Overcoming my Jury.

at the end of every semester, it is necessary for every music major, be it instrumental, percussion, or vocal, has to go through what they call a jury. now, it's different for brass, woodwind, strings, vocal... etc. being a vocal, i was to partake of the great experience. i was required to learn, memorize, and stylize three different italian pieces throughout the semester, to later be performed for some of the music staff. today, was the day. i woke up a nervous wreck, went to basic musicianship, ran through my three songs in a practice room, then went to calm my nerves by talking to Jacob Fowkes, Emily Roberts, and Tyler Carlisle. then, jacob, emily and i went to music explorations. afterwhich, i came home to shower, re-apply make-up, blow-dry and straighten my hair, get dressed, grab three bottles of water, and head back to the snow. it was about 1:15pm when i met Charlotte Goga there. she stayed with me for the entire 2 hours and 24 minutes we had to practice before i went in for my jury. she encouraged me, gave me helpful advice, coached me, and most importantly was just there for me. it was a huge help. when the time came, i went down the Barrus Hall, where the juries were taking place. there was already a crowd of 155 vocal majors who both had already gone, or whom were waiting in anxious anticipation to simply get it over with. I had O Cessate Di Piagarmi, Nel Cor Piu Non Me Sento, and O Del Mio Dolce Ardor on my repitoire sheet. Erin McMahon went two slots before me... O Cessate was chosen for her... i was SO thankful. This was my worst song, the only one i did NOT want to be chosen for me to sing. she sounded wonderful and her bright smiling face greeted my nerves as she skipped out of the Barrus Hall. Next in line was Emily Roberts. Nel Cor Piu Non Me Sento was chosen for her. i was a little disappointed. that was the one i was really hoping for, but nontheless, O Del Mio Dolce Ardor was one of my best, and i was thankful i was left with that one and not O Cessate. the funny thing about this is that Emily, Erin, and I had completely different song lists.... they just both ironically had songs form mine on theirs... haha! well, the Lord blesses those who ask for comfort! they chose my best song, and i performed it to the best of my abilities at that moment. Sister Ashby simply smiled at me the entire time, Brother Kempton had a pleasant look about him, and Brother Olsen simply smiled at me as well. My Voice coach Erin, was also present, as was Charlotte who was my focal point. i looked at her the entire time, telling the stories of my songs to her as best as i could. when it was done, my piano player, Melissa Fitzen and i walked out. it was a HUGE sigh of relief. i felt sooooooooooooooo stress free and light. i had been so happy about anything since the day we picked up Max. i was soooo happy to know that my jury was over. now... we shall see if my performance was up to par. for now, i have a piano final, and a basic musicianship final, both of which i am extremely excited and well-prepared for. thursday is when it all ends... and i am so excited to spend my last three days here with the people i'll be sad to leave during the winter semester. :( and then saturday morning! erika and i shall make our way up to salt lake to begin our journey home to NY.... SO EXCITED!!!! (:

Karma

oh. my. lanta. i honestly am not sure how this semester was able to fly by as fast as it did. i'm glad and sad. go figure. all summer i did nothing but complain about coming out to Idaho, because i didn't want to leave my family, friends, school district, or pretty much the east coast in general. i remember talking with my dad and saying "i wish i could just stay home, i already know i'm going to hate it out there." he responded with "be careful what you say. you're now going to go out there and absolutely love it, just for saying that last sentence.... it's what we call karma." well... as usual, my daddy was right... and karma has come back to bite me in the butt. i've achieved new levels of mental, emotional, physical, and most importantly spiritual growth, that i thought were not possible. i've been able to cultivate my talents, up to a level that will be able to help build the kingdom of God. i've made the most amazing friendships with some of the most amazing people. their testimonies of music, and the gospel, have been able to stabilize my own testimony. they have all brought me laughter, company, encouragement, music, inspiration, good times, early mornings, late nights, study groups, movie nights, temple trips, pre-jury bonding sessions, and love. lots and lots of love. although i am SO SO SO excited to get on a plane and come home this saturday, i am devastated at the thought that i will not be seeing some of these people until april, and even more of them until next september. holy cow, that seems like an eternity. a truly amazing woman, Erin McMahon told me today, "Those who live the gospel understand that they will never see each other for the last time. "‎♥ ... how incredible is she? this has brought me the most comfort as i spend my last few days as a first semester pre-music major at BYU-Idaho. 

                                 Two of the world's greatest FHE brothers. Damion and Carl.

                                                    Emily, Austin, and me... (:

                                           Tyler Beesley, you could call him my second brother.

