magical music

25

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Snow

Out of the bosom of the Air,

      Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,

Over the woodlands brown and bare,

      Over the harvest-fields forsaken,

            Silent, and soft, and slow

            Descends the snow.

Even as our cloudy fancies take

      Suddenly shape in some divine expression,

Even as the troubled heart doth make

      In the white countenance confession,

            The troubled sky reveals

            The grief it feels.

This is the poem of the air,

      Slowly in silent syllables recorded;

This is the secret of despair,

      Long in its cloudy bosom hoarded,

            Now whispered and revealed

            To wood and field.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

take a deep breath, step back, everything is wonderful

Sometimes I find myself freaking out over the silliest smallest things.
Life is so short. Days fly by so fast. It is not worth it to worry for a minute.
Life is good and great and even when there are tears, I will survive and smiles are just around the corner.

21

17

As most of my endeavors go, this one fizzled out. Time to rekindle.
10 to 17... that's just a bit of a gap.
This past week I survived my first non-music course midterm. Oh Women's and Gender Studies. I enjoy the content and do the readings, which made the 58 multiple choice answer questions a breeze - hopefully I did alright by the scan-tron sheet... that was the first time I have had an official fill in the bubble test. We'll see how that went soon enough I guess.

ON TO READING WEEK!
No classes for a week.
Although I still have lessons and masterclass... which will be great and I will take advantage of that because I like singing. 
Time to learn some stuff for my musical skills midterm. Oh sol-fa, how you melt my brain.

10

Birthday girl

Today my little sister turned 10. We have entered the double digits folks! Run for cover!

French music and a Midnight in Paris

Yesterday was a long, busy, adventurous, successful, and living large kind of day.
9:15am I had a french recital to sing at, which had me scared beyond all belief(French and I don't really get along). I did my thing, and it may not have been my best performance of life, but I was very satisfied with the result. I held on to my confidence and ended with a smile. There were no huge holes or brain blocks or noticeable flubs, so I was pleased with my self.
After I went on to tea with friends and a nice long makeup lesson with my voice teacher, My lessons are always interesting. My teacher is currently focusing on the inspiration and motivation to achieving a goal... which seems to involve more talking than singing at the moment. Which is alright, but singing is what I am here for!
After my lesson I went on to theory class, which was long and dry, but helpful as we work towards the chapter test on Monday. I just need to find some motivation to pick up and pencil and plug through my theory hand out sheets...
After school I went to visit the boyfriend at his school and then he came over and kept me company while I got ready for the music formal.
I had a wonderful evening. The theme of the dance was 'Midnight in Paris' which was presented in the form of a chirstmas-esque light up Eiffle Tower and candy. The food was tasty, and the company superb. Unfortuantely the boyfriend wasn't able to come... next time I need to buy tickets sooner to avoid that problem.
Surprising my feet aren't too sore today after dancing the night away, although my big and baby toes are a little more pink than usual...

and keep going

pulling out the scarf collection

You know you wear scarves to often that when you go through a week of not wearing them and this particular fashion choice can end up be misinterpreted as some sort of sign of depression ... vocal major problems - I'm telling ya.


I feel like this week I've gotten my spark back. Today I woke up feeling sickie and gross, but I'm happy and excited. Life is good and adventure is out there. 

4

Today was a long day. Not as longs as Thursday will end up being... but I don't want to think about that right now. I cannot believe it is honestly only Tuesday. Some weeks fly by and others have a hard time getting started.
I had my Women and Gender Studies class this morning, which was just a random elective I chose at the last minute because it was Christmas break and I decided I should take an extra course so that I could work on the actually being able to graduate with the rest of my class and it was one of the few courses that still had space and I thought I might actually like.
I didn't really know what to expect... I mean I had thoughts, but I wasn't sure how accurate they were. I am actually really enjoying the course. The prof is interesting, and I really enjoy the content and the readings. This is an introductory course, so it is all pretty general, but I'm enjoying the things I'm reading and learning and getting to see and understand other opinions on topics that I am interested in. A lot the of the information I had been somewhat familiar with before this class, just from my own personal research and being a child of the internet age, but having a new/more academic reason to explore these topics is quite nice.
The only unfortunate part might be the whole group work aspect of the course... I mean it would be nice if the people in my group read/had the text book or actually had an accurate idea of what feminism is, especially since that is kind of an important part of this course. Ah well, is what it is.
It might be my favourite class right now... its the only really academic course I have this term. I mean I am also doing music theory, but that is an entirely different beast. My other credits are musical skills lab(where we sing do re me at 8:30 in the morning every other day. It can be fairly brutal to get out of bed for), choir, and studio(which includes private lessons and coachings, as well as masterclass and an hour of group tech one a week).
Being a music student is a funny thing, and I enjoy it - even when I feel more than a little overwhelmed at times.

3

 I had the privilege of spending time with a dear friend and being happy in the moment. Today I there was joy.

Malls are the strangest place, they filled with more things than people can ever buy yet I never find exactly what I want. Dress shopping is also a strange thing. Finding things that fit apparently just isn't my strongest suite.

2

I am going to take this month and use this space to document each day with little whispers of joy and points I feel deserve to be remembered.
I cannot believe that the first month of the year has already come and gone. This has been a winter of wild weather and full days. My second term of first year is already well under way, each course hurtling a long full speed ahead. I'm learning about accented passing tones and the use of a cadential six-four chord... its not as thrilling as you might imagine. I'm taking my first elective, intro to women and gender studies. I am really enjoying it, I just wish that the others in my class would take the time to actually read the text book - that would make the group work a little more bearable(perhaps).
I'm learning that earlier bed times are a thing my body and spirit seem to really enjoy, but being your own best friend is hard at times and I don't always give my body what it wants and rarely what it needs(or what is best for it). I'm learning that I need to manage my emotions in a new ways, and not let them control my happiness and cloud my success - or lead to my failure.

This month I will be posting every day, some days it may be a full post of some variety or another, others perhaps merely an image or a quote or anything that I feel is applicable in any way shape or form.

Here's to a February adventure. 

and i will be

As a music student it can be so easy to be caught up with the little things that cloud up the days. There is always something new to be working towards, another person to impress, another personal battle to wage. Its not just a music student problem, its and everybody problem. It can be hard to look past all of the day to day trials that are thrown our way and see the bigger picture and appreciate the beauty of our tiny existence. 

I find my self becoming so overwhelmed that it becomes nearly impossible to take a step back and just let the air float in and out of my person. 

Second term has been off to a rocky start, just in the way where I let things mess with my brain that have absolutely no right to make me feel any less than the rock star I am(that is what I am in school for right? A degree in classical voice performance leads to rock and roll fame and fortune, does it not?). I am so blessed to be able to pursue an education in what I am most passionate about and to be surrounded by such supportive peers, mentors, family members, and friends. Whenever I get overwhelmed I just need to stop and think about that for a second. I'm learning about music, I am in school to learn more about music, I get to make music! Life is good and beauty is everywhere. 

I have to focus on the things that make me the happiest and let me shine the brightest.