The Best Christmas Music, New and Old

Hello all! I'd like to start by wishing you all a Merry Christmas Eve and a Merry Christmas tomorrow. This year, not only am I celebrating Christmas with my family but I'm celebrating my success on this blog. I've reached over 500 views in just three months, not too shabby. And what's so thrilling is that my viewers are not just my friends and family but also people from all over the world. I have viewers in Russia and Germany and Turkey and Canada, a shoutout to all of you! Thanks for supporting me and my blog, I never thought it would be this successful :)

Now to conclude, I'm going to share with all of you some of my most favorite Christmas songs. I can't include them all because there are so many, but I hope you enjoy these select few.

Baby It's Cold Outside (Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone version) from the movie Elf

Baby It's Cold Outside (Chris Colfer and Darren Criss version) from Glee

All I Want For Christmas Is You- Mariah Carey

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) the Michael Bublé version

Carol of the Bells- Trans-Siberian Orchestra (I had to add in the synchronized lights video, it's so legit)

Let it Snow (Chris Colfer and Darren Criss version) from Glee (I just really love their tuxedos, haha!)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Cory Monteith and Mark Salling version) from Glee

And of course, we can't leave out Josh Groban's beautiful voice.

 Believe- Josh Groban from The Polar Express

Do They Know It's Christmas? (Glee Cast version) from Glee

Blue Christmas- Elvis Presley

Wonderful Christmas Time- Paul McCartney

Feliz Navidad- José Feliciano

Please Come Home For Christmas- The Eagles

Santa Claus is Coming to Town- Bruce Springsteen

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree- Brenda Lee

Holly Jolly Christmas- Burl Ives

The Christmas Song- Nat King Cole

Happy Christmas (War Is Over)- John Lennon

And of course, the most famous Christmas song of all time...

White Christmas- Bing Crosby

Okay, so that was more than a few songs. But if you can't tell, I REALLY love Christmas songs. So enjoy. And Merry Christmas. :)

I Need Reeds

So I just spent half an hour practicing my saxophone, and I realized that I really need reeds. Like REALLY need reeds. Not that I hadn't taken note of it before today, because I had, but up until now I've been sort of putting it off. But it just now hit me that I like really, really need reeds. I haven't bought reeds since marching season, sophomore year. In other words, it has been a really long time in which I have neglected to buy reeds. I almost feel bad for the reeds, because they have been put through so much. They have been through nearly ten marching band competitions, and at least fifty rehearsals. They have been set on the ground and stepped on and cracked and bruised. They have been stained with lipstick and hot chocolate, and their reed scent has been taken away. Honestly, no reed should be force to take on that kind of outside force for so long. Poor reeds.

If I were to wake up on Christmas morning with nothing but reeds under the tree from Santa, I would be content. (Well, I would be disappointed for not getting a kitten, but still.) Perhaps reeds would be a good stocking stuffer, cough cough. For my alto, I use Vandoren size 3 and for my tenor I use Vandoren size 2 1/2. Maybe you could pass the word on to the big guy with the white beard. :)

Oh, and note to self: Buy reeds.

Yoga Pants: A Lazier Way To Flaunt What You've Got

Alright, so tonight I'm going to discuss a very controversial topic in girl world: yoga pants. For those of you who don't know, yoga pants are a type of sweat pants that girls wear, especially when it's cold outside, although they can also be purchased in yoga capris and yoga shorts. Unlike traditional sweat pants, yoga pants are skin-tight and very form-fitting. Indeed they are comfortable, but the main reason girls wear them is to show off their gluteus maximus.Yes, that is their, uh, butt. Love them or hate them, every girl owns a pair. Some girls wear them on occasion, or to bed, or only at home, and some girls embrace yoga pants to their full potential and wear them every day.

I've never been a very committed yoga pants wearer myself, mainly because of personal beliefs. I'd much rather have some class than downgrade myself to sweatpants in order to show off my, um, derriere. Plus I don't think it's very appealing to have males gawking at my backside all day long. So, when yoga pants became popular about a year ago, I made a promise that I wouldn't wear them in public. I told myself that I wasn't going to be sucked in to this new, lazy, social norm.