                                      This is Jordan, i sat next to him in band... he is a cool kid!

                    Savannah, Me, and Mandilyn at kiwi loco after our wednesday 155 lecture.

                                           Me, Sleigh Bells, and Shawn... HAHAHAHAHA!

                                          Jacob Fowkes and I, i LOVE this kid... a lot <3

                                           This is Emily Hayes, she is literally my best friend.

                                          Sam, Me, and Spencer... blind date at Walmart. hhaha.

                                               TY & I.... love isn't even the right word for him.

                                            ooof... eric,..... we're really attractive. :)

Eric Gaspar and i... yeah... we are really attractive. 

 Me, Emily Roberts, Christian Holden, Mandilyn Sorensen, Meagan Spencer, and Erin McMahon, Kiwi Loco after 155 again... i'm really gonna miss this. :)

Devotional Adventures.

as part of our women's choir duties, we are lucky enough to sing in devotional twice or three times per semester. This past tuesday, 11/08/2011, we had this opportunity. This time, in particular, was quite the adventure. Ashley, Myself, and Emily, sat next to each other. the are both about 2 inches taller than me. we were seated in the back row, not expecting to end up on the camera shots. however, in the middle of the song, the screen showed a horizontal pan of the back row. i couldn't tell for sure if it was on the three of us, so i quickly stood up on my tip-toes and sunk back down... an action that only took about 3 seconds. however, the camera was on me, and the simple action of standing up on my tip-toes then coming back down was visible to the entire campus of BYU-Idaho. HA!... oh well..... i was bound to be well known at here at some point! after the song (which was beautiful) was finished we sat down... and then... they turned the lights down on us, so on screen we looked pitch black. the devotional speaker had a mono-tone voice which was all-too relaxing, and because we were seated behind him, all we could hear was an echo. it would take extreme focus and practice to even try to figure out what he was saying. so, being exhausted from the lack of sleep i have been getting, i climbed onto the carpeted riser behind be, stretched out flat, and fell asleep. i was out stone cold. i was so deeply asleep, that the only thing that could possibly wake me up was a loud noise... leave it to emily to cover that. apparently when she silenced her phone, it did not silence the media sounds. being bored, she decided to play a game. upon clicking on the app, the i-center stage began to echo with a song, a simple jungle that a normal game would have, i shot right up like a rocket, she tried to absorb the sound by pressing it into her stomach, which seemed to work for the most part, after the song stopped, she turned her phone off, and threw it under her chair. i lied back down and not even 5 minutes later i was out like a light... again. until the speaker closed and i woke up to sing the closing song, and pray. it was a devotional i will certainly never forget, even though i slept through most of it... but i must say, that stage is much more comfortable than people give it credit for. (:

New Friends, Old Times

i've been so blessed with a bubbly personality, and the ability to make friends. the people i have met in my music classes are all wonderful, musically inclined, well- rounded people, who never cease to make me smile, laugh, or want to sing. we have had some of the best times together while on our journey to completing our identical goal... pass the freshman year of a music education major. from opera-watching parties, to saturday night movie nights, sleigh-riding, wednesday trips to kiwi--loco after music 155 lecture class, concerts, never -ending hours spent practicing, scribing scales, and the like, we have come to love each other, and become one big musical family. i love them to death and am greatly looking forward to spending the rest of my musical college years with them by my side. (:

Hair Hack

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 i was sitting in women's choir in the afternoon. it was my last class of the day. my sister and i had made hair appointments for that evening. after women's choir, i was to report to her apartment so we could walk together. i had it in my mind that i would only trim my hair, and that was it. i had been growing it our for about 2 years and it was finally at a length i loved! but when we got there erika popped the idea in my head "hey em, why don't you cut it back up to your jawline?" at first, it wasn't even an option, and i pushed the idea to the side of my mind, but as we waited, it grew like a poison inside of me until i convinced myself it was a good idea. so... 45 minutes later, i had lost 9 and 1/2 inches of hair... and i was devastated, i smiled politely at the barber lady, she was so nice to me, and only did what i asked! i could no longer put my hair in a pony tail, i couldn't see it when i flipped my head over, and there were only two styles.... down and curly, or down and straight. it has been 11 days, and i am for sure still trying to get used to it. but i cannot deny the enormous amount of compliments i've been receiving about it. i know that it is going to take some time, but eventually it will grow back... right!?... my hair seems to grow at the average length... not too slow... but not as fast i as i would like it too. so! here is a picture of my extremely short, non-exsistant hair hack.... i miss it... but each day i know i am getting closer and closer, inch by inch, to returning to it to it's normal length. (:

Elder Receveur

my best buddy Tyler Receveur left for his mission last tuesday. October 18th, 2011 for the Fortaleza, Brazil Mission.  He's going to have an amazing time, and come back an even better friend!... which isn't easy... because he's amazing as it is (: i'm sure going to miss him! but i know he's doing the right thing in serving the Lord, and the people in Brazil. good luck Tyler! have fun!... or as they say in Brazil... "Boa Sorte Tyler! Tenha Diversão!" see you in two years!!!!!!

