Have you ever had?

Have you ever had a week where finding the time to sit down and do something you really want to do is just pushed out of sight and you never get to do it? And when you finally sit down to do it you can't think of what/how/ why etc. you needed/wanted to do it?
I haven't written in my blog yet this week because my week's been a bit like this. so now as I sit down to write I have no idea what to write about. So I think I'll advertise instead


Tuesday, February 1, 2011 will be the first Davis Youth Symphony concert. Starting at 7:30 p.m in the Davis High School Auditorium we will be playing four amazing songs and have two astounding soloists.

our four amazing songs are:
Poet and Peasant Overture
The Montagues and the Capulets (from Romeo and Juliet)
Marche Militaire Francaise
and
the 4th movement of a symphony by Brahms.

I'm excited and apprehensive but that shouldn't stop you from coming you all should come, the music will be amazing.

And even though I don't have my 500 words I can't think of a single thing to write, oh well.

New Semester : Same Stress

With the new semester I knew I was getting a few harder classes but the fact that I had something yesterday that could be classified as a meltdown(and I'd only gone to 4 of my classes) My stress is back and rampaging.

Now instead of P.E I have Computer Tech. I suppose that's a good thing, getting it out of the way for High school and all that but, then again it's not. It adds to my work load just an infinitesimal amount that about put me overboard.

Yesterday I had English, Biology, Algebra 2 and Computer Tech, not exactly a stress-less day. It seems as though I'm worried about absolutely nothing because the source of my meltdown/monologue to my dad was term projects and semester projects along with the added work load (which I chose, and I'm not sorry I did) of NAL and Davis Youth.

With all my homework and extracurricular work I have I was looking ahead and had no idea how I was going to get everything spaced out and to the point where there was time and a place and a way I could fit everything in. So I ranted to my Dad on the way home from Cello lessons for about 15-20 minutes. And being the patient dad he is, he listened and made a few suggestions here and there.

One of my main stresses right now is the up coming Davis Youth Concert. It's on the first and I'm still having trouble with a lot of the music. And the trouble I'm having is a lot of just being able to play it in the group. At home I can play the music just fine, it's when I get it in the group that I lose it and can't play a major portion.

Another major stress is Math, and it's not as huge as it was, but then again, it's not that small either.

NAL lost again yesterday and I had to ramble (this time I knew what I was talking about) for a minute and a half at least again. I managed 2 but that's not the point.

Yesterday when we got home and were having dinner I pulled out a pad of paper and wrote down all the things I had to do. I honestly didn't know how much just having a check list would help. I got everything done and still went to bed before 10:00. I felt less stressed, and this morning when I woke up I felt more rested and ready to face the 2nd first day of 2nd Semester.

I didn't mean to ramble out my frustrations again. I've done it and you'll have to live. Honestly don't read it if you don't want to. I really couldn't care less, It's been a stress reliever.

Persuasive Essay

Classical Music and Teenagers

A sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before, something that reminds you of honey turned into sound. Or the perfect day captured forever in sound. What could that heavenly sound be? Music. Music takes wonderful experiences and turns them into wonderful, magical, amazing pieces of musical joy. The problem today is that too many teenagers, and adults, take a biased look at classical music and say it’s boring. While sometimes it can be boring, it can also be very amazing and enthralling. Classical music is a music that we tend to think of as music that an orchestra would play. While it is something an orchestra would play, it is found in all of the music today. Today, as with many years ago, music continues to find a place in the hearts of people everywhere. Teenagers should find a place in their hearts, and a time in their lives, to listen to more classical music.

Classical music has a calming effect on people. Some pieces, the ones that are very slow, calm you down and reduce stress levels. As Musical Therapists have found when you listen to slow-tempo classical music you heart rate synchronizes with the music and stress leaves. In a project done by Florida Atlantic University College of Nursing, they found that stress levels were decreased by listening to classical music. Pain was also reduced because the participants focused on the music rather than on the pain. It’s as simple as that and all they had to do was to relax to some classical music. Joanne Loewy, a PhD and a director of music therapy said “Music has power.” This power is real; I’ve felt it in my life. As well as reducing stress levels classical music has power in testing, studying, and memorizing.

