Don't slouch!

"Never slouch." I heard that phrase everyday as we lined up to go to lunch in sixth grade. If I'm going to be completely honest here, I'd have to say that it bugged me to hear that. 'Just because I'm tall doesn't mean the teacher, who is also tall, has to pick on me!' I was always thinking. I never really thought about that phrase, other than to be annoyed. But guess what? Somehow, subconciously, I let it get to me. It affected my life in a major way. Out of all my teachers, I think Mr. Harward has honestly had the most influence on my life and the way I am. It's funny that I never realized it back then. Looking back, I'm so grateful for everything he taught me. He didn't just teach me geography, he taught me that being tall is cool. I never knew that until sixth grade. I was always embarrassed to be taller than my friends. After his class, it got better. So, Mr. Harward's an amazing person. He's the best. I think I need to write him a thank you note.

Guess who?

This is the beginning of my non analytical blogs! Weird!
Guys, guess who comes home tonight! Guess who's landing in sixteen minutes! Well you probably don't have to guess because I've told you all. He's probably circling the Salt Lake Airport right now, waiting for clearance to land. Ok that's enough. Anyway, I can't wait for Brian to get home because that means that Nathan will be home in a couple of months. It's always been 'where there's Brian there's Nathan' type of thing, and now it's going to happen again! I'm so excited for Nate. I'm a little bit afraid to talk to Brian because I know I'll miss Nate so much. Once when I was fourteen I was at EFY and it was like Friday, the day before we went home. Anyway, I was kinda missing my family and then Brian appeared in the bookstore. I almost cried because seeing him made me want to hang out with Nathan so much. It's almost been two years since I've seen Nathan and I still miss him as much as ever. Oh well. He's pretty close to coming home, right? I cannot wait. You have no idea.
8 more minutes....three and a half more months...Nate I miss you.

So long, farewell, au revoir, auf Wiedersehen!

Last night we said goodbye to a legend. Ok, maybe I should stop being so melodramatic. We didn't exactly have to say goodbye...well, what I mean is it's not like Mr. Hill died. He simply retired. Still, we aren't really going to see him anymore. We didn't really see him very often anyway. Only at band concerts. Why is his retirement bothering me so much?

Mr. Hill taught me how to play the clarinet. My first band experiences were with him. I went to my brother's band concerts and watched Mr. Hill, then he was my very own teacher. I really enjoyed band. Once I got into high school, I still loved Mr. Hill but I had moved on. I never thought that his retirement would bug me like this.

I'm pretty sure the reason why I'm so disturbed is because I want my little sisters to have the same experiences with him that I did. He was such a good band director. I will also miss seeing him and seeing his little quirks that always amused us. The way his head shakes, the way he shoots people when they are being disruptive. It's just so hard to let things like this go. I almost don't want to grow up. I want everything to stay the same forever.

Oh well. It's good to move on and experience new things. I'll never forget Mr. Hill or the things he taught me, but as I grow I will be able to create new memories to look back on in a few years.

"You're so nice...

...You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice. I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right. I'm the Witch. You're the world."

I don't know what I'm going to write about. I'm just in an "Into the Woods" sort of mood. The witch in into the woods is so--well, I take that back--everyone in into the woods is so biased. The witch will do anything for beauty. The baker and his wife will do anything to have a child. The step sisters will do anything to marry the prince. Cinderella's prince will do anything to get the girl. Jack and his mother will do anything for money, even sell their beloved cow. They only see what they want to see and how to obtain what they want. Well, except the narrator. He's neutral. Of course, in the end he is sacrificed by all the others so they get what they want. It doesn't work though. The giant doesn't fall for the trick, and everyone ends up with losses anyway. "You need an objective observer to pass the story along." "But some of us don't like the way you've been telling things."

The attitude of "all for one" never works. This concept is clearly demonstrated in "Into the Woods". In the first act, all the characters have a clear goal in mind. Their own personal goal in mind. They work to achieve that goal. When they finally achieve it, as they all do, at the end of Act I, "they're so happy". However, things soon start to go awry. The witch is beautiful, but she's lost her powers. The baker and his wife have their child, Cinderella and the prince are married, but they aren't satisfied with what they have. The step sisters have been blinded. A giant is terrorizing the kingdom because of Jack's greed. These things are consequences for what they have done. The characters were wearing blinders-they didn't think about what could happen and they didn't care. All they wanted was to be happy. Now that they have achieved their goal and still aren't happy, they realize something is wrong.

Finally, Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, and the baker realize what they have lost is a direct result of their actions. They try to mend that. Now the attitude has changed from "all for one" to "one for all and all for one". They all work together, sort of like the three musketeers. They are now on track to mending what is left of their lives.

It's always hard to think of the bigger picture instead of just thinking about yourself, but it needs to be done. As soon as we can get rid of this mind set that the world revolves around us, the sooner we will reach true happiness. At least, that's what I think.

"Careful the wish you make, wishes are children. Careful the path they take - wishes come true, not free. Careful the spell you cast, not just on children. Sometimes the spell may last beyond what you can see and turn against you."