The BYU-Idaho Bag Piper.

every sunday i've been here in Rexburg, Idaho, i've been serenaded by the sweet echoes of bagpipes. at least two hours every sunday, hymns, scottish folk tunes, and irish melodies ring through the campus. curious as to where they were coming from, i asked my sister, Erika, where they came from. she said that  there was a boy who played every sunday underneath the stadium. so!.... today!....  after two (almost three) months of being here, i finally grabbed my camera and marched down the stairs, across the street, through the stadium gates, and underneath the bleachers, where i found him. pacing back and forth 20 yards or so in each direction, with no music, playing his bag pipe... i introduced myself and asked for a picture. i felt as if i were meeting a celebrity! he was the coolest person i've ever had a conversation with.  he informed me that he had been playing for a year and a half, and that he had served his mission in Scotland from 2008-2010. ever since he was a small boy, he had been infatuated with the idea of playing the bag pipes, his grandfather had bought his some for the christmas before his mission, so he was enable to learn until he returned home. he was so very flattered and honored that i had visited him... apparently he never gets visitors.... which is still mind boggling to me, because he is amazing!!! SO! i introduce to the world..... ANDY! the BYU-Idaho Bag Piper. (:

Modest-Yahoo!

two of my room mates are actually sisters, emily and brittany blankinship. their grandfather carved a very detailed and beautiful squirrel out of wood. they have been hiding it in the strangest places around our apartment waiting for the moment when the other sister finds him. one night as i was crashing onto my bed, i was greeted by a hard tail. it was the squirrel... i was from then on apart of their squirrel-hiding festivities. when doing homework one day, i was listening to music. One Day by Matisyahu came on... emily came running out of her room saying... "I love modest-yahoo!" ... apparently thats what people in the west call Matisyahu... so in spite of the miscommunication, we named the precious squirrel Modest-yahoo.

oh my lanta.

so i got into music 155, women's choir, and university band. i now have 7 classes on mondays and wednesdays... four classes on tuesdays and thursdays, and three classes on fridays. it's a full life, for sure. however, the business of music is always welcome in my life, so i can say that i am enjoying myself.

The Beginning of life at BYU-I

I have just finished moving into my apartment where, myself and 5 other girls will try to sanely live until december. i have 5 beautiful and amazing room mates... Chelsea Smaellie, Brittany and Emily Blankinship,   Lora Johnson, and Diana Sanchez. I am majoring in Music Education with a focus on voice. In order to be considered i had to audition for ensembles. i wanted to get into an advanced music theory/ voice class called Music 155. we were told that there were told between four and eight freshman would achieve the honor of being accepted into the class, and i was one of 56 to audition. so chances of me getting to that are looking pretty slim right now. however, I also decided to audition for Women's Choir and the University Band... because i was lucky enough to bring my trombone. friday morning with a small head cold that plugged my nose, and made my throat feel scratchy. :( i was scared silly that this cold would effect my auditions performance. i spent the day practicing my audition songs and such for about 5 hours... then went home, took some cold medicine, and went to sleep. i woke up saturday feeling better with nothing but a stuffy nose. i  rocked all three auditions, blowing the professors minds with my "advanced" solfege abilities. i suppose thats what you get when you have amazing music teachers :) i find out monday as to weather or not i made it into my ensembles, however, i will not find out about my music 155 class until tuesday. i am still terrified that i will not get it. but obviously those who do get in are probably those most talented and deserving. i'm just hoping i'm one of them. i start classes to-morrow. there are so many excited/anxious/nervous feelings inside of me i'm not really sure what i'm feeling at the moment. i know more than anything i'm just glad to be getting back into the schedule of music everything 24/7. I am still suffering from jet lag... and i've only experienced a two hour time difference. i feel like the lamest college student ever because i am in bed passed out by 10pm... and i'm up and ready to go by 8am... which is really like going to bed at midnight and waking up at 10am back home. but classes start to-morrow... and i have a packed day.. so i shall be once again a lame college student and sign off at 10pm... :)