Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving; our definition: a bunch of food, family and giving thanks. It's a wonderful holiday, in my opinion.  This year though, I am taking this holiday as a chance to change.  Every year I've always given thanks, been thankful for all I have, written down what I'm thankful for, etc., but this year I've decided to take things a step further.  I have realized that giving thanks and showing gratitude are different things.  Giving thanks is like the first stepping stone, with showing gratitude as the next.  For example: your mom stays at home, cooks, cleans, does laundry, etc. Every day you say "thank you" to your mom, and you leave it at that.  Saying "thank you" is great, but how does that show your mom that you're truly grateful for her efforts? It doesn't!  Things like, helping out a little with meals, cleaning up after yourself, doing your own laundry etc. would show her your gratitude, and would make her feel good!  I know that was a cheesy example, but we all know it's true! There are opportunities all around us to show our gratitude every single day....so take them!  Don't sit arround complaining about how bad things are for you, because chances are you have a lot more than you think. I challenge anyone who reads this to recognize what you are thankful for and SHOW that you truly are grateful :)

All-State Up-Date!

So, I made All-State! I honestly did not think that I would!  I am so very excited! I even made it in to the top of the three choirs! That's all! :)

Pondering Life

This week, two people at my school died.  One was a teacher, and one was a student.  I didn't know either of them, but all the things that have happened surrounding their deaths have caused me to ponder life and death at a deeper level.  I know that there is a God. I know that we will see those who pass on again.  God is loving, he cares about us and he misses us!  He wants to live with us eternally, and he wants us to live with those we love eternally.  When God takes one of his children from this life, it is for a greater purpose that we cannot understand yet.  There are many things we do not understand, and we are not meant to understand them YET.  One day, Gods mysteries and purposes will be revealed to us, but those things are not for this life.  The life after this is tremendously better; there is no pain or suffering there.  For those who are barely holding on to this life, moving on to the next life is a blessing to them.  When others pass on it is heartbreaking-I know-but those who pass on really are in a better place.  Many simply would like to think it is a better place, but I know for a fact that it is a better place.  When we lose those we love, we often feel lost, lonely or abandoned; these are real feelings.  Grief is real, and it should be felt.  After a time though, we have to learn to make it through life.  The way we do that, I think, is by remembering the person who we have lost, and trying to live your life so that you honor them.  Those who die do miss us, and they cannot wait to see us again, but they want us to be happy while on this earth.  We shouldn't forget them, we should live our lives in remembrance of them.  All this still leaves us thinking about our lives though; when will it be our time, and how do we prepare for it?  The answer is, none of us know when we are going to die.  So we must constantly be living prepared to die.  That may sound pessimistic, but in fact it is not.  Death is not something to be feared.  As humans, we fear the unknown.  Death is considered the "unknown" for many, but personally, I know that heaven is better than anything on earth could ever be.  This life is a test, to see whether we will ultimately choose God or Satan.  The choice is ours, and we have the agency to live our lives the way we want.  True, never ending, unconditional joy comes from following God, and trusting in him.  Live your life as if today was your last day.  Treat others with respect, speak kind words, and be a genuine person.  Live your life with no regrets, and when it comes time for you to leave this earth, you will be proud of the life that you lived.

Halloween!

This Halloween has been very spontaneous!

Ben in his baseball costume,
excited to eat lots of candy!

Today I didn't expect to do anything for Halloween, but my siblings and I decided last minute to deck-out our house and hand out candy.  We had scary music playing in our garage, a blacklight right inside the entry way and a fake spider web on our stairs.  The best part though, was Tanner.  Tanner dressed up like a scarecrow and sat on a bench ready to scare the trick-or-treaters.  Most people thought he was fake, so they didn't pay attention to him.  When the trick-or-treaters were at the door, Tanner would get up, walk toward them and ask for candy.  We scared so many people, it was hillarious! Once, he didn't say anything as the kids were at the door, but when the group walked away he said something to the last kid.  The kid said to their mom "Mom! It talked to me! The scarecrow talked to me!".  Then the mom said "I think you imagined that, honey, it's a fake scarecrow.". Then the kid said "Man, I think I ate too much candy!" and then walked away.  Moral of the story: never trust a scarecrow!  Anyway, despite my lack of plans, I had a wonderful Halloween with my family! (And my best friend, who passed out candy at my house)!

The scarecrow...

All-State Auditions

Right before leaving for my auditions: me and
my Italian song book! The song I sang for
my audition was called "Se Tu M'ami",
it was a beautiful song!

Last night I participated in All-State Choir auditions.  All-State Choir is exactly what it sounds like: a choir made up of people from all over the state.  All Juniors and Seniors enrolled in the choir program at their high school are eligible, and all are encouraged to audition; that's a lot of auditioners!  Each audition is scored on a scale of 100, above 80 and you usually make it in. It's very difficult to get accepted into the choir, and quite an honor if you do.  All who are accepted are put into one of three choirs and then attend a 3-day rehersal, usually held in the begining of February.  Then the choirs preform on the third night.

The point is about my auditions though! Last year I auditioned and I was 1 point off from making it into the choir.  It was a bummer but gave me a lot of hope for this year.  My audition last night went well, but I still don't know if I made it in.  I have worked very hard for this, and I know that if I'm supposed to make it in I will!  I really hope that I did make it into the choir, that would be fantastic!  If I didn't that would be a dissapointment, but it would be ok.  Good or bad, I will post when the results come in sometime in November.