"Sometimes all it takes is one voice." -Natasha Bedingfield

I know that lots of people make fun of Natasha Bedingfield, but I would just like to say that I love her songs.  A lot of great memories have links to her music, and I think she has an interesting voice.  This song that I'm going to post was in a great movie I saw recently called Morning Glory and I think it's just a fun song!  So here's the link:

So enjoy!  I just think it's a fun song, and like her other songs that I've heard, it just puts a smile on my face.  Perfect for a Saturday! :)

"Kites rise highest against the wind--not with it." -Winston Churchill

Hi again!  So I don't really have a quote to match my day or anything, but I found this one and decided it was good for sharing.  It reminded me of the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini that I read about a year ago.  It's a really good book, and I'd recommend it to anyone.  This quote fits perfectly with the themes of the book, and it's an interesting point.  Kites use the wind that's opposing them to lift higher in the sky.  It reminds me of a frequently quoted scripture from The Book of Mormon that's in 2 Nephi 2:11.  It says:  "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things."  Wow, two quotes in one post!  Lucky day.... :)

"And I think I like how the day sounds / Like how the day sounds through this new song." -Greg Laswell

So I found a new song on YouTube that I like for a few reasons:
     1.  I like Frodo. :)
     2.  I like the dance moves.
     3.  It's a nice song to listen to, and it made my day sound better.
Yeah, so pretty simple.  I'll post it here:

Haha, I just found it randomly and saw that Elijah Wood was in it, so I had to watch it.  I also like Greg Laswell's song "The One I Love," because it's just the perfect blend of interesting lyrics and captivating music.  I'm not going to lie, though, when he looks strait at the camera and just sings, it kind of creeps me out.  

I have decided to branch out and find different artists to listen to.  Usually I listen to what my friends tell me to listen to or what I hear on the radio, but from now on, I want to discover my own music.  It's fun to find something and be able to recommend it to other people!  Of course I'll stick with some of the popular artists because usually they're popular for a reason.  Except for Lady Gaga.  And Kesha.  And Katy Perry.  I just can't stand those ones, so I'm going to stay far, far away from them.  :)  So enjoy this music video, and there'll be more to come!

"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." -Anthony J. D'Angelo

I am getting so excited to go back to school!  It's only a month now until I go back, but it's going to fly.  I just want to get back to classes and homework and sitting in the library every afternoon to get things done.  I love school, and I love learning.  I know that sounds cheesy when someone says they love to learn, but it shouldn't. Learning is something so valuable to me.  That's why I liked this quote by Anthony J. D'Angelo.  When we are learning, we are growing.

I looked up Anthony J. D'Angelo and found out that he empowers college students to get an education, not just a degree.  And from my first year at college, I know it'd be very possible to do just that:  get a degree, but no real education.  In the classes I didn't like, I could do the bare minimum and still get out with a great grade.  I would go to class each day and listen half-heartedly and doodle in my notebook or watch the guy in front of me nod off to sleep while never doing the out of class readings.  But those classes became a waste of good money for me.  Why would I pay the huge chunk of tuition money to sit back and daydream for an hour instead of learning?  So this semester, I'm going to make the most of the college costs by taking all of my classes seriously, because I really do love learning! :)

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -Robert Frost

I've found that this quote is quite true.  No matter what's going on, whether it's something as small as finals week and I can't find an extra minute for myself or there is a tragedy like the shooting and bombing in Norway, life doesn't slow down.  It just goes on.  And dealing with the situations as they come is how life works.  But my heart goes out to the people of Norway.

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." -Victor Hugo

I just started a million different posts, only to find out I have no words today.  So instead of blabbering on incessantly about unimportant things like baking cupcakes or mowing the lawn, I'm just going to post a song.  Nothing can explain today better than a beautiful piece of music that says so much to me.  Enjoy! 

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" -Albus Dumbledore

I got to go see the last Harry Potter movie today.  It came out last Friday, and I am so glad I got to see the end of the Harry Potter series.  I feel like I've grown up with Harry Potter.  It seems like I've always been looking forward to standing in line for the next book, or anticipating the trailers to the next movie throughout my whole teen years.  And as the Harry Potter world finishes up with the last movie in the theaters, I feel like a part of my childhood is drawing to its close.  I felt the same way with Toy Story 3 last summer.  It's a weird feeling to be so a part of something that is finishing up.  It's sad in a way, but I felt like the movie could not have been made any more perfect!

