A few more miles...

Isn't life funny? It always waits until everything's going great, your finally caught up in classes, and life is just going great and then....BAM! Everything happens at once and you've lost any sense of balance and sanity. Well, that's how the last couple weeks have been for me.
Last week started off fine and then got a little rocky with some drama in the club that I am no longer President of...woot woot! It was emotional to say goodbye and the politics of switching officers was, well politics. Nevertheless, we got through it.
The following day I get a call from my mom telling me that my Grandma who's been living with us was very sick and probably wouldn't make it through the weekend. I've been very close to her since she moved in with us, so that hit me pretty hard. I had a big project due the next day that I had barely started, but fortunately the professor was understanding and I was able to drive home that night to say goodbye to my friend. It was an emotional weekend, but so crazy with people constantly coming in and out of our house that I don't even think I've really had time to deal with it yet. I'm sure that'll come eventually. Well, she passed on that Saturday and is in a better place now. It's sad to see her go and I'll miss her a lot, but I am so grateful to know that there is a life after death and that I'll see her again soon.
Sunday I had to drive back to Flagstaff for a choir concert that University singers was in. It was so fun to get to conduct one of our pieces and the choir sounded awesome! It was a great experience, but terrible timing. One good thing I've learned from all my experience with performing is how to "put on a face" when necessary and do what needs to be done. This was one of those times. That night I had another concert with my institute choir which was spiritually invigorating, but emotionally difficult to get through.
At this point you are probably thinking, "there can't possibly be anything else". Alas, the fun continues.
Monday morning at 2 am I woke up, completely exhausted from the weekend, but also terribly terribly sick! It was awful!!!!!!!! I spent the whole day in bed and having people assume or suspect that i had the swine flu. So I guess I should clear the record and tell everyone that I don't have the swine flu! Maybe now people will actually touch me and sit next to me. And to top it all off my car was having issues sunday night. I took it to a repair shop but the problems were gone and while I'm still not convinced it's ok, there's not much else I can do.
Now I get to look forward to my last choir concert EVER performing with a choir tomorrow night and then a very early morning drive home Saturday for my Grandma's funeral. Then finals next week, graduation, and actually having time to possibly find a job for the summer and a place to live for fall (anyone know of any job opportunities in the valley?).
BUT, the moral of the story is that through all of this I tried really hard to turn to the Lord and realize that with His help I can overcome anything. And as I continue to do this I am actually having one of the most positive terrible experiences of my life. I am not afraid for the future, be it swine flu, natural disasters, famine, death, or pain as long as I have the Lord on my side. Like it says in Deutoronomy 31;6- He will not fail us, nor forsake us. I believe this with all my heart.

An die Freude...

Joy, o wondrous spark divine,
Daughter of Elysium,
Drunk with fire now we enter,
Heavenly one, your holy shrine.
Your magic powers join again
What fashion strictly did divide;
Brotherhood unites all men
Where your gentle wing's spread wide.

Embrace each other now, you millions!
The kiss is for the whole wide world!
Brothers - over the starry firmament
A beloved Father must surely dwell.
Do you come crashing down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creators presence, world?
Seek Him above the starry firmament,
For above the stars he surely dwells.

-Friedrich Schiller
(Text sung by chorus during the fourth movement
of Beethoven's 9th symphony)

My NAU choir is performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony tomorrow night. It is by far the hardest thing I have ever sung, with the soprano tessitura (range) gravitating around a high A above the staff. Rehearsals have been exhausting, but it is completely worth the experience. It is a monumental work and the message it sends of joy and brotherhood through both text and music is unforgettable. Tonight during our dress rehearsal, chills ran throughout my body and tears came to my eyes. I was reminded once again why I am studying music.
Music has a power that few other disciplines can boast. There are works that make me cry and songs that make me laugh. And yet, music is in constant danger within our education systems. I don't know how many of you are aware, but RIFs have been sent throughout the state, threatening many of the "specials" teachers jobs(art, PE, music, librarians, etc). Nothing has been decided and many of these teachers will be hired back, but this is just another example of a battle that has been going on for years. Music is constantly being threatened within our schools. In replace of music we now have standardized tests....Don't even get me started on those. In the days of esteemed philosophers, such as Aristotle, the three most important subjects were Physical Education (for the body), Philosophy (for the mind), and Music (for the soul). No wonder the souls of many people today are so debilitated and distorted. Art has become only a thing of entertainment and has lost the respect it once held. People have forgotten what truly defines our humanity, and that music is part of what makes us human. Without it, we would become a society of emotionless robots. When was the last time a science experiment or math problem made you cry? Made you so filled with joy that you found hope to go on existing? If you actually had an answer to either of those you are a rare breed. Now think of the last time a song made your heart break, or completely transformed your mood, or made you want to make a difference in the world. Think of your answers to these questions and then ponder on the fact that math and science are considered core curricular subjects, while music is still just an elective or a special. I just do not see the logic behind this. While I am not trying to degrade math or science in any way, I am trying to show that music is just as important to the curriculum and should be considered one of the core subjects.
When I started this post I had something completely different in mind to say, but I don't regret the way it turned out. I will be honest and confess that I am scared to enter a profession that is in the midst of a battlefield. I will probably spend the rest of my life having to defend music education, constantly battling against administrators and government officials. But then I am always reminded, as I was tonight while wailing out high A's :), that this is a battle worth fighting for. Please don't let music get cut from our schools- talk to administrators, write letters to the legislature, let our state know that these "specials" are vital to our children's education. I know many of you have young kids and it makes me sad to think that by the time the enter school they will enter a world of standards, stress, tests, and competition. As our schools continue to take away the arts, they will slowly disappear from our society until we have forgotten who we once were. Beauty, expression, and emotion will become ideas of the past. Don't let our country forget its humanity...

I got a blog!

So I caved in and got a blog. I figure it's a great way to keep my family and friends informed about my life...especially since I hate talking on the phone.
I suppose I should start by catching everyone up on my life. I am so excited to announce that I am walking on May 8, 2009! Woot woot! I am also lucky enough to sing the National Anthem with two of my good friends at our graduation ceremony. It's a long awaited event and I can't wait! The next thing in my life is student teaching choir at Snowflake High School and Junior High in the Fall and then I will officially graduate in December.
The last four years of my life have been mostly taken up by school. I have also been the President of NAU's student chapter of the American Choral Directors Association for the last year and a half. It keeps me very busy, but I have definitely learned a lot and am grateful for the many experiences I have had. I also currently student conduct one of the NAU choirs and I love it! I love my major and I can't wait to teach! Flagstaff is great as well and I am definitely going to be sad to leave it.