Day fifty-four: Neither Angels nor Demons

I love having Discipleship lunch every Monday. It's just a nice break from life and such. Today, we talked about Romans 1-8, because that's what we were supposed to read over the past two weeks. There was one particular verse that spoke to me today. It's one of my all time favorites, actually. It's just so powerful and it makes me feel like I'm never alone. I don't know. I just love it. So I decided to write it awesomely on my mirror like I do all words that make me happy. So here you go.

If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31

Day fifty-three: Waterworks

Yet another video that needs no words on my part. Videos like these are always so touching. It came out of nowhere. I was just watching the AMAs, laughing at how amazing Taylor Swift is, and then this commercial came on. At first, I wasn't sure where it was going, but then, at the end, it was like BAM! Waterworks. It was quite amazing. Sometimes, even though I hate walmart, I have to love them. XD

There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again. 

Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Day fifty-two: We may be weird, but we're the coolest

Today was the last home game of the year. I've missed a few home games, but overall, my first semester in the MOB has been wonderful. I met two of the best friends ever, and I've had lots of fun. The UT game was my favorite, though. We were all squished into a tiny section, but we screamed and cheered and had a grand old time. The UH game was also fun. We got to dress as zombies and even though it rained, it was wonderful. And the losing wasn't too bad. XD

My favorite part of the game is when we pull out the big green sign. You'll just have to watch for yourself. (Watch between 2:06 and 3:03)

If you like nerds, raise your hand. If you don't, raise your standards.
Violet Haberdasher

Day fifty-one: Just So Bad

Breaking Dawn was horrible.

"Then why would you make a post about it?" you all wonder. Well, I shall tell you.

It's amusing, and I ended up having a great time. My roommate, Katri, and I made shirts to wear (which we never got a picture of...sad day). On the front, it said "Team guy who almost killed Bella with his car" and on the back it said "Jingle Bells, Edward smells, Jacob is okay, Bella yucks, Twilight sucks, POTTER ALL THE WAY (long live Cedric Diggory)." XD The first hour of the movie was SO FUNNY! I laughed my butt off. The second hour was horrible and hard to get through, but at least I had a great time. Even though they had no intention of making that movie humorous in any way, I'm glad that it was, because it provided an hour of stress relief from my life. :)

 

The most thoroughly wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.
 Nicolas De Chamfort

Day fifty: Discovery

Today, I got to play with real human skeletons.

Actually, it was mainly just skulls, but it was so cool! I had to do a lab for my physical anthropology class. We learned how to identify a person based on markers on their skulls and pelvises, and in the lab, that's what we had to do. I spent two hours observing and analyzing four skulls and three pelvises. I had to give sex, age, and ancestry. I felt like Dr. Brennan. :)

The coolest thing during the lab was the station where I had to determine the age of a child. While it was a little sad I was holding an actual child's skull, looking at the teeth was really neat. If you looked at the jaw, you could see the permanent teeth starting to come in on the front and you could see the second molars forming in the back of the jaw. It wasn't a full grown tooth; it was still developing. I think it's amazing that we can look at bones and be able to tell who people were and what they did. There's a great scene between Bones and Angela in the pilot of the show Bones that kind of captures the essence of what I'm saying. Lemme see if I can find a youtube video. :D

...okay, so I can't find one. And I was just gonna video it myself, but my sound on my computer crapped out again. Bah. Oh well. Maybe I'll put it up eventually. :D

Bah. And I can't even find the quote I'm looking for either. Fail. This is just a fail. Oh well...

Day forty-nine: Affirmation

This is one of those times where words aren't really necessary. Basically, I was super stressing out about my paper, my school life, my social life, etc, etc, and I just really needed to get my priorities straight. So I watched this video, and everything was better. :D

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen. 
Claude M. Bristol

Day forty-eight: Enchanted

I know, enough with the Taylor Swift stuff. But I can't help it. You know when a song just connects with you because it's totally relevant to your life? Well, that's what happened today. So I'm just going to leave the lyrics and leave you all wondering. :)

There I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired, lonely place

Walls of insincerity
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

Your eyes whispered "Have we met?"
Across the room your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy

And it was enchanting to meet you
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you

The lingering question kept me up
2 AM, who do you love?
I wonder 'til I'm wide awake
And now I'm pacing back and forth
Wishing you were at my door
I'd open up and you would say
It was enchanting to meet you
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you

This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the story line ends
My thoughts will echo your name
Until I see you again
These are the words I held back
As I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you

Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you
This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonder-struck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wondering if you know
I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else
Please don't have somebody waiting on you

~Taylor Swift, "Enchanted"

Day forty-seven: Justice

I love books. I also love movies. But oftentimes, I don't like books turned movies.

Harry Potter did an okay job. Time Traveler's Wife just sucked. Twilight...well, they did well with what they had, didn't they? It's always unfortunate, though, when a great book or series just flops as a movie. Like Percy Jackson. Goodness, what a mistake. I was hoping and praying that the Hunger Games wouldn't  be another Percy Jackson. The trailer came out today, and I've watched it like 59 times.

I am so excited.

I literally cried during the part where Katniss volunteers herself (although I'm having a rough week, so the tears were already ready). It looks super amazing, and it looks like they've really got a good movie on their hands. I've only read the book once (I definitely plan on rereading it at least once before the movie) but I think they've done a great job translating it to the screen, from what I can tell. They might actually do the book justice, which would make me SUPER HAPPY! Everyone should read the book. And see the movie. Okay? :)

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Day forty-six: Princess

I went to the Renaissance festival today, and I had a great time. I got to wear my Elizabeth dress that was made almost four years ago for the midnight showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. I bought one of those flower garlands when we got there, and I just have to say, I felt like a princess. I felt so pretty, and it was nice. Sometimes,everyone needs to feel like that. I've been kinda in a slump lately for lots of reasons. I think it's the end-of-semester blues. But today was nice. And now I'm watching Princess Diaries. Man, I love Anne Hathaway. XD I should be working on homework, but I'm so pooped, and I think I need a bit of a break before this horrid week coming up. Yeah?