I had an interesting experience in the theater though.  Right during the climax of the movie, the screen went black, leaving the entire theater to only hear the most intense moment instead of see it.  Wow.  People freaked out.  As the mob formed with pitchforks and torches to storm the film booth, I just laughed as the rows ahead of me frantically pressed their hands over their ears and swung around to glare in the general direction of the sound booth.  I guess it was kind of mean to laugh at their pain, but I can't be held responsible for my reaction in an intense situation. :)  But it turned out better than great when they skipped the movie back a scene so we could re-watch the leading up scene to the climax.  And as we were leaving the theater, we were handed gift cards for one free movie and a sincere apology.  Apology accepted!  :)

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." -Ambrose Redmoon

I have always loved this quote, because it gives me hope.  I feel like I live in fear.  My family has proclaimed me a hypochondriac, I'm terribly shy, and I am the furthest thing from spontaneous you'll ever meet.  In other words, fear rules my life.  I fear the unknown and the unplanned of life.  And it's crazy, because some of the best times I've had were the times where my I had no plans.  One time I was on this bike trip with a group from my church.  We were just riding along when a sudden storm hit.  We had to veer off the path and take refuge under a freeway underpass.  It turned out being funner than any other activity we had planned to do!

I also liked this quote because when I looked up the author I found out that Ambrose Redmoon was a pseudonym.  The author's real name was James Neil Hollingworth, which is kind of what I'm doing.  Again with the fear thing, I didn't want anyone that I knew to read my blog, so I didn't use my real name.  But I'm glad I just have a spot to write what I feel without worrying about judgement.  Someday, though, I will be able to say that I know living life is more important than living in fear.  :)

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again." -Don Lockwood, Singing in the Rain

Is there anything better than a rainy day?  For me, nothing beats curling up next to the window and watching the rain pour down.  Everything about a rainy day makes me happy.  Like when you first wake up, not to the bright sunny day as usual, but to a dark, cloudy sky and the feel of the wind pulling in a storm.  I'm convinced that the only way to make the grass greener is the lighting of a rainy day.  I don't know when I started my obsession with rainy days, but they seem to have the opposite effect on me than all of the cliches about rain.  But the movie Singing in the Rain has always been a favorite of mine.  When Gene Kelly starts his doodly-doodles, it makes me want to go sing in the rain for myself...and I don't sing! :)  Here's the video:

Now, I have to admit, it isn't actually raining yet, but today has the afternoon thunderstorm feeling!  Which would be the perfect start to the week, in my opinion. :)  And one day, I will go to Ireland and live in a place that sounds like it'd be perfect weather for my taste!

"It doesn't cost a penny to be polite" -Unknown

Since it's Sunday, the day of rest, I thought I'd just post a video that I thought was pretty interesting.  It just helps me to remember not to make a quick first judgement based on appearance and shallow perceptions of people.

"Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange." -Cobb, Inception

Lately, I've been plagued with strange dreams.  They aren't nightmares, but they leave me feeling out of sync for days.  Sometimes I wonder if dreams have more to them than we think, like our brain or subconscious is trying to tell us something, or if they are just fragments of reality that piece together to sort out our muddled minds each night.  I think it's a mixture of both.  For example, the emotions in my dreams could be reactions to what's going on with my life right now.  My sister being mad at me in my dream could just be my feelings of distance from her lately.  And the neighbor down the road that randomly showed up in my dream could just be a random piece of my day that was being sorted.  The truth is, I don't really know why I dream what I dream, but I'd be lying to say that they don't matter.

This quote from the movie Inception came to mind today of all days.  I didn't particularly like the movie, but this line about dreams makes sense to me. And it seemed to go along with what's been going through my mind today.  Dreams are weird.  And they've left me feeling weird all day.  But just to end on a more normal note, here's a song called Dream by Priscilla Ahn that I think is nice and relaxing (plus it's in one of my favorite movies).

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -Ghandi

I know, it's so typical to start off with a Ghandi quote.  But this quote seemed to capture the perfect starting point for my blog.  Since I'm going to be sharing my thoughts, I might as well start with a quote about thinking.  I have always loved quotes by Mahatma Ghandi.  His quotes are some of the most often quoted quotes that we hear, and this specific one is a very basic idea.  What we think we become, so I should really get thinking!

Just to explain a little bit about me and why I would even want to start a blog, I'm a college student that's off for the summer.  Being at home and not having classes has been more than relaxing....sometimes I feel like I'm doing so little, my brain is melting and shrinking to half its size.  I try to find ways to keep myself busy, but nothing keeps my mind going like reading good books and writing just to write.  Sometimes I forget how fun it is to write with no expectations of being read by peers or professors!  Along with a great soundtrack, I've decided that this blog will help me to stay sane and never forget the joy of writing, even when I have to write a twenty page paper about air pollution! :)