"Oh if life were made of moments...."

 

You know those times where it feels like your luck runs out over and over....and over again? That was today for me. I'm usually not one to just slump into a pity-party, but I felt myself slumping away this afternoon. Then I suddenly remembered that my luck was coming back for just a moment when I got to spend my day with one of my amazing friends and watch one of my all-time favorite musicals, Into the Woods. A little background on why this musical means so much to me. It was the very first musical I ever saw when I was little....for some of you who know this musical you might be thinking this might be a little heavy for a little kid.....but I didn't care. It was a video recording of when my mom had done it and my sister and I would watch it constantly until we ended up playing the video to death. No literally, the tape died......sorry mom.....anyway, the point is this musical brought me such joy. If I think back on it now, that may have been the musical that brought me into the magical world of the theatre. Those moments I spent watching this beautiful work of art changed my life in such a little way, showing me that the theatre provided a whole other world for me to escape into sometimes whether I'm performing or getting lost in the passion of others. "Oh, if life were made of moments, even now and then a bad one - but if life were only made of moments, then you'd never know you had one." This lyric stuck out to me as I watched it tonight in the same wonder and amazement I did however many years ago when I saw it for the very first time. I never knew what this specific line meant until now. There are moments that we wish we could relive over and over because they were just that special....but then there are those that we wish we never had. Any "moment" good or bad is given to you to either teach you something or to simply keep as a precious memory for your entire life. While I felt like my "luck" was lacking today, watching this musical made me remember all those priceless, perfect and life-changing moments that I have had more of in my life than bad moments. In my opinion, if you can learn something new and rewarding from any "moment" you encounter that makes everything worth it. So I encourage you all to do two things: 1.) watch this musical at some point if you've never seen it. It's a "moment" worth having 2.) make sure that when you do have those days where it seems that bad moments keep hitting you, think of the amazing moments you've had in your life because I know you all have had one. You'll be surprised at how much it can wipe away the cloud that seems to hanging over your head for the time being. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to blast the Into the Woods soundtrack in my room and sing to the top of my lungs, adding yet another moment to remember, but don't worry I'll keep you posted!

I'm lovin' this plan so far!

PSYCH! I'm not taking a break from blogging for the summer, so you can breathe a sigh of relief now! There's so much happening, I can't wait a couple more months to start writing again that's just not fair to y'all.  It is completely blowing my mind that I am already done with my freshman year of college! It feels like only yesterday when I moved all my things into my dorm, registered for classes and even wrote my first blog post. ...where has the time gone?? I found myself really thinking back on all that has happened this year these past couple weeks and thinking even more about how I got to where I am. I'm not going to go into full detail since most of you know now about my gap year I had to take, but most of you don't know how lost I felt and how I didn't think I would get another chance to go to college. I felt myself losing faith not only in myself, but in my dream. It was slipping farther and farther away from me with each passing day. Then one day, I flipped open my bible and turned straight to what is now my favorite verse Jeremiah 29:11, where I then read "For I know the plans I have for you' declares The Lord. 'Plans to prosper but not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." At this moment in my life, this verse really spoke to me and truly helped me get back up from where I had fallen. This verse was so important to me that I decided to have it permanently placed on my arm to always remember that there is a plan for my life and to never lose faith. Now, don't sit here and think that I'm going to shove my religion in your face, I'm simply giving a little background story here. Anyway, this verse made me believe that there was a plan and a good one coming. I had no idea when, but I knew soon it was coming and sure enough it did when I got the simple 'YES' I needed from Catawba College. I didn't even need to visit this place to know my decision of whether to go there or not. Everything was falling into place, so I knew this was part of the plan that was made just for me. Sure enough, once I got to school it all became so clear that I was meant to be here! I don't like to brag on myself really, but I must say that I find such pride in the work I've done this year and even more the hard work and trials I fought through to get to where I am now. The friends I made, the skills I learned, and even the reputation I have made for myself as a person with good work ethic and very serious about what she wants to do with her life....what more could I ask for? Sure there were struggles with this year it wasn't perfect, but man was it a thrill ride that I am so incredibly blessed to have ridden! So many doors have opened for me already with just this year alone, I can't even imagine what 3 more years is going to do for me! "For I know the plans I have for you..." and what a beautiful plan it is and it has only just begun. So get ready my friends, this summer is going to be amazing and don't worry, I'll keep you posted!