To look almost pretty is an acquisition of higher delight to a girl who has been looking plain for the first fifteen years of her life than a beauty from her cradle can ever receive.
Jane Austen

There are certainly not so many men of large fortune in the world, as there are pretty women to deserve them.
Jane Austen 

I couldn't resist those Jane Austen quotes. I love her. And apparently write like her too. :) 

Day forty-five: Growing Up

So I know it's a little late, but I just wanted to take this moment to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!!!! Sweet sixteen, when did you grow up? Seriously! I remember when you were a baby. The day you were born, I was so excited. You were my greatest playmate growing up. I remember when we used to wake up at like 7 in the morning on the weekends. We didn't want to wake up mom and dad, so we sat on on of our beds and played UNO til they came and found us. I remember every Christmas morning, we'd wake up SUPER early, sometimes a full two hours before mom and dad told us we could leave our rooms, and wait together. I remember playing cars with you, listening to Hit Clips with you (remember those? :D), listening to your "army song" and singing and dancing, writing and filming a movie starring our build-a-bears, and so much more. You're sixteen years old, and you may not think I'm as cool as you once did, but I know you love me the same. You're so grown up, and I can't believe how big you've gotten. You're the coolest brother ever, and I'm so lucky that you're my brother. :)

Little

All grown up

There's no other love like the love for a brother.  There's no other love like the love from a brother. 

Terri Guillemets

 

To the outside world we all grow old.  But not to brothers and sisters.  We know each other as we always were.  We know each other's hearts.  We share private family jokes.  We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  We live outside the touch of time.  Clara Ortega

Day forty-four: Endings

On 11/11/11, the very last Harry Potter movie came out on DVD. I had to accept it: Harry Potter is officially over. I'm part of the Harry Potter generation. I grew up with Harry. I remember when I was in first or second grade, my dad read me the first Harry Potter book as a bedtime story, a chapter a night. I remember when we got to the chapter about quidditch, Dad read the name "Katie Bell" and I thought he was just messing around, since that was my nickname. I was in the book. :) Voldemort gave me nightmares at first, and I was convinced that Hermione and Ron were in love (I'm good XD). I think I cried the moment I found out that they were making my favorite series into a movie. I did my research, and I found out everything about all the actors and actresses that were going to be in the movie. I thought Dan was perfect for Harry, I thought Emma and I were buds, because her birthday is the day before mine, Rupert seemed silly, but made a great Ron, and I fell in love with Matthew Lewis (Neville). I had a little crush on him back then. That year, I dressed up as Hermione. I bought the Griffindor robes, and I painted my own tie. I remember going to the movie the very first day it came out. I went with my friend Alex, and our parents took us out of school early so we could go sit in line. We were dressed up in our costumes. At the end of the movie, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione boarded the train back to London and Harry said, "I'm not going home, not really," and the final melody played on French horn, I couldn't help but tear up. I was nine years old, and I was the happiest girl on the planet.

Almost ten years later, I refused to read any spoilers about the movie. Every time the trailer played, I got teary eyed. I used my graduation robes as a costume, with a Ravenclaw patch, and my mom made me radish earrings and a butterbeer cork necklace. I had my spectrespecs, my wand, my Quibblers, and my Harry Potter TOMS. I was Luna, even though I didn't have blonde hair. :D Of course, this was before I became a proud Hufflepuff. Before the midnight showing, I had my handmade painted Potter Generation shirt and I got to the theater at 5. After hanging out at Barnes and Noble with Maggie and Alex, we went to Chick-fil-A and then changed into our costumes. We got in line and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, the moment came, and we went into the theater. We had awesome seats, and we couldn't be more excited. The lights dimmed, and the movie started. It quickly turned into a sobfest (especially the Snape scenes). I had a kind of fangirly moment when Ron and Hermione kissed, and I was a little angry when Harry didn't fix his old wand with the elder wand. But at the very end, the 19 years later part, the grown up Harry, Ron, and Hermione watch as their children ride off to Hogwarts in the train, and the same theme with the French horn played in the background. I was nineteen years old, and I sobbed and sobbed. My childhood was officially over.

Many cultures have a rite of passage that children must go through to join the adult world. For my generation throughout the world, seeing the last movie was our rite of passage. Just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione grew up and left Hogwarts, so did we all. But as sad as growing up is, I have to see it as bittersweet. Yes, we had to leave Hogwarts in our childhood, it taught us so many things that we can take with us for the rest of our lives.

And, of course, we can always enjoy those guilty pleasures like Muggle Quidditch.

2001

2011

Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.

J.K. Rowling

Day forty-three: Long Live

You guys are getting tired of Taylor, I know. I know. I'm still coming down from my Swift high. XD And, okay, she deserves this post. So get over it. Because she's the CMA ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR!!!!! And while that's amazing and all, that's not really going to be the main focus of this post. I will mention that her reaction to winning was so adorable, and she was just so happy and genuine. I love her. :D

1. I love how she waves at the camera and says hi. She's so funny.
2. She thanks her fans. She loves us. And that's just cool.
3. Awww Mama Swift is just so happy. :]
4. She has the guts to thank Justin Beiber and Nelly at a country music awards show. XD

I know haters gonna hate and all. I understand their arguments. "Taylor isn't a country artist anymore really." Yes. "She's not that great of a singer." Yes. "There are other talented people out there who deserve to win awards too." Yes. But the title is Entertainer of the Year. Speak Now didn't win best country album. It's not country. She didn't win best female vocal artist. She won Entertainer of the Year. If you go on youtube and watch some of the clips from her concerts, you have to agree that she's there to entertain. She's got acrobatics, ballet dancers, tap dancers, a flying balcony, fireworks, video clips, the whole shebang. Her concert is a flat out show. She entertains. So, yes, I think she deserves the title Entertainer of the Year. And all you haters, all you're ever gonna be is mean.

