Freshmen are funny

So I work for Utah State as a peer advisor/ambassador for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as the Caine College of the Arts. I often sit at the marching band booth during the lunch time/browse the booth time, and the freshmen are interesting. They're either overly confident or... or something. One person came up to me and said, "We need to have a conversation. So I'm pretty much an amazing percussionist. I got 1's in all of these competitions and stuff. The thing is - I don't read music. I learn by hearing. Is there a band for me?"..... Really?!?!

Anyway...That is my rant for now. Time to go!

It's been a while....

I'm now realizing how long ago December really was...So maybe I should write or something. :P Spring semester was a long one. I came to many realizations and have learned a lot of things. I have also made many new friends since December, for which I am grateful for.

In December I will be leaving Logan to live in Salt Lake, where I will be doing my student teaching and interning for music therapy. Not at the same time. I am capable of not completely over booking myself. Some days. The fact that I will be leaving Logan is a sad one but also a happy one. I have loved living here. I love the small town atmosphere, adore the people here, and almost everything about it. I have made memories here that I will never forget. I am glad, though, to be moving in a new direction. It's weird to say, but I feel like I was supposed to be in Logan for the amount of time I've been here, and now I feel as though I have finished (or nearly finished) what I needed to accomplish here. There are great adventures waiting for me elsewhere, and I am thrilled to experience them. I'll also be thrilled to be close to my family members again. I feel like I've missed a lot being away, and it saddens me when I miss big events like baby blessings, weddings, and mission farewells/homecomings, and it makes me sad to even miss the small things, like monthly birthday parties, where I can spend time with my grandparents and cousins. So, as you can see, I am torn but glad all at once. I am also glad to meet new friends. It will be scary, but exciting all at once.

I have also been really thinking of what I will be doing as a professional. I finally had the opportunity to re-take a class this semester for my music therapy degree, and to take a couple of those last few courses, and they honestly overwhelmed me. It made me ponder the reasons I had initially felt that it was important for me to be in that program, and why I am now also an education major. A lot of what I've been leaning toward is working in the schools, mainly as a teacher, maybe an advisor/administrator over the music program of a school, and/or an advocate working to push for funding to keep the arts in the schools in our country. As I have been watching the education world fall apart around me due to budget cuts and removal of the wrong programs and the promotion of others that are not necessarily educational or helpful to our students in any way, it has frustrated me to no end. So much so, that I have wanted to begin research on how to change this and to make a change. I hope that I can be an effective advocate for change.

I have recently gotten a new calling in my stake - I'm now the stake music chairman. AKA, my old calling on steroids. I am slightly overwhelmed, but at the same time have a lot of ideas and am really excited to begin putting them into action. I hope that I can do the things that Heavenly Father would have me do concerning our stake - to help them and myself grow. That's what it's all about, isn't it? To continually grow?

That is all for now. I will try and be better at keeping you all updated...the few of you who follow this, that is. I'll try and fill in details when I can as well. Have a wonderful day!

This is a bit late, but..........

I had an interesting realization the other night.

My mom and I have been a part of a singing group since we moved to Riverton in 2000. They perform a collection of songs called "Women at the Well", which are songs about the women who knew Christ. This time I was asked to play the piano accompaniment this time, which is something I had never done with this particular selection. The best part about this experience was that it didn't matter.

I finally figured out (I'm not sure why it took me this long) that playing the piano is more than a stress reliever, a pass time, or what have you. It is literally a spiritual experience for me. No matter what I'm playing, I feel this crazy spiritual connection that I don't necessarily feel while I'm playing other instruments. I'm not really sure why, it is what it is.

Anyway.......................................

It's been great to be home for the past little while. I have been able to teach school, work, and spend time with the people I love most. We had our Sorensen Christmas party on Sunday and I loved every minute. My aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are so incredible - so loving and so much fun to be with. I love seeing cousins' faces as they open gifts, or as I open my gift from them - their excitement and anticipation that everyone will be pleased - I don't really know how to explain it other than that I loved it.

I miss all my friends in Logan and elsewhere, but I know that this is where I needed to be this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

Money, so they say, is the root of all evil.

I am sick and tired of money, banking, all of it. The banks I am going through are incredibly frustrating - taking money when my account is not yet deficient, losing things, and poor customer service as a whole. What happened to, "The customer is always right?" I think that in a college town that banks should be more lenient, and understand that most students can't work and can't afford it when extra things are tacked on to their other expenses. It doesn't make sense to me to add more fees when someone is deficient...that makes it so they can't pay the bank as quickly as the bank would like...am i right?

....interesting events....

Can I just tell you how much I hate "dead week"? That is the week that USU students are not supposed to have tests or anything so that they can focus on studying for finals. Let me tell you something - for music majors, this is so not the case. I take more tests during "no test week" than at any other time throughout the entire semester. On top of that, I have juries (which is basically my final for private lessons) and a million concerts. During Christmas time, the amount of those concerts seem to double. On top of that, I got in a fight with a friend I've known since 8th grade over something stupid, and my car died. It was just fabulous. But the next day so many things went better! I received blessing after blessing, even my teachers making an exception for me that they normally would not have, and so many others.

Here are some fun pictures from Thanksgiving break :) My mom is working on a fun project for Ben, where we made a sign that says "Feliz Navidad", and she's taking pictures of the sign with people that mean a lot to him and is going to put it in a book for him. Here are some that I got from mom. :)


Steven being ordained a Priest!


Our annual "Ca-Ca Bowl" on Thanksgiving

I got a letter from Ben!

Ben has never been much for words....Well, let me rephrase that....He has a way with words that is quick and concise. I can send him an eight page letter, and his reply will cover everything in a page and a half. Nevertheless, it's refreshing to read from him! He is very encouraging, and makes me laugh every time I read his letters. I am grateful for his example to me.

Sounds of the Stadium Concert

Tonight was the annual Sounds of the Stadium concert for USU's Aggie Marching Band, which marks the end of the marching band season. I had some bittersweet feelings this entire week - glad to have some free time again, but sad to lose the time with the people I've grown to love over the past few months. And, as nerdy as it sounds, I love marching band. I get a thrill out of playing and marching, constantly being challenged (even if I'm not very good at it). I'm glad I had the experience again :)