April. 22, 2013 - The Day I Get My Life Together

     I want you to reach deep inside yourself and actively try to change. Change for your own benefit, your own happiness, your own success, and for your own sense of self worth. Decide what you want to accomplish, and set goals for yourself, both smaller scale, and long term. Then, figure out what steps you'll need to take to accomplish these goals.
     I need you to never give in to fatigue, illness, or pure desire for laziness. Fight through these and work hard every single day. Do not be afraid of failure. Do not be embarrassed by a poor grade.
Push. Push as hard as you can through these insecurities and win. Do it for your life. Do it for you family and for your wonderful friends who care so dearly for you, and want nothing but for you to be happy and successful. Establish stability for yourself so that you can support and encourage others.
     Reach. Reach higher than you ever have and better yourself. Reach above your standards, grasp a change for the better and never let it go.
     I need you to decide to change and stick to your decision. Provide yourself with positive reinforcement and power through everything that challenges you. Treat challenges as levels of success. Conquer one challenge, and move to the next. This is what will demolish your rut- that vulgar little rut that will ruin you- that little rut that has caused all your anxiety, your nightmares, and your lack of learning. Kick that rut to the ground and always stand above it. This will take practice. You will struggle, but if you don't try, you will always struggle. Success comes only with your actions. Make the decision to change today, and be able to stand above your rut tomorrow.
Think harder, fight harder, live better.

Music and Productivity

One of the things that has the power to help me focus, and to completely distract me, is music. I love listening to music while getting ready in the morning, in the shower, in the car, and while cleaning. It helps me focus and motivates me to work quickly and efficiently. That said, when I try to listen to music (even classical) while studying of any sort, I end up sitting there staring at a textbook and singing the words to whatever I'm listening to. Whenever I try to read, I need complete silence to focus on the words I'm reading, instead of the words in a song. What I've learned through attending college is that you need to learn when music is appropriate and helpful, and when it's just going to be distracting. As a music major and a music lover in general, this is quite difficult. Luckily for some people, they're able to read when music is playing, and even read faster with it. Sadly, my brain doesn't function that way. So if you're like me, you just have to know when to pause pandora, and open your book.

So, to start this blog off I'm going to tell you a little about myself.

1. I'm a freshmen in college.
2. It's cold here. (Zero degrees, to be exact).
3. I will be getting a double degree in music and abnormal/social psychology.
4. Most of my life consists of singing.
5. I recently auditioned for the vocal performance program at my school, but was told I must start my first two years in the music education program. I'm determined to have a performance degree, so I'm working on that.
6. I'm in an all female a capella group called Renaissance, and no, it's not like Pitch Perfect. (Although that movie is aca-awesome).
7. I LOVE to swim, and my dad lives on a lake, so prepare for some lake pictures.
8. I have a cat named Mitties. He's a plus sized model with thumbs. He's pretty fantastic.
9. I'm currently in fitness mode. Yeah summer!
10. I am certified in scuba diving and bar tending. Not at the same time, of course.