But the main point of this post (yeah I got ranty. Sorry XD) is that Taylor Swift went up at a country music awards show, where people were dressed up in princess dresses and nice tuxes, and sang a song on a couch dressed in blue jeans and a sweater. I love how no matter how famous she gets, or how many awards she wins, she can just go back to being herself. The performance wasn't exactly flawless... she's recovering from being sick, and no, she's not the best live performer. But she has so much heart, and that song is beautiful. She got a standing ovation. Taylor Swift, you go girl. :)

We are the kings and the queens
You traded your baseball cap for a crown
and they gave us our trophies
and we held them up for our town
And the cynics were outraged
Screaming "This is absurd"
'Cause for a moment a band of thieves
in ripped up jeans got to rule the world.
Taylor Swift

Don't you worry your pretty little mind
people throw rocks at things that shine
and life makes love look hard
Taylor Swift

Day forty-two: Nerdy

Since it is day 42, I figured that this post should be equally nerdy. :D I was feeling a little down today. Not really sure why... just woke up grumpy. So I asked my besties if they had any good youtube videos to share with me, and Jessica gave me this gem. And I then spent like an hour and a half watching the whole series. Day. Wasted. Again.

Good thing it's only six, and I have plenty of time to get other stuff done, right? Right?

Anyway, I'm like in love with these videos. Hank and Katherine are just adorable and hilarious. It is now a requirement that my future husband must be okay with playing video games horribly with me and recording them and putting them on youtube. :D THEY'RE JUST TOO CUTE! :D

Alright guys. Don't get too addicted to Hank and Katherine. Just warning ya! Hopefully since I've watched all nine, I'll be able to work on my *cough15pagecough* term paper rough draft that's due in a week. That I haven't really started... O.o

The relationship between husband and wife should be one of closest friends. 
B. R. Ambedkar

Day forty-one: Accomplishments

LAKE TRAVIS BAND IS THE FIFTH BEST 4A BAND IN THE STATE!

I am just so UNBELIEVABLY proud of you guys. You've worked so hard, and you totally deserve this. I'm really sorry that I couldn't be there, but I know that it was amazing. You guys are amazing. :)

Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.
Alfred A. Montapert

Do not wait; the time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
Napoleon Hill

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.
Colin Powell

Day forty: Catching Up

Today was beautiful in that I caught up on nearly TWO WEEKS of posts. Ahhh! I'm so sorry guys. I feel like I'm kind of defeating the purpose of the blog, but ehhhh. If I do it eventually, I think it should count. Because, maybe someone will stumble upon my blog and read something that makes their day. So I'm catching up. I've got a few days left to get, but after that I'll be good!

Today was also beautiful because I've started a health kick again, and I decided to make a yummy fruit salad for dessert. I've been obsessed with coconut lately. XD So I had my yummy fruit salad, my physical anthropology lab, and Bones. What could be better, eh? :D

If you start soon enough, you won't have to run to catch up.
Unknown

Day thirty-nine: Fighting Dragons

I'm apparently still on a Taylor Swift high, and so I feel the need to relate everything to a song. But this is actually fitting. I found this website a while ago, but I just remembered it so I thought I'd share it. It's so adorable. I wouldn't recommend watching the video at the end. It's like five minutes of nothing. But the rest of it is sooooo adorable. :D

Adorableness <3

I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you
Taylor Swift

Day thirty-eight: Remember the Fifth of November

TAYLOR SWIFT PART TWO!!!!!!

Oh my goodness, Taylor is so amazing in concert. That night was just as amazing as the first one. Here's ten reasons why:

1. Minute Maid Park is amazing. It's so giant, and it was a cool feeling hearing 42,000 other people sing along to the same song.
2. I had a yummy pretzel.
3. I got to see NEEDTOBREATHE!!! I got to hear my favorite song EVER performed live! Something Beautiful. :)
4. Found out later that Sara Bareilles was standing within ten rows of us. Go figure.
5. Taylor is amazing live (even if she says the same things each concert). :)
6. Floor tickets are amazing. Even if people just stand there and don't sing. I still looked like a crazy, but I loved every minute of it.
7. I got to see her on the tree!
8. She sang Never Grow Up, and I didn't break down and cry. Even though I really wanted to.
9. SHE WALKED RIGHT BY ME! Literally, she was feet away. But she was on the wrong side. Still... It made me really happy. It was a dream come true. And her mom walked by, and I waved and she waved back. So that was awesome, too. :)
10. Nelly performed! So T-Swizzle made an appearance.

Leaving the concert was a little sad. It was like leaving Disney world. But that's okay, because one day I'll get to meet her. Hopefully. :)

I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest. So say it. Or say it to yourself in a mirror. Maybe it will come out in a letter you'll never send or in a book millions might read someday. I think you deserve to look back on your life without a chorus of resounding voices saying 'I could've, but it's too late now.' There is a time for silence. There is a time for waiting your turn. But if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you'll know it.I don't think you should wait. I think you should speak now. 
Love, Taylor

Day thirty-seven: Unstoppable

I love Quidditch. I really do. For many reasons. Obviously, I love anything that has to do with Harry Potter. It's just a fun game, and a fun way to exercise without feeling like a hamster. The people I've met through it are great, and I know that once we start playing against other schools, I'll meet even more cool people. But most importantly, Quidditch is helping me gain confidence. I've never been an athletic person. Ever. I danced for ten years when I was little, I rode horses, and then I joined band. There were no team sports for me. It was just me. Well, I suppose marching band is a team effort, but it's a completely different playing field (pun intended). Quidditch is the first team sport I've played. And even though it's a little unconventional, it's teaching me many things about myself and my capabilities. One great thing about Quidditch is that there's a place for everyone. Somewhere deep inside, you're a chaser, or a seeker, or a beater, or a keeper, or even a snitch. You may have to try each position a few times to find the one that's right for you, but there's a place for you in Quidditch. And it's been a great ride trying to find what I should be. I'll admit, I've been through a few stages of interest. At first, I wanted to be a beater, because I thought it'd be cool to be that kick butt girl beater. But then, I thought it'd be really cool to be a chaser, mainly because I'm Katie Bell(e), and the Griffindor Katie was a chaser, too. So, most practices, I chose to be a chaser or a keeper. I'm a decent shot at best, and I'm okay at defending the hoops. I knew from the start I wasn't going to be a seeker...I'm no track star. But, one day, after having a great time playing defense in a chaser game, I decided to try beating again. And bam. I'm a beater.

