The Highlight Reel

Well, guys, we made it. Grades are final and graduation is upon us! And I've been meaning to do this for a while, and I just thought here's as good a place as any to share it. :) I realize not many people will get the jokes or remember those times, but for me, and for Cambry, and for many of our friends, these three years at Orem High really were filled with some great times worth remembering.

Now, let's take all the fun times and go rock the Y! :D But before that, here comes the Highlight Reel (:


Sophomore Year Highlights
- I made the All-State Jazz Band! (which is sorta a big deal when you're just a sophomore)
- Group of friends?: Cambry, Nick, David, Jason, Hunter, Tom, Kolten, Tyson
- Dominating the Honors English debate blog
- Hanging out in the cross hall by my locker during lunch
- Busting a move in front of Jackson, unintentionally
- The impromptu play by David and Tom, that one day outside
- The day David and Jason climbed the giant dirt pile and attempted to do par kour off the building.
- Riding the bus back and forth to Mountain View every day for Spanish 4
- Studying like crazy for APUSH
- The SASSY 7!
- Boy Scouts!!! [i.e. the Sassy 7 (the 7 girls in jazz band) trying to scout out all the cute boys at jazz festivals, and pretty much everywhere else]
- That HUGE crush I had on JPHB......... :D :D :D :D (I still think we're going to get married. For reals.)
- Mr. Summers shaking my hand and saying, "you're in"
- Playing for concerto night
- Wearing sombreros during an after school band rehearsal
- "Bandmasta Summers!"
- My surprise 16th birthday party
- "OHS Jazz Band takes over the world, take 5"
- JAZZ RETREAT
- Touring the new school while being pushed on a cart :)

Junior Year Highlights
- Dan Metro moved in!
- HUUUUGE group of friends at our lunch spot. (Officially dubbed the "bandies")
- BAND TOUR. (Nuff said.)
- The let's-pretend-to-play-instruments-we-don't-really-play game in the band room.
- Lucky Unders
- Winning reflections 2011
- Moviepartymoviepartymovieparty.......... can we hold hands?
- Les Mis pit orchestra (dancing in the lockers!)
- Spring Break texting, like, the whole time
- Music theory battles with Mr. Keyes
- project ME
- JAZZ RETREAT (and playing Scum 24/7)
- Nerd battling with Dan. And keeping score. And winning. :D
- Hiking the Y
- Taking physics with Mr. Clark. Still my favorite class, by far.
- Straight I's at State Band!
- Going to the Jon Schmidt concert over the summer

Senior Year Highlights
- "Brain waves? IN PHASE!"
- Getting accepted to BYU
- Becoming a music major (audition day!)
- Playing with the Utah Wind Symphony
- Val.E.Dic.Tor.I.An.
- Marching Band trip to St. George
- that one time me and Cam and Dan hung out :)
- Winning STATE Basketball
- "It's not gonna happen... IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!"
- Music Sterling Scholar
- JAZZ RETREAT
- All State Jazz/Band/Honor Band
- Mr. Downs' first kiss story
- Afternoons in the park
- Falling asleep in Financial Lit
- Swing dancing through Jazz Band
- The most epic, amazing Jazz concert of ALL TIME
- Graduation!!! :)

Earning Thank-Yous

Let's face it, I'm not always the happiest helper. Sometimes I secretly roll my eyes or mutter under my breath when a classmate asks me to do something. Sometimes I grumble and put forth half-effort when someone asks me to help. And sometimes even as I do these things, I seem to be fine with how things are.

But when it comes time to hear the other person say, "thank you," it really makes me feel bad. My half-hearted efforts are rewarded with full-hearted "thank you,"s, and it doesn't seem fair to me. It makes me feel like I should have done MORE, I should have EARNED the thank you's I received. Instead of grumbling or muttering or rolling my eyes, I should have smiled and worked and tried! Next time I'll do better. Next time I'll earn my thank you.

Consider it a favor. :)

What We See

I think sometimes we're all affected by this. Whether it's in terms of beauty, or talent, or unique personality, we sometimes get caught up in ideas that are not only false, but suffocating to our own divine individuality. Sometimes I'm caught up, but at those times I just need to remember that #1 I am beautiful, and #2 What I see in the mirror is not what God sees. He sees so much more! And society has nothing to say to THAT. :)

Maybe I should put this on my bathroom mirror. :)

Shoutout from the almost-free high school senior :)

Well this is new. I've never tried blogging on my phone before, much less during class. Government, to be exact, the only class I've ever had my phone taken away in. If it were possible for me to feel cooler, I would. :) But since it's like the last day of school, it's not like I'm taking any big risk. Logan wouldn't care, not today. :)

Anyway, I'm realizing that school is pretty much over. Forever. And I can't say I'm too surprised. People ask me if I can believe that I'm almost all done, and I just have to say yes. It's been a long three years. A good three years, to be sure--but still long. :) There are only a few things I'm going to miss. People, for one. I won't be seeing many of my classmates again: I'll miss Nick Pope and Scott Young; Brennan, Ethan, Jacob, Sam, Dallin J, Tiffany, Ashleigh, Garrett, Josh N, Aaron, Jason N, Matt O, Kaden, Kennen, Amy, Seth, David, Heather, Adam... So many people! I'll have to write them down sometime.

 {Hahaha so Logan DID just give me crap for having my phone out. He tried to take it, jokingly, and I'm like, "Seriously? The last day of school?" He laughed and said "No, I just gotta give you crap because nobody else will." hahahaha! :D}

Another thing I'm going to miss is lunchtime. It was fun hanging out in the band room before and after school, and all during lunch. I'm basically a band hermit, but I don't mind becuse that's where my friends are. :) We had some fun times--like the try-random-instruments-day, lucky unders, piano playing, microphone noises, conversations with Mr. Summers, etc.

 Gotta go! :D

So That's How They Feel

Sometimes when I listen to music, I wonder how the person who the song is all about feels about it. Especially those songs about heartbreakers, fence sitters, and second-guessers. When they hear the song, do they get sad? Mad? Do they care? Do they realize it's about them? Do they feel guilty, or regretful, or even triumphant or contemptuous?

I wonder about that a lot. At least I DID, until I listened to THIS and THIS and THIS, and I realized, "oh. that's how they feel."

Love This, Doctor

What You Really Look Like

[the emoticons]

 

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                                  :O                                    ;)                                   :/

                            0.0                                     D:                                   ;D

                          ;P                                        :D                                    0_o

Hearts Move Forward

Hearts can only go in one direction, and that direction is FORWARD. They can't reverse or change their course on their way to a specific destination. They can't slow down or stop as they approach what they're set on. Though sometimes they can wander, given enough time, your heart will always find somewhere to go.

Sometimes our hearts move us toward things or people or events that are really painful. And though you wish you could take it back, retrace a few steps, you can't. As hearts can only move forward, the only way to move your heart away from something painful is to move it toward something else. Whether that is a person, a concept, a gospel principle, or a state of being, your heart can set its course on whatever or whoever you choose.

And whether that's a curse or a comfort, I don't quite know yet. It's up to you, I guess. It could depend on the situation. All I know is that it's important to set your heart in pursuit of the right things or the right events or the right someone, so as to keep you moving forward along with that pesky little heart of yours that likes to not only move forward, but run full speed ahead. :) One direction, folks. That's what we signed up for.