Be Nice

There are a lot of little things that make me happy. Getting a new outfit, perfecting a new hairstyle, losing a pound here and there. You’ll notice that everything I just named revolved around appearance. Yes, those things do make me happy. Feeling beautiful makes me happy. But am I really beautiful just because I got a new outfit? No. Am I really beautiful because my hair looks good or I lost some weight? Maybe on the outside. But even then, am I still truly beautiful? I say no. Scratch that; hell no. Beauty is where there is no evil. Look at the flowers, or the sunset, or at a baby’s face. Do you see evil? I sure as hell hope not. Therefore, you see beauty. Or some form of it.

            I’m not saying beauty is born from innocence. No; that would just make you naïve. Don’t ignore the bad things in life, but don’t focus on them either.

            True beauty is being nice to other people. I’ve learned that through my own experience. I’ve been known to not be a very nice person. But for the past however long, I’ve been genuinely nice to people. And I love it. No, I don’t necessarily feel beautiful on the outside. But on the inside I feel awesome. People are noticing, too. It’s weird to be called nice. But I like it.

            Even if you’re sad sometimes, be nice to other people. It’ll help. To see someone else’s sadness fade away because of you, helps to make your sadness fade away too. Just be a good person; it’s a great feeling.

Us

Do I even know what love is? Probably not. But when I look at him, I know. He is flawless to me. He is perfect. Or rather, his imperfections are what make him flawless. It’s been so long since we’ve loved each other the way we once did, but I fear I may be starting to love him as strongly as I used to.

            It’s been a year and a half since that fateful day when my world ended. My heart shattered. My happiness drained. And I still remember it like it was yesterday. The amount of tears I shed over those few weeks was more than I’ve shed in my whole life. An insane thought, I know; since we cry constantly as babies. But I couldn’t stop them from flowing.

            I never knew a heart could physically hurt like that. Well, it was more like an ache. Organs hurting is like a stomach ache, in my understanding. But this pain in my heart was, like a said, an ache. A constant ache. And it became overwhelming when I looked through pictures of us, or thought of memories we made, or, and worst of all, looked at you. It was awful.

            It’s been better. Much better, actually. I don’t cry anymore. Maybe every once and a while, when I’m lonely. I still miss the memories. But who wouldn’t? They were great ones. We were great, darling. But not meant to be.  

New and Final Quartet

My All-State quartet is fantastic. I’m so pumped. It consists of Isaac, Jessica, and Austin. Tenor, Soprano, and Bass. When I first saw that that was my group, I was surprised. Knowing those voices and knowing mine, I didn’t think we’d blend very well. But we practiced today and we sounded awesome. We’re all very talented, too. We know the music, counting, and rhythms for the most part. Isaac, Jessica, and I are all juniors, and Austin is a sophomore. He’s very good for his age.

            Mr. Ziegler put me in charge. I’m in charge of cuing us in; counting the beats before we enter. I’m also in charge of keeping the beat, or rhythm. I seem to be the only one in the group that can tell when it’s slowing down. I’m also the only one that plays piano. But all of this okay with me; I like being counted on. It’s an honorable feeling.

            I feel much more relieved about auditions, now. I think we’ll do great. I’m nervous if I get recalled, but I’ll have time to prepare and I don’t have to worry about anyone else messing up because it’s all me.

            I think my quartet genuinely cares about All-State. And I love that. I love that they’re dedicated and willing to put in the time it takes. I don’t think we need a ton of practice. We know these songs very well. And it’s not like we have to work on blending with each other’s voices; Mr. Ziegler knew what he was doing when he put us together. It’s just a matter of being completely solid on every single part of every single song, because we don’t know what cuts they’re going to pick.

            I’m so excited to continue working with them. It’s a good feeling when everyone knows their part and we just know we’re going to be great. If we don’t make it into All-State, that’s okay. It will be disappointing, but I’ll know in my heart that we sounded truly amazing. But if we do make it.. not even all four of us. Even if just one person from our group makes it, that’ll be an honor.

Full Body Experience

Good God I love music. Singing it, dancing to it, listening to it. I don’t know if you have to be good at music in some way in order to enjoy it, but it’s definitely more enjoyable if you’re good at it. I’m not saying I’m a stellar singer. But being a good singer helps me to want to sing more, therefore helps me to enjoy it more. I’m going to talk about three different pleasures that revolve around music; singing, dancing, and listening.

               With singing, your body is your instrument. Not only your vocal chords, but your diaphragm, throat, stomach, etc. This is an advantage and disadvantage. Advantage, because you can usually feel when you’re doing something wrong, and you have more freedom to do things with you instrument. Disadvantage, because you can’t just press a button and blow to make sound come out. You have to shape your vocal chords and throat, and breathe properly from your diaphragm in order to get a nice sound. When you sing, you can physically feel the music move you. You can feel it course through your veins and body.

            Dancing also allows you to feel the music. On the beat of the music, you can move your body to match it. The way the music moves, you move. It’s slow and soft, move like a ballerina. It’s heavy and energetic with a nice beat; hit all the moves with a great force.

            Listening to music is like a massage for your ears. But not only your ears; once again your whole body gets to enjoy it. You can feel the music move from the source, through the air, into your ears, and resonate throughout your body. It’s a beautiful thing.

            Music is a full body experience. That’s why it’s so great. You don’t like to dance? Okay, sing. You don’t like to sing? Okay, listen. And if you don’t like listening, you need to get that checked.