I'm not that great of a beater yet. I've still got a long ways to go. But one of the captains sent me a text message after practice that just really meant a lot to me. She said that our "coach" of sorts said that if I could get faster, I could be an unstoppable beater. Even though it's not a conventional compliment, it's one of the best compliments I've received, because for the first time in my life, I see myself being potentially good at a sport. Who, me? Wow. Never thought it'd happen. Needless to say, it's a confidence boost. I'm going to work on my speed and endurance, and I'm gonna be an unstoppable beater. Better than that other girl from LSU who kicked butt. She was awesome. :D

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle 

Day thirty-six: Everything Happens Eventually

BONES SEASON SEVEN!!!! Heck yes!

Now, I know that these are fictional characters. And yes, I only started watching Bones at the end of last season. But I have watched every episode AT LEAST once (some probably more than ten times...hehehee) and I have to say this:

I'm so glad they're finally together.

It was just meant to be from the very beginning. It had to be. Opposites attract. You can't fight that force forever (seven years is not forever :D). And, I'll admit, I was a little disappointed that we didn't really see any Booth and Bones interaction in the last two episodes of the last season. And, I'll admit, I was a little worried that this season would be all about babies and BB would have nothing to argue about and everything would be peachy and conflict-free like the end of Breaking Dawn (yuck). I don't want BB to be a nicely wrapped package. That's not who they are, and if that happened, I'd be disappointed. But all of my fears were assuaged after watching the first episode of season seven. I was very impressed with the way everything was handled, and I was excited for the prospects of seeing BB start their new life together, and also seeing the Hodgela baby (who is absolutely ADORABLE!). So, basically what I'm saying is, YES!

When you love someone, you open yourself up to suffering. That's the sad truth. Maybe they'll break your heart, maybe you'll break their heart and never be able to look at yourself in the same way. Those are the risks. The thought of losing so much control over personal happiness is unbearable. That's the burden. Like wings, they have weight, we feel that weight on our backs, but they are a burden that lifts us. Burdens which allow us to fly. 
Bones

Day thirty-five: Placeholder

11/2

Day thirty-four: Still Proud, but Still Messed Up

I love being a Hufflepuff. But I do have to acknowledge the weird side of my house. Example: Hufflepuff is still a strange word in other languages. Except Romanian. I'M AN ASTROPUF!

....Anyway, just watch between 1:19 and 2:28.

I love how the word looks kind of WTF. And that's exactly what you think when you hear it. :D

There's nothing wrong with being a loser, it just depends on how good you are at it.

Unknown

Day thirty-three: Halloween

Today, Katri and I drove to Michaels to pick up supplies to make posters and tshirts for the TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT zomg. Anyway, not the point. The point is that today is Halloween. We drove through West U, and we saw lots of trick-or-treaters. There were little kids dressed up as pumpkins, cats, princesses, witches, and everything imaginable. It made me really miss being a kid, being able to put on a new identity for a night and eat as much candy as my parents would allow. Kids are so careless on Halloween. Why should they have worries? It's basically the perfect night. But there comes a point when you're too old for that kind of thing. Unfortunately, that time has come. This is the first year I haven't done anything for Halloween, haven't had a costume. I feel like childhood has completely ended now. But I have to remind myself that it hasn't. I can always be a kid at heart, right?...

I wish I'd never grown up. <3

I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope...
Meredith Grey

Day thirty-two: Making History

This brought tears to my eyes. I'm so proud of you guys. Y'all have worked so hard, not only this year, but for many, many years, to get to this point. Knock 'em dead at State. :)

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.  I don't believe in circumstances.  The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.  
G.B. Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession, 1893

Day thirty-one: Magic

As you all know, these are two things I love: Harry Potter and Taylor Swift. I never thought about combining them. Until recently. One of my favorite songs on the Speak Now CD is called Long Live. It's about Taylor's connection with her fans and everything that her fans have given her. It can also be interpreted as a graduation song of sorts, which is how I thought of it when I first heard it. Honestly, it's hard to get through that song without tearing up a little. One, I love Taylor because she's living her dream, and this song just really shows how happy she is that all of her wildest dreams have come true. I can live vicariously through her. :D Two, well...graduation. I miss my high school friends, I miss fighting dragons with y'all. But anyway, this was about Harry Potter...

I've been addicted to tumblr lately, and I found some things that COMBINED Long Live and Harry Potter. Now why didn't I think of that? That song could sum up the midnight showing of the last movie. It sums up my childhood. It sums up the whole Harry Potter story. When I saw these, I got teary eyed again. GOSH DARN IT! I will always be teary eyed. Harry was my childhood. But even though the movie will come out on DVD soon and it will officially be over, I'll always have Harry within me. Long live Harry Potter.

It was the end of a decade
but the start of an age

(sorry, I couldn't get them to upload onto the blog. Hope you can see them!)

Long live the walls we crashed through
How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming long live all the magic we made
And bring on all the pretenders
One day we will be remembered
~Taylor Swift

Day thirty: Oh my my my

I just have to post this because one, it's an adorable song, and two, the little girl in the video is adorable. She was in another "music video" featuring a TSwift song. Her dedicated father made a video of her and her friend to Today was a Fairytale, which was adorable!!! This one is great too. It's a beautiful story. :)

When I'll be 87 you'll be 89  
I'll still look at you like the stars that shine  
In the sky, oh, my, my, my.
Taylor Swift

Day twenty-nine: The Best Day

I didn't know if you knew, but I'm taking this chance to say, that I had the best day with you today. <3

Day twenty-eight: Never

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to do this. Honestly, the last couple of weeks have been so incredibly crazy and insane, I just didn't have the time. It started to pile up and I started to *gasp* dread blogging. I don't like that. So I'm going to try to keep up with it from now on. Unfortunately, most of my catch up posts will be just random things, and not necessarily about my life. Sorry. I never promised I'd blog about my life every day. Basically, I think I'll just talk about some beautiful people, or events, or pictures, or anything I happen to find in the next few hours. :)

First off is someone that I've wanted to post about for a while, but haven't done it yet. This person is a true hero. She's the definition of determination and fearlessness. She experienced a horrible trauma in her life, and instead of letting it define her life, she overcame it, becoming an even better person in the process. Her name is Bethany Hamilton, and she is my hero.