However, last night around 10 pm, I received a mass text message from my show choir director saying that we weren't allowed to wear jeans today, so that we could dance comfortably while our choreographer was in town. This did not make me happy, because I wear jeans 99% of the time. Overloaded with stress, I trudged into my closet in search of something to wear on my lower half. I could always wear regular sweat pants, but I have never worn sweat pants to school and it would probably destroy my moral standards. If it were warm outside, I would have just worn gym shorts. But it is December and I do live in Iowa, which just equals cold. Lastly, I spotted my yoga pants in the corner, unworn (except to bed) and begging to be let out. I sighed and argued with myself in my head.

"You can't wear yoga pants to school tomorrow. It will completely ruin everything you stand for and turn you into one of them."

"But they're sooo comfortable, and sooo warm. And you can't deny the fact that they look good. Plus, I'm not allowed to wear jeans. So it's this or nothing. Deal with it."

"But they're yoga pants. Yes, girls wear them every day and don't have a problem with it, but you're not them. You just can't do it!" 

"I have to. Sucks." 

And so it was. I wore yoga pants to school today, and I'm still living. However, as I walked through the hallways, I felt self-conscious, as if everyone was looking at my behind. I couldn't get over the fact that I was doing something that I told myself I would never do. I wanted to stop and scream "Stop judging me, people!" But as the day went on, I realized that so many other girls were wearing yoga pants, too. Not that this was different than any other day, and I'm sure most of them were pretty comfortable with it, but it still made me feel a little better. As awkward as my outfit looked, it was the acceptable norm at Kennedy High School. As sad as that may be, it made me feel a little better about myself.


So whether you want it or not, here's my ultimate take on yoga pants after today. Yoga pants are okay for bedtime and relaxing at home. That being said, it's perfectly alright to wear them in public on occasion, perhaps on one of those crappy days when you just don't feel like doing anything. They are okay in moderation, but wearing them every single day to try and get attention from boys is just silly. This may sound cheesy, but if you want a boy to like you just be nice and laugh a lot (cause I think boys like laughter). Don't use your body to try and get boys to like you, use your personality.The boys who only like girls for their bodies aren't the ones worth going for anyway. The boys with real tastes will go for the girl who doesn't show off her body to the entire world. And even if you do want to flaunt what you've got every once and a while, you can at least be classy about it. Be traditional like Audrey Hepburn, and go with a skirt and some heels. Trust me ladies, wearing heels and a little make up gives you confidence that yoga pants can't even begin to match. 

I think Jerry Seinfeld can sum this post up for me :

Mind Blown.

I was exploring around on Youtube earlier today, and I came across the "Death Waltz" by John Stump. After watching the video, my jaw was wide open and I had nothing to say. I honestly could not think of any adjectives to describe this piece. Just look at it.

That, my friends, is not music. That is art on paper, something that slightly resembles music but is impossible to play on any instrument ever created. It's like a machine gun on some serious steroids. But yet, it's the most addicing thing I've ever heard. If I was to attempt to play this piece, I would die. My fingers would fall off and shrivel up. Mmmm.

Like my math teacher always says, the guy who wrote this should be locked up in a cage somewhere and never allowed out. It is compositions like these that are completely ruining all that is good in our society. This is the devil's march, the power of all evil, the unthinkable death. The end is near.

This is it, my friends. The Death Waltz, computer generated of course. Because computers can do what humans can't. Try not to have a heart attack, please.

                                                                                                                                               

Homework

So I'm sitting at home for yet another sick day (I'm never going to get into college with this attendance record) and what's interesting is that I find myself doing more homework when I'm home from school than on a regular school day. My only possible theory for this is that I'm caught up in my guilt for not being at school, and I think that doing schoolwork at home will somewhat make up for my absence. Which can be true, to an extent.

