Showing posts with label Seminary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seminary. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

day 8...

a picture that makes me laugh...




This is my friend Michael. When I saw this picture on Facebook after all of the choir pictures were uploaded, I about fell over I was laughing so hard. The story? LDC went on a non-tour around Utah County, and we visited some seminaries**. There we did small group activities with the high school students and made up skits, then performed for whole class periods. Some groups were a little violent, I guess...

**Seminary is a religious course for young Latter-day Saints. In Utah, LDS students can use one of their elective class periods to leave school and head over to a seminary building for religious instruction. Each year is dedicated to a different course of study: Book of Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, and Doctrine and Convenants.. Teens can take it in high school beginning in 9th grade and can finish to graduate in 12th. It's kind of like Institute for high school students, only there is only one course offered per year at the high schools. At Institute there are dozens of classes (everyone suggests Dating and Courtship...never taken it. Yet...) If you have any questions about all of this Mormon lingo and what it means, let me know. I'd be happy to try and answer. :)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

first time for everything...

This is the first time all year that I have put off doing my math homework. I cannot emphasize how badly I do not want to do at. I've looked at it, even written my name on the paper. I just really, really, really, really, really, really don't want to do it. It would take up a whole page of really, really, reallys to even get close to the point. However I won't waste your time.

Another new thing: first time I've really dressed up for school this year. A lot of people asked me why I looked so nice (blue dress, pea coat, white tights, black heels, etc.). My reply? "My jeans were still in the dryer." or "I didn't have any jeans to wear today." People laughed or just nodded like, "Oh, good reason." I found it funny.

The rehearsal for "Grease" went all right today, but there seems to be a bit of a power struggle between myself, one of the boys (another student who does stuff with classes, but more music), and a new girl who will be playing the role of Sandy in the concert as a pre-show character. Jasmine (the girl who's been helping me out with all of this by scheduling and helping when I'm about to cry from frustration) and I thought it would be cool to put her in the number as a singer, because we need more sopranos who aren't dancing.

Well, the student conductor kept counting the music SO slowly it was almost painful to try and dance to. When I'd try to speed up the counts he'd get bugged and sing louder. The Sandy girl kept talking to people and being a distraction. It was really hard. Despite all of that we got a lot finished and did some polishing. It's not as far as I'd like to be, but it's far enough that we don't have to practice through F.E.A.S.T. tomorrow (Friends Eating And Sharing Testimony-it's a Seminary thing-which is a class period during the day over at a building kind of like a church. Basically it's a religion class. Love it. :) ). I'm worried about the auditions Friday, but I'm hoping and praying that all of this work pays off.

Being a real leader is a new thing for me. I've never done this sort of thing before, outside of doing stuff with my sisters and neighborhood kids when we were little. Still I was never "in charge". Parents were always there behind the scenes to settle disputes and such, and to keep us in control if it got loud. Now it's my job. I don't know if I like it all that much.

One thing I'm really looking forward to: costumes for the concert!! Since I'm playing Anita in the pre-show and in the dance section of "Amereeca", I need to have a super flashy costume. I talked to the costume mistress for the concert, and I'm so excited! She loved the ideas I had, and said if I need any help to let her know. It's going to be amazing. :D

I'm surprised how many things have been working out lately. Even the math (though I put it off, I still understand it) is making sense. Sure, there's been tons of opposition, whether high school dramatics, noisy students, chemical ups and downs, and brick walls of frustration and feeling completely clueless. Things just seem to unravel themselves though, and I rarely am the one who unties the knots. I feel like I tug and jerk and cry and curse (not really), but it's not me who fixes the problems. Sometimes it's almost like I just keep trying and doing my best, and somehow someone realizes I need help and comes to the rescue.

Okay. Time for systems of equations and graphing. Joy. Have a good evening/morning/whatever!!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

i think something happened...

I think someone was praying for me today. Several things happened to make me think that.

  1. Seminary was even more amazing than usual. And I realized that I have a lot of friends in that class. Last term I really didn't; I think that's why I never really wanted to go. This term I feel wanted and welcome.
  2. I left my Meteorology exam in tears after leaving the last four questions blank. I had no idea what it was talking about. I was seriously on my way home to...well...cry some more. Then I noticed the lyrics of the song playing on the radio. It was my name in the lyrics, and basically saying not to worry and to smile and to remember that people love you. I stopped crying and realized that not only would breaking down cause me to drive off the road but there was no need to. A lot of other people have failed tests before, and they're still happy. It's not the end of the world.
  3. Proud owner of an A Cappella choir t-shirt, complete with ACDA on the bottom to show off our convention performance status. So excited!
  4. Mrs. Mathews has asked me to "solo" with a couple of other 1st sopranos on the highest notes in one of the numbers. I never thought she'd ask me to do that. It shows great confidence in my abilities. Wow.
  5. No one was rude or impatient at work today. Everyone treated me really nicely. Even my co-workers gave me some slack. Of course, Paul teased and so did Scott, but it was all in fun. I was glad to kind of relax and just be able to laugh at nothing.
  6. My sisters and I didn't fight while doing the dishes. That never, ever, EVER happens. Maybe I should check to see if the moon is blue tonight.
  7. I understood my math homework. That doesn't make sense. But it did.
  8. The secretaries in the Guidance and Administration Offices totally helped me get my Reflections submission ready. They were really helpful, and were so kind. One of them gave me a candy bar because I looked "a little lonely". Aw.
  9. The car started with no problems, there was hardly any frost on the windows, the day was warm and sunny, and the temperature in the car/at school was perfect.
  10. Mom hasn't been mad at me all day.
I really do think there was some extra help today. I always thought it was totally cliche to say "I feel your prayers", but I think it might be true. I think the help came not just from my own prayers and hopes but from outside sources. I'm really grateful for it. It helped me to stay strong when I wanted to collapse.

Oh. And did I mention? He told me that he loves me.