On Halloween eight years ago, Bethany went out for a normal day of surfing, not knowing that that day would forever change her life. She was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark and lost her arm. She was only thirteen. Less than a month later, just in time for Thanksgiving, she got right back in the water and started surfing again. She was determined to become a pro surfer, even with just one arm. In one of my favorite interviews, when asked if she thought she would ever surf again, she responded, "Think? I know." A year after the shark attack, she won her first surfing National Title. She's now a pro surfer, an inspiration, heck, she was a movie! I follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and she posted pictures of some kids who wanted to dress up as her for Halloween. Bethany has been my hero since I read her biography, oh... probably in middle school? She's an inspiration, and I hope she just keeps living her dream.

If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.
Samuel Johnson

Day twenty-seven: Homecoming

This is one of those posts where no words are needed but these:

grab a box of tissues

 

Day twenty-six: Insanity?

Am I too crazy? Tell me. I spent a good majority of today repeatedly entering to win backstage passes to meet Taylor Swift. I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but I have a very good chance of meeting her with the number of times I've entered this silly contest (well, I don't think it's so silly). I just think it would be SO COOL to meet Taylor Swift. She's just adorable, and I want to personally thank her for being so awesome. So, maybe I am crazy. Go ahead. Call me crazy. I don't care. Cause someday, I'll be livin in a big ol' city. And all you're ever gonna be is mean. :D It'll pay off when I get to meet her. You'll be getting a post from me (probably Friday cause I won't have time to blog hahaha) about how I met Taylor and how amazing she is. JUST WAIT. Positive thinking. :)

I did watch a whole bunch of her videos today. She made a shout out to me! Hahah not really but it was still cool. And I watched her reaction to getting nominated for CMA's entertainer of the year. It was adorable! Rock on, Taylor. Rock on. :)

 Fans are my favorite thing in the world. I've never been the type of artist who has that line drawn between their friends and their fans. The line's always been really blurred for me. I'll hang out with them after the show. I'll hang out with them before the show. If I see them in the mall, I'll stand there and talk to them for 10 minutes.
Taylor Swift  

Day twenty-five: Make New Friends, but Keep the Old

Today was WONDERFULLLLLL because I got to see my friends from NSU, Christina and Elliott! It was wonderful catching up with them and I'm glad that I was able to provide them with a place to stay for the night. Cause what are friends for? :D It's really cool that even though we're far apart from each other now, we can still stay in touch. Friendships are wonderful things like that. Once you have a bond with a person, it takes a lot for it to disappear. That's something I observed this summer. I got to hang out with all of my friends from high school, and it was wonderful. :) Even though we had all been apart for a year, having a blast at college and building new lives, we were able to come back together. We even had a bible study. It was definitely a great part of the summer.

Sorry this is short. It's been a busy and hectic weekend (and it's going to be a hectic and AMAZING week too!) and there's almost too much to write about. I have to contain myself otherwise I'll spend way too long on this. :D

A circle's round, it has no end. That's how long I want to be your friend. :)
Girl Scout Song

Day twenty-four: Improvement

It's always great when you see yourself getting better at something. :)

I have quidditch practice on Tuesdays and Fridays. I love quidditch. It's amazing. But I wasn't very good at it to begin with. It's been a while since I've done any serious running, and so I was really out of shape. But it's been a couple of weeks, and even though I still suck at running, I'm getting better! We've been playing this snitch game where everyone has a sock in the back of their pants and everyone has to try to pull the sock out off of everyone. When we first started playing last week, I was always the last one out. But today when we played, two times in a row, I was the second to last!!! It made me so proud. :) And when we played actual quidditch today, I did pretty well! I scored more goals than I can remember, and I had a great time with some great plays! I think the biggest thing that's helping me is confidence. When I see myself doing well, it just makes me do even better! I'm just happy. I love quidditch.

Self-improvement is the name of the game, and your primary objective is to strengthen yourself, not to destroy an opponent.
Maxwell Maltz

Day twenty-three: Sunshine

Ah, I'm on a romantic kick. Maybe it's because I've been listening to Taylor Swift pretty much nonstop for the past week. :D Anyway, I have an adorable couple to share with you today. I was watching a particular show today, and it just made me happy, so I thought I'd write about this. I think these two are awesome because they've kept their relationship private for FIVE YEARS. It's kind of intense. Both are actors (working on the same show) and I just think they're adorable together. I really respect the fact that they haven't let their relationship 1) get in the way of working and 2) get out in the limelight. There are some stars who just flaunt the fact that they're in a relationship, and it's annoying. But these two... most people don't even know they're together. In fact, there was a radio interview from a few years ago where the host was making fun of the guy and didn't believe he was dating his costar. It was stupid, and that's the reason I'm not posting that interview. It's seriously one of three interviews I've found where they talk about their relationship, with one being super short and the other being about two hours. XD Which is why I'm posting a video, so you all can hear the adorable thing that the guy said about the girl. :)

DISCLAIMER! PLEASE READ! I apologize for the one curse word in this. It's a bad one, but....bah, the song is adorable, and I couldn't find another video that was A) short, B) not annoying and C) had the particular clip I was talking about above. SO IF YOU WOULD BE OFFENDED BY THIS, PLEASE DON'T WATCH. I will transcribe the important part below so you don't miss anything. Or you could just skip to the 12 second mark and not be offended. AND you won't miss the best part. Your choice. :)

So here you go! James Roday and Maggie Lawson, everyone. :)

She's made of sunshine.
James Roday (about Maggie Lawson)

You are one of the best things that's ever happened to me. You're my love and my best friend. And every day that goes by, it seems like I discover something new about you to love. It's incredible to me how one person can make such a big difference in my life. You touch my heart in a way I never knew before. I discover something new about you to love. It's incredible to me how one person can make such a big difference in my life.
Anonymous

Day twenty-two: Connection

This post will also be short, because I'm posting an article. I think it does enough justice. Sometime a writer has to know when to just leave something be. This is one of those times. Enjoy. <3

Article

I only hope that one day, I find this.