In his essay against homework, 5th grader Ben Berrafato wrote that "Homework is assigned to students like me without our permission. Thus, homework is slavery. Slavery was abolished with the passing of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. So every school in America has been illegally run for the past 143 years."

...

So, is Ben correct? Are we, the publicly educated children of the United States, enslaved  by homework? The World English Dictionary defines slavery as " the subjection of a person to another person, especially in being forced into work". So the question is, are we subjugated to our schools and teachers by being forced to do schoolwork at home?

As I sit at home today, studying the Civil War and the 13th Amendment along with all that other stuff that happened in my AP US History textbook, Ben's essay enlightens me. I am enslaved. I am an enslaved human being. I am forced to do work that I don't want to do and don't get paid for, and I am punished if I don't do it correctly or don't do it at all. Every student who is a part of the public education system is taught that slavery is wrong and that is why it is not in practice in the United States anymore. Because we are a free country, and each citizen has rights to freedom. But now we are the ones being enslaved.

It's small and fluffy, it wears a collar, it serves as your best friend when no one else will, and it's NOT a dog

If you asked me what I want for Christmas this year, there would be an entire list of things that went through my mind (I'm an American, too). The new iPhone, some new Uggs, perhaps a new pair of jeans and a nice sweater too. But of all the possibilities of things in stores and online that I could ever want, what I really want more than anything else in the whole wide world is...

A kitten. Cats are cute, dainty, friendly, nifty, ingenious, savvy, angelic, admirable, pleasant, elegant, enticing, radiant, superb, dazzling, marvelous, stunning, splendid creatures who serves as fluffy cuddle buddies and lifelong friends. Now, if only I could convince my parents of this.

At times I feel as if my parents think that cats are evil creatures who are plotting to take over the world and letting them live in your home and become acquainted with you is the gateway to having them bind together with all the other cats and destroy all human life. Well, I'm here to inform you, parental unit, that it's not the case at all. (Yes, my parents do read this blog, that's where my two views a week come from).

Do you honestly think that something as cute as that would ever cause any harm? I think not! But besides just being cute, kittens provide comfort when you're in need. They are a shoulder to cry on. They are fun little furballs of joy. Plus, cats don't require much work. It's not like I'm asking for a dog, who you have to train and take outside every five minutes and walk and teach them not to jump on people and so on. No, I'm simply asking for a cat. Cats poop in a box which isn't that hard to clean, and that's really about all they do. You have to feed them of course, but I'm pretty sure a monkey could do that.

So please parents (and/or Santa), become enlightened and give a furry friend in need a home.

Is it too much to ask for a little kitten?

Children aren't really THAT bad...

So yesterday was my high school's annual "Cocoa and Carol's" show, in which we put on three shows throughout the day featuring elementary and middle school show choirs with children that will soon be coming to our high school, along with performances by our own show choirs, jazz choir, and chamber choir. I must say, though I've been rather Scrooge-y this year, yesterday kind of won me over and put me in the Christmas spirit. I'm now counting down the days (14!) and embracing everything that has to do with Christmas.

Nearly everything about little kids makes me cringe and turn away. The way their hands are always sticky with some unknown substance, or the fact that they ask the question "Why?" about EVERY LITTLE THING. It's like, some things are just the way they are, OKAY?! But as much as I dislike children, seeing them embrace music the way I did when I was their age warms my heart a little bit. Not enough to make me ever want to have kids, of course, but it makes me almost respect the choice to have children.

At one of the shows, I caught a few minutes of one elementary school's performance from backstage. The kids were dressed in white sweatsuits, black shoes, with black buttons and black top hats, and colorful scarves. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they were dressed as snowmen. Sure, that was cute and fun, but what really grabbed my attention was their energy and passion for performance at such a young age. These children were no older than nine or ten years old, and they all knew exactly how they were supposed to be portraying the song. (Okay, so it's a Christmas song, and not that difficult to send the message, but still.) In my own show choir people have trouble portraying emotions, even in our ballad. If these nine and ten year old children can do it, certainly fifteen and sixteen year olds can too.