Have you ever noticed that as you memorize a poem or study for a test while listening to classical music that you remember what you have memorized or studied better? That is what happens when you study while listening to music. If you study while listening to music you tend to retain more of what you have studied. A study was done by a group of people in which two people communicated with each other while listening to punk, classical or no music. The results of the study are as such; those that did not listen to music took a longer amount of time to finish the project and had many comments that were not related to project. Those who listened to punk got more done than the no music people did, but still had their little comments. Those who listened to classical music did better than the other groups and had little or no comments. Other studies have shown that when classical music is being played during a test students tend to score higher. I know that in my life as I study to music I remember more than if I don’t study to music. When I study to music it sticks and I still remember it years later. Music doesn’t just help you in studying and memorizing it can also be found anywhere.

Music can be found anywhere you look just as long as you look. When you listen to music you find that the root of any piece of modern music is classical music. When you listen to your music whether it is rock, pop, rap or anything else, listen to the beat, the instruments in the background and see whether or not a classical rhythm or style is in what the instruments are playing. In rap music, though I would hardly consider rap music, the beat is the most evident classical tie. Most pop music today has instrumental in the background. There is a song on the radio that starts out with a cello playing a very entrancing prelude, this stems from classical music. Just listen and hear the music within the music. While I’m not saying that modern is bad have you ever wondered where it came from? Classical, of course. Some ingenious person took a tune, and added words. Someone had to start somewhere and that person started with classical music. Music all stems from that one branch, the classical branch, but in the evolution of music it has developed word to the music which we call lyrics.

In the world today the lyrics of songs have gone downhill. Without fail a song will mention alcohol, smoking or other things our society thinks they need, it is very rare to find a song that does NOT mention that. Classical music does not have lyrics and can therefore NOT induce you to try those things. Classical music only lets you see what you imagine with your brain, your imagination. The music is there to allow you to do that. It was created to capture the beauty of a spring morning, the sadness of the passing of a loved one, the joy of living, the pain of tragedy. It captures events that cannot be captured in words. It captures the feeling of an event, the beauty, the pain, the joy, the sadness, and leaves it to you to decide what to interpret it as. Classical music does not tell you what it is about, yet you feel in your very being the feeling it was meant to convey. You understand the composer as you use your imagination to create a world that was never there before. You use you to define the masterpiece of emotion.What you see is what you decide to see. What you want to feel and see and hear. Not what the singer wants you to feel, hear and see. As I play music on my cello, as I listen to others play on their instruments I feel the emotion they, and I, put into the music. Music has made me cry because the pure emotion held in one note, in one collection of notes. Classical music is such an influence in my life and can be in yours if only you let it.

Classical music is a stress reliever such as you may never meet in all your life, it can help you in everything, from stress to tests, to assignments to just having fun. Classical music is always found, everywhere around you, all you have to do is look for it and it will be there. Music conveys feeling that I cannot put into words, love, joy, pain, sadness, and so many other feelings. As I listen to classical music I wonder how anyone can put this on a shelf and let it be without ever giving it a chance. Many teenagers’ lives could be changed if only they would listen to Classical music. Classical music has changed my life, altered me in a way that can never be reversed. You too, can have a change of life; let classical music do to you what it has done to me. Please let it change your life for the better.

NAL

As this year started out I thought I had a great team, don't get me wrong, I do, I just wish I'd done more with my team. NAL has been hectic from the very start. We couldn't get people to even look at the applications then they did and we just took anybody we could get. We were so frustrated by then it didn't matter to us anymore.
Then Profa T had trouble with her lungs(?), so, obviously, was out of commission for at least 3 weeks. she literally runs the whole thing, I do a little, but she knows where everything is and we don't (we being Mrs. B and myself).
Another thing that I wasn't thinking of when I signed up for Davis Youth was that I'd have to leave practices an half an hour early. I couldn't see who would be good in what quarter or anything. And since I'm team captain I sort of needed to know.
With all of our complications it was hard to put together quarter teams. When we finally sat down to do it, it was about a week before Christmas break, immediately following Christmas (excuse me, Winter) break we had our first game.