I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough. 
Noah from The Notebook

Day twenty-one: Playfulness

Today was wonderful. The temperature was nice and cool, and I got to go to the zoo! I had to observe primates for my physical anthropology class. I went with my friend Joyce and we observed the chimps!!! At first, I wasn't sure how it was going to be, but it turned out great! The chimps were really active, and there was plenty to observe. But today's post is about one chimp in particular. His name is Willie, and he's six years old. :D

Isn't he cute? He was our favorite, partly because he just loved to get into trouble. He would try to steal towels from the other chimpanzees and make them mad. He also liked to carry around long sticks and whack others with it, so that they would chase after him. They'd playfully bite him and grab his back legs. It was so cute! Pretty much the whole time, he was trying to get into trouble. Except for in this picture. He was chewing some bark. :D

Sorry this post is short, but I had to put a mention about Willie. He was just too adorable. Especially with his stick. Oh, to be young and playful. :)
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
George Bernard Shaw

Day twenty: Tolerance

Wow, twenty days already? I'm so proud of myself! :D

Anyway, the theme of today, brought to you by Kaitlyn, is tolerance! We talked a little about tolerance in my discipleship lunch today. Basically, in discipleship, we talk about some hard topics of Christianity and work through them so that we're comfortable and can even explain our views to others if the opportunity arises. Anyway, today our main topic was sin, but we got a little sidetracked because apparently Richard Dawkins (a hardcore atheist) came to Rice sometime last week. We got to talking about how people can still be friends but hold different viewpoints, and that sat in the back of my mind for a while.

Okay, well, after telling you all of that, this post isn't really all that serious. I have an awesome friend named Olivia who is a Justin Bieber fan. I, really, am not a Justin Bieber fan. It's just not my kind of music, and I'm not a huge fan of his voice. Also, the pictures of him with Selena Gomez during their vacation in Hawaii was a bit too much for me (he's seventeen, for goodness sakes). I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift (duh, you should know this by now :D). Olivia does not like T Swift. We can agree to disagree, right?

Well, we got into a discussion about both artists, and Olivia started sending me videos of the Biebs. I was like, yeah yeah, I've heard all this before, whatever. But then she sent me this one.

In the first thirty seconds, I was like ugh, come on. She's four. Let's not be Twihards, please. But then, when she was asked why she loved Justin Bieber and she responded "because I know he loves me back," I lost it. I'm sorry. It was so sweet! So I gave the video a chance, and I have to give some props to J Biebs. I love Taylor Swift because she's so real and comfortable with herself, and she takes the time to thank her fans. So, why then do I dislike Justin Bieber? Good question. Upon further thinking, I realized that maybe I didn't give him a great chance. Yeah, I know that Taylor Swift isn't the greatest singer in the world. Neither is Justin Bieber. But should I dislike him because of some preconceived notions I had of him? No. I'm not saying that I'm in love with him. I have most certainly not caught the "Bieber Fever." I am, however, going to be more respectful and tolerant of him. After all, he's just living his dream, just as I said Taylor Swift was doing.

I'm going to swallow my pride now: Good job, Justin. Good job.

Tolerance and celebration of individual differences is the fire that fuels lasting love.
Tom Hannah

Day nineteen: Talent

Tonight, my besties Ellie and Jessica and I got into a conversation (okay, well it was more of a string of youtube videos) of talented children. Elliot believes that most of them are just trained monkeys, but hey. They can sing better than me, so I have to appreciate that. So I thought I would post a few on here. Some of them are really inspirational, like Rhema, who sings gospel music. Her mother died of ovarian cancer when she was six. She's eight now. And, good lord, she can sing.

This is Jackie Evancho. She scares me a little, because there's NO WAY someone that small could sound like that. But she's got some talent, and some heart. :)

And now, roaming out of the "trained monkeys." This is Robin Schlotz, who taught himself how to sing this. He was fourteen when this was recorded.

But this, this is the point of the post. I found this, and I died laughing. It proves that everyone can have a talent. Everyone can bring joy to people in their own special way. You just have to figure out what that way is. :)

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke

P.S. Taylor Swift, please tell me where you're hiding the cameras. You write about my life. Exactly. Kthnxbye. :D

Day eighteen: Celebration

I don't follow politics, really. I know I should, but they make me angry. It's like the news. It just makes me lose hope in humanity.

Until you get something like this.

http://vimeo.com/30575828

I literally broke down and cried when I saw this. It's just so amazing that a couple of young guys could go from taking a simple trip to Africa to changing the course of history. This will probably be short, because I'm just speechless. I can't put my thoughts adequately into words. Wow. Wow. What an impact. These guys are just incredible for fighting so hard. It's been a long fight, and there's more to come, but this is a HUGEEEEE step forward in the battle. I'm not a huge fan of Obama. Not saying I don't like him, I'm just saying I don't know enough to make a good decision. But he gets a whole bunch of credit in my book for this. THANK YOU MR. PRESIDENT!! You're saving the lives of children in Africa. :)

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.  ~Mother Teresa
easter egg

Day seventeen: Innocence

Again, so sorry this is late! I'm catching up, I promise! We will be back on track!

Friday night, I babysat an adorable four year old girl named Sydney. You really can't help but love her; she's like a grown up in a little body sometimes. After her parents left, she told me all the things that we could do together, and when she was done, she insisted that I choose instead of her. She also told me that if I needed anything just to ask her. :D At times in the evening, especially while watching Jack and the Beanstalk, I was about to talk to her like I would my friends. For example, one of the characters was played by the same actor who played Vizzini from Princess Bride, and he made a reference to iocane powder. I wanted to say something about it, but then I remembered that Sydney was four and she probably hadn't watched that movie. It was easy to forget how much she hasn't learned of the world.

One of the cooler moments of the night was when we were "learning." We sat with wipe boards and dry erase markers and we drew letters, numbers, and shapes. Sydney started adding, and she was doing a great job with it, so I asked her if she knew how to subtract. She said she didn't know what that was. So I had her put up ten fingers, and I asked her how many fingers she would have left if she put down two. She counted each one, and said eight! It was awesome.