From the time I was seven or eight years old, I've been in performing arts and have had a strong passion for music in general. Seeing those children yesterday with their snowman costumes and their cute little Christmas dances reminded me of my carefree childhood of music. I'm so thankful for the the opportunities I've had in pursuing music, and in a few years when those kids walk through the doors of Kennedy High School, I know they will have the same, if not more, opportunities. And that is why I love the arts.

I hate winter with a burning passion.

I'll be honest, after the week I've had, blogging isn't really a top priority of mine at the moment. But it's not an option, and I've got three nights for three posts. So here goes.

The first snow fall came this week, on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Nothing major, no accumulation, but enough to make the roads slippery. I, having never driven on icy roads before, woke up Tuesday morning panicking about getting to school. After a pep talk from my mom and some hot chocolate, I headed off to school (after skipping my first class, might I add) and made my way through .02 inches of snow (or something like that).  At first I thought, "Hey, this isn't so bad. I'm moving, I'm not sliding everywhere, and I haven't crashed yet." but then I reached my first turn. I slid a little, and as I continued driving I slid here and there, but I was always able to keep it under control. Finally I reached my destination: school. I had to make one more turn, and then I would safely find my place in the parking lot. But this was the turn that my car didn't like so much: ice nearly covered the entire turn lane. I began to slide into the other lane as I hit my brakes, then I started freaking out. I tried using more brakes, less brakes, turning the steering wheel, but the car seemed to be controlling itself. Finally I just stopped, and it seemed to work. I slowly made my left turn into the parking lot, and all was well. In no way was my first experience driving on icy roads anything it shouldn't have been, we all hear horror stories. And yet I still felt scared, but once I got to school I realized I wasn't the only one.

In my first couple of classes, students chatted about their similar driving experiences that morning. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one who had issues turning into the parking lot, and that made me feel much better. I finally realized that I'm not the only one who's terrified of driving in the snow. 

So Mother Nature, now that I'm driving myself everywhere, I'd really appreciate it if you held off on the snow. I know that I live in Iowa, but give me a break, it's not like I chose to live here. If I could go someplace sunny and warm right now, I would in a heartbeat. But I can't, so please, please hold off on the snow. Just for a little while longer, at least. And could you also make it warm while you're at it, perhaps? Give my heated blanket a rest for once.

Happy Friday, all. And stay warm.

High School, Grades, and Other Things That Don't Really Mean Much Anymore

Before I start this post, I'd like to take a moment and write a quick side note/apology. Although I'm sure you're probably questioning, I haven't forgotten my central blog topic: music. Though my last few posts haven't been about music, I PROMISE I will write about it again soon. Right now is an awkward time in my musical life, because I said goodbye to marching band long ago, and show choir competition season has not yet begun. Right now we are in the tedious process of perfecting our show, and if I wrote about that you would all be bored out of your minds. Thus, I have been posting tangent blogs about things that aren't even related to music because I honestly have nothing better to talk about. But enough about that, let's discuss something important.

Grades. Ugh, we can all agree that they are not a fun subject. But last week in AP Language and Composition we read a very interesting essay, and I feel like I can give enough input on it to obtain the required word count this week. The essay is entitled  "Best in Class" by Margaret Talbot, and it basically tells multiple stories of high school valedictorians. What I took from reading this essay is that naming a valedictorian of each graduating class is an old practice, and high schools shouldn't do it anymore. I both agree and disagree with this statement for a multitude of reasons, some of which I'm going to discuss on this blog post today.

