Music and Lyrics

Dear Reader, That title is what a lot of graduates will do tonight. That line comes from a song called "Graduation" by the artist Vitamin C. The song is all about high school graduation, but I want to talk about college graduation. Today I had the opportunity to attend two graduation ceremonies because our barbershop quartet was asked to sing. Just being there at the ceremonies, I could tell that there is so much symbolism within the ceremonies and the traditions. It made me think a lot and there were some very inspirational talks given. When do I graduate? Well, it depends on my program entrance. Hopefully I will start music classes next winter semester, but I usually tell people in 2017. We will see how that goes. I was starting to think about getting degrees today while seeing all these people graduate. The main thing that came across my mind was that a degree doesn't make you an expert in anything. It is the experience of delving into the material and practicing

Dear Reader, Yes, I love Taylor Swift. Sue me. Once upon a time I was convinced I was going to marry her. That was way back in middle school. Maybe it was high school. Memory does not serve well at the moment. The lyrics made me ponder on the counsel given many times through my youth. I will do my best to share this counsel and where it comes from. Many times my advisers in young men groups and church activities have told me, "Get married fast after your mission. Live worthily, get engaged fast, make the engagement short and do it at the right time." That is the advice my young men group adviser gave when my friends and I were 15. Richard G. Scott, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, talks about getting married young and how we are counseled to do so as Latter-day Saints. (LDS General Conference, April 2011) Get married. It is a commandment. I want explore a little bit about this commandment and how we should fulfill it. As far as I am awar

Dear Reader, If you have ever been to a semester of college, you know that the last couple of weeks are dreaded by many students. I am one of those students. However, today I am here to argue that finals should not be as stressful as most make them out to be. I find those who are least stressed about finals are the students who have studied hard all semester long and just need a quick refresher the week before. Those students are few and far between. There are those who study hard all semester and just keep studying hard because they have a scholarship or are perfectionists, but they don't really need to cram at the last minute like those students who have done the bare minimum since the beginning. I'll break down my knowledge of finals week: Personally, all my tests are done as soon as possible. Last minute cramming does not help me very much, so just a quick read of a couple of chapters while I am in line at the testing center is about all I do at the last minute. Mu