But back to the topic at hand. Although Sydney was a little adult, she was still a kid. And easily tricked. Her parents ran a little late, and about an hour and a half before they got home (when I was trying to get her to lay down and go to sleep) she got really anxious and sad that they weren't there. So I showed her my watch and told her when they'd be home. Well, it started to approach that time and I hadn't heard from them, so I stopped my watch at five til. Every time Sydney would ask, it said the same time, but she kept saying that they would be home soon. It kept her in a state of perpetual happiness, which worked out great for me. I know it sounds bad, but sometimes it's fun to trick little kids. :D

I'm a good babysitter, I swear. :D

 Sydney's pretty picture :)

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
No one's ever burned you
Nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up.
~Taylor Swift

Day sixteen: Belonging

Sorry this is so late. I was studying for a psychology test (which I aced I think!) and then I babysat late, so I didn't get the chance to post. But I am here now, and that's what matters!

As I was walking to my car Thursday night after MOB practice, I just got to thinking. The weather was nice and cool, and the Houston Medical District skyline was incredible. I was struck with a moment of complete awe. I remember the first time I stepped onto the Rice campus. It was just so beautiful, and I really wanted to do everything I could to be there. But, as you know, the story goes that I didn't attend Rice last year. But here's the beautiful part: I'm here now. Even though I might not have made the right choice a year ago, I still got to the place I needed to be. And as I was walking down the path towards west lot, I just felt so at peace (even though I had an impending psychology test that I really hadn't studied for yet :D). I am completely overjoyed to be at Rice, and I feel like this is all part of the ultimate plan God has for me. I've had such a great time so far... I love my classes, I love my friends, and although I have had some obstacles as a transfer student, there's nothing that I can't overcome. I one hundred percent belong here at Rice, and I am so happy for it. :)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." 

Jeremiah 29:11

Day fifteen: Courtesy

Today was pretty uneventful. I went to school, I came back to the apartment, I did homework, I went to the grocery store, AND I WATCHED PSYCH!!!!

Alas, this post is not about Psych. No, this post is about a short moment today. A fairly insignificant moment, I would say. But the moment intrigued me, so I thought I would reflect.

My roommate and I went to HEB today because we were out of pretty much everything healthy, and that's just not a good existence, is it? Haha. We had loaded everything in the car, so I went to return the cart. This particular HEB didn't have the metal cart returns. These were small, parking space looking places that had been placed as part of the cementing of the grassy areas around the parking lot (I hope that makes sense XD). There was another cart there, haphazardly left almost hanging out of the return. Because I know that shopping carts have a habit of rolling away unexpectedly, and it looked like rain which could bring on wind, I took the extra five seconds to walk the cart to the very end of the return, so it wouldn't roll away. As I turned around, I saw a man walking towards the store. He gave me a funny look, but then he kind of smiled at me and half-nodded. I can only expect that he was commending me for putting in five seconds of extra work so an employee wouldn't have to spend the extra minute hunting down my cart, or so the owner of the car parked near the return wouldn't have to fork out the extra few hundred dollars to fix the dent on their car.

But seriously. The weird look? Doesn't everyone put away their shopping cart properly? And of course, as I ask the question, I know full well the answer. No. Most people don't. 'Murrcans are lazy. We're amazing at half-doing things while still expecting and receiving full credit (come on, college kids. We're pros at this). I don't like to toot my own horn, but I was just doing what my momma taught me by putting away my cart properly. That man's approval was just a happy bonus. It gave me something to write about. It's not very beautiful that at the rate we're going, we'll all look like those giant people from Wall-E who float around in reclining chairs on a space ship. It is beautiful, however, that *hopefully* still put away their shopping carts properly because it's the right thing to do. Even if the numbers are dwindling, at least there are still people who acknowledge good deeds. Perhaps we should all challenge ourselves to, at the least, praise those people who aren't expecting praise.

Just a thought. But I'm really tired right now. So if this post was rambly and incoherent, my apologies.

"Courtesy is a silver lining around the dark clouds of civilization; it is the best part of refinement and in many ways, an art of heroic beauty in the vast gallery of man's cruelty and baseness. "
Bryant H. McGill

Day fourteen: Rebirth

Today, while driving back to my second home, I had to drive through Bastrop, where all the terrible fires were about a month ago. I definitely didn't drive through the worst part of it, but just seeing all the blackened trees and crusty grass was really depressing. The water tower smiled mockingly in the background. Over 34,000 acres burned. 1,600 houses were destroyed. Two people lost their lives. Hundreds of firefighters worked relentlessly to control the fire as the wind kindled it, helping it to engulf the area and land its place as being the most destructive fire in Texas history.

Sucks, right?

But as I drove through this small, blackened area at seventy (okay, seventy four) miles an hour, I saw something: a patch of bright yellow flowers. I smiled. Yes, the flowers were probably a species of those obnoxious weeds that you can never seem to get rid of in your garden, but seeing them on the side of the road, amidst the pallets of seeding grass the city had put down to help the flora start growing again, was inspiring. So maybe the water tower wasn't smiling mockingly after all. Maybe it was beaming upon new life, watching over the area that will someday grow to be beautiful again.

"In nature the life-death-rebirth cycle is clear as we watch flash fires ignited by lightning level the prairies.  It may appear that all life is gone, lost to the ravages of flame and smoke, but within days, tiny green shoots begin to poke above the surface of the soil.  Mother Earth has cleared the land for new life."  
Kathleen A. Brehoney

Day thirteen: Something Beautiful

Sorry that these posts aren't as great. I've been really busy at home, spending all my time with my family. But that in itself is beautiful, isn't it? :)

This is the theme song of my blog, so I felt that it was about time to post it. This is one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. AND I GET TO SEE THEM IN 16 DAYS!!!!!!! I'm so excited. But to the point of the blog post: I love this song, but I had never watched the music video. I looked it up earlier, and I thought it was so cool. The band had the fans send in their own footage, and they used it to make the video. Some of the clips are of beautiful scenes, some of them are of people singing, and some of them are of people acting silly. But they're all unified by their love for this song. How cool is that? As I'm jamming to it in the car, there could be someone in LA, or London, or wherever listening to the exact same song! Humanity is connected in so many ways. Some people think (me included, sometimes) that modern technology is a horrible thing. But think about it... because of the technologies we have today, humanity is even more connected than it's ever been globally. We may be becoming less connected to the people around us, but we can develop bonds that stretch over miles and miles and miles, something we haven't really been able to do before the 20th century. I don't know if this is a good sacrifice or not, but it is something to consider in the grand scheme of things.

