher was awesome at pointing out all of these points to our class. We all learned so much last year about sight reading and dynamics. Singing can either be a natural talent, or be forced by a person. Overall, it's up to you whether singing is a strong or weak area for you. Hopefully this blog helped you learn a little bit more about how to sing!