Our first game was against Mueller Park Jr. High. They were good, in 4th quarter. In all the other quarters we beat 'em! but then they got us in 4th and won by one point. Third quarter was great that week, Pampered pets wasn't that hard a topic to research.

This week was bad. Today was bad, NAL was bad today. we played Milcreek. They were a huge, and very, very good team. From the very beginning they trounced us. In first quarter they got a total of 5 points, us 4. In second quarter they got us at 32 to 4 final score of second. In third quarter they knew what they were doing, had facts et cetera and we had know idea. They got 16 points we got 13. in fourth quarter, well lets not even go there. by the end it was about 51 to 22 or something similar.

In third quarter, because we didn't know what we were talking about, all of the other people went for about 10-20 seconds each. That left me a full minute and a half to fill so we would get docked points. I stepped up to the mark, and you don't even know how nervous I was. I had to just ramble! I was so nervous. I looked at all their bright pink shirts (yes, bright pink shirts, the majority were boys and the back of their shirt was punny) and had to look away, I know this is odd but I looked straight at the judge the majority of the time. sometimes I looked at others, but mostly the judge. I repeated myself at least 3 times and winced inwardly every time, but What else could I do? When I knew I could do no more I stopped. I had dragged it out just long enough that we were over 3 minutes by 11 seconds. if I hadn't kept going for that much longer, I don't even think about it.

In fourth quarter I was very frustrated by the lack of knowledge on books. One of the questions asked, "who is the author of Little Women" or something similar. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY on either team that was up knew they answer was Louisa May Alcott! The math questions were easy, we just had a hard time getting them before the other team. Oh well We can do better next week. Thank you for being patient with this rambling blog that was a way to get my frustration out!

My Aunt Jeanne

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be adopted? To know that your real mother couldn't keep you? That is something I have been thinking about more and more.

My Aunt Jeanne was my dad's older sister. I say was because nobody's seen or heard from her in 15 years. Aunt Jeanne was adopted when she was born, adopted by my grandparents. She was to be the second of 5 children. Jeanne, as is told by my Grandma, was a writer. she loved to write and what little poetry I've seen of hers is beautiful. Her favorite quote was "Life is like a coloring book. You can use whatever colors you like as long as you stay in the lines."

She married and had one child that we know of, his name was Graham and as of this moment I'm confused as to how old he is , so don't ask. He's older that me by a couple of years. or maybe only one.
Grandma and Grandpa have never seen Graham in person and Jeanne soon disappeared after Mom and Dad saw him. We don't know where she is right now, we haven't seen her in fifteen years.

I sometimes wonder that if I were to meet my aunt Jeanne right now if she would have the same personality as me. I wonder if we could have been good friends if I had grown up with her. And I'm almost certain that she could have taught me many things about writing.

I also contemplate how interesting and almost ironic it would be if, one day I were to meet Graham. I've often dreamed about learning about his family, and eventually meeting my aunt Jeanne.

What joy that would bring to me! How I wish to see my aunt Jeanne.

now on a different but not altogether off topic topic. can you imagine being adopted. I know I can't, wouldn't it be hard not knowing your true mother. only knowing that she needed to give you up for your own good? You'd know that your new mother and father loved you, but would it be enough? I've never had to consider these questions with any sincerity concerning my own parents. But just to imagine that , how hard it would be!

Who am I?

Who am I?
really
and truly?
Who am I?
I can't tell you
can you tell me?
Who am I?
inside me there's someone
can you tell me who?
Who am I?
This someone inside me,
she stumbles and falls,
she gets lost inside me and
cannot be found.
She hides her face,
she hides her purpose,
She hides who she is,
and I do not know her.
Can you tell me who she is?
Who Am I?
The answer to this question
is unknown.


I need 30 more words and I don't know where those are going to come from except from a poem.

The real me

Who is the real me?

there’s the me that I see in the mirror

is that the real me?

or the me that I see with my friends

is that the real me?

the me with my family

is that the real me?

The me that I feel when I’m just with me

Is that the real me?

there are so many me’s

which is really me?

The me that I see when I’m writing

that’s the real me.