Anyway, here is my blog's theme song. Enjoy!

"In your ocean, I'm ankle deep
I feel the waves crashin' on my feet
It's like I know where I need to be
But I can't figure out, yeah I can't figure out

Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your tide rushes over me
There's only one way to figure out
Will you let me drown, will you let me drown?

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees.
I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful

And the water is rising quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave your side, no I can't leave your side.

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees.
I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful

In a daydream, I couldn't live like this.
I wouldn't stop until I found something beautiful.
When I wake up, I know I will have
No, I still won't have what I need.
Something Beautiful

Hey now this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I'm in reach
Cause I am down on my knees
I'm waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful"
Something Beautiful by Needtobreathe

Day twelve: Bonding

I'm just so happy to be home. :)

I know that I didn't post yesterday, but this is my post for that day. Sorry... it'll probably be short, too. I knew what I wanted to post about, but I got home at like 1 so I wasn't really awake enough to write anything. This post is about being home. I spent the day with my mom and brother shopping, and we had a grand time. I miss hanging out with Noah. He's a funny kid, and he can always make me laugh. We went to Schlotzsky's for lunch, and even though we had pancakes for breakfast, he ordered a cinnamon roll. Silly boy. And, of course, I miss hanging with my mommy/best and longest friend. And what better way to do that than shop?

I also got to go to see What's Your Number (ZOMG CHRIS EVANS) with Olivia. We had a grand time getting lost on the way to the theater, drooling for hours over Chris Evans, chilling in her dorm room, and creepily talking in my running car in the church parking lot that you're technically not supposed to park in. I haven't gotten to hang out with her in a long time, so last night was incredible. She's so awesome. :)

Basically, the point of this post is this: even though I spend months away from home, it's beautiful that I can come back and pick up where I left off. I'm so thankful for my awesome family and friends, and I love all the good times we've had together, and the good times to come. But it's also beautiful that I have two homes now: one in Austin, and one in Houston. :)

My awesome family

My awesome Olivia

My awesome second home

"'Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten."

Lilo and Stitch

Day eleven: Pride

For those of you who know me, this is probably a predictable post.

I spent today at the Westlake Marching competition with the Lake Travis Cavalier Band, the band I was a proud member of for all four years of my high school career. I hadn't been to a contest in over a year... I think the last marching contest I was at, I left crying because we, once again, didn't make it to state. I didn't dream that that would be the last time I marched with that band, and not making state was a blow. Everyone thought we would make it, and it was definitely a hard night for us. But, as always, life went on, and it really wasn't a big deal.

I was a band geek from the beginning. My freshman year, I was crazy for band. I thought we were the best band ever, and we had a great show. Rio was my favorite show, infamous for the "noodle." :) We had a pretty good year that year, but Lake Travis has in the past had a second place curse. We never won first. Ever. Second, all the time. We'd sometimes win caption awards, but we never got first. But I still loved band.  And even though it always stressed me out and made my mad, I was still proud of my band. We were a band. A family. One of the best memories I have from band was in my sophomore year, I believe. We got back from a contest that we rocked at, and we were waiting outside the band hall to get in because it was locked. Someone started singing Twist and Shout, and the whole band joined in. We had a blast. All through my four years, we kept getting better and better, and I always thought we were hot stuff. We really did expect to make it to state my senior year. We thought we were so great. In reality, we even got beat by the brand new not-even-technically-a-4A-school's band. We all blamed it on the judges. We said that the judges had it out for us, that they just didn't understand our show, etc etc.

I never realized that we were just wrong. We may have started a legacy of true dedication and determination in the Lake Travis Band, but we just didn't have the right stuff yet. This year, we have the right stuff.

I was so proud of them last week, placing first for the first time ever. But seeing them perform today was just truly awesome. I don't often get chills during high school band performances, but I did during theirs. Wow. It's hard to even describe how impressed I was. I've seen their show at a football game and on youtube, but it's just not the same as a contest. Lake Travis is doing the right stuff. For the most part, I thought we had awesome shows when I was in high school. But I was mistaken. For the first time, Lake Travis has a show. It's entertaining, powerful, clean (although there's always room for improvement ;D), and beautiful. The drill is amazing, the music is amazing, the BDA looks great! I'm so impressed that they've grown so much. It's hard to tell that they don't have guard experience. The pit has grown so much over the past couple of years. And, of course, I'm proud of my widdle bro on the drumline. :) LT's fifth place win today was definitely well deserved. I'm just so impressed that in two years, we went from never making finals at Westlake to being actual competition with the big and talented 5A bands.

Accomplishments aside, though. I kind of rambled about them, but that's just because I'm so proud. Which is kind of the point of this post. Every time, when the drum majors come out onto the field during the awards ceremony, Lake Travis goes crazy and starts chanting. We're always the loudest when they call our name. Even when I was in high school, even when we weren't that great, we did that. If there was an award for pride in one's organization, we would win every year. The fact that alumni come back to contests to cheer the band on, even when they know less than half the band, should be even more proof. Even two years removed, I am overwhelmed with pride for the organization I still have ties in. We succeed because of the pride we have for the organization. I can still see the marks that my class made on the band. The band is where they are today because of us. We were where we were in 2010 because of the previous members. And this year's freshman class will be indebted to this year's graduating class a few years down the row when we win back to back state titles. :) All of us share in the milestones of this year's show because of what we started, whether it was two or ten years ago. It's a beautiful thing.

Lake Travis Cavalier Band's purpose statement is "Pride. Dignity. Professionalism." and I think that it is 100% accurate.

"One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born." 
Antoine de Saint-Exupery