Music and Lyrics

Dear Readers, As I was going through my scriptures the other day, I realized that two scripture mastery verses have one verse in between them. If you hadn't already guessed it, I'm referring to 2 Nephi 2:25, 27. Nobody ever talks about 2 Nephi 2:26. It says: "And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according the commandments which God hath given." I know that my Savior will come again in the fulness of time. I haven't the slightest idea when that will be, but it will be grand for all of us to feel of his love. I know I am blessed with the truth of the gospel, which no one can take from me. I love all of you who are reading this.

Dear Readers, My teeth are apparently dumb. I went into the Dentist's office this morning thinking I would have all four wisdom teeth removed and be back to normal life tomorrow. Unfortunately, I now have to go in to a oral surgeon on friday. It wouldn't be that bad except the dentist had already started the extraction when he decided to refer me out. Oh well, now I have to sit around doing nothing. I guess I can catch up on reading and what-not that doesn't require a lot of activity.

Dear Readers, Our power went out last night. Wahoo! It was kind of nice to not have anything important to do and just sit around to talk with family or read. It was very enlightening. :)

Dear Readers, Itunes happens to near the top of my favorite things in the world, right after the Gospel, friends and food. Whoever came up with the idea for a software program that can store a bazillion terrabytes of music seriously has my utmost respect. Not only storing music, but randomly playing it to show off the various genres and even get more music off a website...it makes me smile. :) Just today I've listened to a big band, a waltz, MOTAB and T-Swift. What else makes me smile? Live music. I'm kind of sad that I did not go the State music festival at Northridge High School. Our orchestras both qualified for the state orchestra competition in a couple weeks, but we may not be going. The Jazz Band, as always, starts preparing exciting numbers for our last concert of the year. Tonight I have the pleasure of transposing different orchestral parts, some of which supply me with music for upcoming performances. It's a slot process, but well worth the time when trying to pl

Dear Readers, Friends have the biggest influence in an adolescents life. No matter what the parents or other adults say, a teen will revert back to their friends to see what they think. What they actually do depends on their values, but they will most likely ask for friends' opinions. One of the hardest things teenagers encounter is the peer pressure that comes from the best friends who they enjoy spending time with. For example, a person's best friend may encourage them to start missing rehearsals or sports practices to spend time with them. This highlights a big problem. As much fun as it may be to hang out with someone like that, you have to put your responsibilities first. When everything that has to get done is out of the way, then spending extra time with friends can be arranged. I love my friends. I would do anything for them. I know some who have troubles with balancing friends and responsibility. Put your sports and grades first. It really helps.

Dear Readers, I have recently discovered that being a high school student during AP season without actually having an AP class puts you in a most boring position. This year, opposed to last year, all my friends busy themselves with studying(as they should) while some of us wonder why we aren't smart like that. Last year, we would all study together and get a lot done to overcome these massive 3-4 hour tests. Not this year. AP tests are generally beneficial if you pass them, so my best friends should hopefully do really well on their tests to eliminate classes from their college schedule. Some, on the other hand, have very little significance, yet the class gives you so much information that can be used in later courses. My sisters both benefited from getting the highest scores on the AP Calculus Test and basically didn't have to take math in college. AP Music Theory and Harmony barely gets anything, and that's if you can get a 5 on it. Anyway, best of luck to those taking A

Dear Readers, For those of you who don't know, people in high school spend tons of time preparing for festivals. As of right now, our choir and band have concluded their region festivals, with our orchestra to come soon. Shakspeare Festival will have its place in a few weeks. Band festival went pretty well, but unfortunately we did not qualify for our state competition coming up in May. It didn't help that we missed a timpani part and our lead trumpet player was not there, so his solo was played by another. Our choir, as usual, took a lot of work to get into the right zone to perform for the large choir festival. You wouldn't think it would be that difficult to load buses or move into a room, but we have difficulties at Olympus. The festivals all went well. Good luck to everyone else performing in the future and may you bring the house down!