First, I'm going to share my perspective on this topic. (Note: I am not trying to brag about my grades or statistics or any of that junk. Just showing you where I stand.) We (the students of my school) recently received our updated transcripts containing the number of credits we've earned so far, our weighted GPAs, and the ever so controversial class rankings. Usually this transcript day is filled with people trying to find out the order of their class, and whose number one, two, three, and so on. Ugh, it just makes me groan. Anyway, roughly the top ten percent of the class graduates either valedictorian or salutatorian. Let's just say I am three people away from being in that top ten percent. Basically I'm in the top 10.000001% (slight exaggeration, but close). What kills me is the fact that I'm not in the top ten percent, yet my grades are nearly as good (if not identical) to the top few people in the class. That just goes to show how competitive and large my school really is.

So enough about me. This whole class rank and valedictorian thing ties in with the essay we read, because it shared stories of students who were just barely out of the selection of valedictorians, and a lot of them ended up suing their school districts for it. I certainly wouldn't take it that far, I mean it's just a title, right? But having the "valedictorian" status certainly helps if you're applying to a prestigious (and most likely Ivy League) college.  For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a valedictorian and go to an Ivy League school such as Harvard, Yale, or Columbia. But as my journey continues I'm beginning to realize that this dream isn't as far in my reach as I once thought it was, and I almost entirely blame the whole class competition thing.

If our school went traditional and only named one valedictorian and one salutatorian, obviously it would be much more difficult to obtain that status (and then there's always the issue of having the same GPA as someone else). But because they give the award to so many, not being named valedictorian is like a big hit below the belt. I can't even imagine being 0.001 point away from the award or something crazy like that, but it's a rational fear of mine.

In a school the size of mine, it really is a challenge to be named valedictorian. With that reasoning, I think it's smart to name multiple valedictorians and salutatorians. But it also takes away some of the importance of the award. I'd much rather say I was number one in my class than say I was in the top ten percent of my class. What essence does that even have anymore?

It's no doubt a controversial topic, my friends.  Should schools keep naming valedictorians, or is it an old practice that should be done away with? In today's rigorous, competitive world, it almost doesn't mean much anymore.

And there's my two cents, happy studies!

I guess Christmas came early this year.

So it's that time of year again, and whether we like it or not, Christmas is everywhere. Surely it's supposed to be joyful and jolly, right? Of course there are the Scrooges and Grinches out there who hate Christmas with a burning passion and hide in their houses from November to April. But then there are those people, like my mother, who embrace Christmas long before it starts and miss it when it ends.

About a week before Thanksgiving, I came home one day to find Christmas CDs playing in the living room and mistletoe hanging in the doorway. The tree was up and my mom was putting lights and ornaments on it. Cookies were baking in the oven, and there were tacky, homemade Christmas nick-nacks all over the house. Normally, this would put me in a good mood. I would grab a blanket, make some hot chocolate, and put A Christmas Story in the DVD player. But this year I walked in, stopped, looked around, and thought "What is happening to the world?". It didn't make sense to me. Why were we already celebrating Christmas when it was more than a month away? My mom then explained that she wanted to get an early start this year, so that she wouldn't find herself rushing around to get ready before Christmas. She said that having everyone around for Christmas was really stressful and she needed to make sure she was prepared. But my question is, why is Christmas a stressful time? Shouldn't it be about welcoming the holiday season and being with our friends and families?

There's really only one possible answer: media. The media portrays Christmas as a holiday that's all about materialistic items. Shopping, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Day Before Christmas Sale, whatever. Sure, I love getting gifts on Christmas, but I don't think that giving and recieving presents should be the main focus. Can't we focus on being with our families and friends, and having fun? Let's stop worrying about the perfect gifts and spending as much money as possible, please.

As for the early start to Christmas this year, well, it kind of feels like we skipped Thanksgiving. Yeah, we got together with our families, ate turkey, and watched football. But all everyone could talk about were the Black Friday sales and the things they were going to buy for Christmas. Am I the only one who's thankful anymore, who actually cares about Thanksgiving?

I'm all for candles in the window, cheesy sweaters, christmas music, and just going all out at Christmas time. But not if that means America is going to skip Thanksgiving because Christmas is more "important". So can we all please agree to give thanks before we dive in to shop and stress over Christmas? Sweet.

Happy Holidays, y'all.