Dear Readers, Today we came home from a wonderful trip to California to celebrate our wonderful band program at Olympus. Below are just some of the people that made our tour enjoyable. Our tour had some pitfalls, but it all turned out to be fun. Thrills and excitement made the trip what we will remember for years to come. First off, we left the night of the Region 6 Band Festival. That made it a long night on the road, considering we left about 9 PM. We enjoyed the suspense of "I, Robot" on the bus. Being bus mom, I selected the movie based on the vote of about 30 kids on the bus. The movie ended about midnight, by which time most kids were asleep. Others stayed up til about 2 or 3. The next morning we hit up IHOP for breakfeast after switching drivers. Randy, our master roadsmen, then transported us safely to the famed Knott's Berry Farm, the first theme park in the United States. Our day consisted of coaxing a couple friends onto high-speed coasters and laughing with ri

Dear Readers, Remember when I said superman had it hard? Well, that case still stands. This time, however, he rests in the same category as all other guys except for Edward. What sets him apart? He can read minds. He probably gets pretty bored seeing the same ideas and problems all day long, but that seems a small price compared to the frustration saved in by-passing trying to read someone's mind. There were countless times today when I would have given my left arm to know what was on a person's mind. Ok, maybe not an arm, but certainly something important. Humans have this unfortunate nature to try hiding things from each other. Perhaps Edward is actually the brightest person.

Dear Readers, At school, I am currently in a Creative Writing class taught by our beloved G. Florence. We've read certain literature and put together parts of a literary magazine. Whilst going through all this art, Mr. Florence shared this poem entitled, "Of Mere Being," by Wallace Stevens: The palm at the end of the mind, Beyond the last thought, rises In the bronze decor, A gold-feathered bird Sings in the palm, without human meaning, Without human feeling, a foreign song. You know then that it is not the reason That makes us happy or unhappy. The bird sings. Its feathers shine. The palm stands on the edge of space. The wind moves slowly in the branches. The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down. To know that Wallace Stevens made his living as a lawyer for a life insurance company. One interpretation of his poem may portray him as the gold-feathered bird. He sings inhuman language of law at the edge of the mind, or death in some respects. The inhuman song, sung u

Dear Readers, I won't go into detail on what people have gone through concerning Band Tour at our school this year, but I will tell you one thing. We are going to have a great time merely because the world renowned Chuck Findley agreed to come work with our band! Who is Chuck Findley? Watch this: See what I mean? He has the greatest talent and personality we could possibly hope for in a musician working with us. Go MOB! (Might Olympus Band)

Dear Readers, What a wonderful day it is today, despite what the weather may bring into our blessed valley. So many things can go right in a day. One can merely wake up and feel good, which brightens up the day instantly. One may also deliver lovely little notes that share good news with talented individuals. All in all, it has turned out to stand out as a good day today. A lovely feeling roams about. The feeling of the spirit of the Lord in every little thing. Enjoy it when you experience it.

Dear Readers, Making the right calls, especially in real time, can complicate a situation so much that even the most tranquil of people can lose their heads. I refer to both basketball and anything else with that statement. Tonight, I truly believe that the NCAA referees, whether conciously or not, let many more of the calls against the Duke Blue Devils go or simply reduced it to a lesser call. In several instances, Zoubek, the Duke Center, should have received a foul call but merely walked all over other players to move the basketball. On one specific occasion, he intentionally elbowed another player as they both came down from trying to rebound a ball. The ball was eventually lost out of bounds. Zoubek commited at least three fouls within that 2 second period. I won't continue on with ranting and raving about how grossly unfair tonight's title game seemed. I would just like to point out that I know how hard referees work, even if they do a terribly job. Not only in basketball

Dear Readers, You may have noticed I made some changes to my blog. Well, I thought it was about time to shake things up...mostly because I couldn't come up with anything relevant to write about. How about conference? Conference comes around twice a year and some people take it for granted. It's easy to think of it as a day of not going to Church, but I have a different viewpoint that I unfortunately don't translate into action often enough. What do we go to church for? To learn more about the Gospel of Christ and draw closer to Heavenly Father. Shouldn't conference be marathon version of that? As we all know, marathons take some preparation. First off, get a good night's sleep before conference. I, for one, know how easy one can fall asleep when sitting for two hours. Although, think of who speaks at conference and you won't want to sleep. Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 says that the prophets give what the lord would say because he can't give it directly to som