Video of me singing :)

So, speaking of spirituals (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my last post here), here's a video of me singing in A Chord, the girls' vocal ensemble at my school.  We're a singing group and a sisterhood.  I really enjoy singing with these girls, and I hope you enjoy our rendition of "Do Lord, Remember Me." :)

Lessons from history

Yesterday, I went to a workshop on the Fisk University Jubilee Singers.  When my mom told me that I was going, I really wasn't all that excited to go.  I had been up early (and it was Saturday!), and I really just wanted to go home and get back in bed.  However, I went, and it turned out to be extremely educational and interesting.  The presentation was all about how a very small group of black singers came together and, in the face of adversity, saved Fisk University (one of the first higher education institutions for African Americans).  I learned so much.

My grandmother also went to Fisk and graduated back in 1950.  She got to come along and see it all, and they actually recognized her as an alum during the presentation.  One man, who was apparently a big professor, brought a piece of sheet music that the Jubilee Singers used in 1872!!!  There was just so much history right in front of my eyes.  It's so cool when history comes alive right in front of you.

We sing a lot of spirituals in the concert choir at my school, and sometimes I wondered why, but when I saw how important those spirituals were to blacks back in that day, it made so much more sense.  It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least.

Sincerely,
A Newly Educated, Self-Proclaimed Nerd

Midterms...yuck

So, I am in the very middle of midterms (the tests we high schoolers have to take at the end of the first semester), and I am freaking out!  There's so much going on, and it just feels like life won't stop and take a break for midterms...I guess it doesn't.  It's been rough, and I'm pretty stressed, but after this week, it'll all be over and I can start afresh in second semester (yay!).  Just gotta get through this week...

Sincerely,
A Stressed Out, Self-Proclaimed Nerd

YAY!!!!!

Guess who just hit 500 pageviews?  This girl!!!!  It's actually 501, but you know what I mean.  Thank you to everyone who might have ever read my blog.  I'm gonna try and keep doing better with keeping up with it and attempt to keep you all entertained. :)  Thanks again!!!

Sincerely,

A Super-Excited, Just-Hit-A-Blogger-Milestone, Self-Proclaimed Nerd

Quote of the Day #16

This one is a good one.  Fun fact: Helen Keller and I have the same birthday! :)

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
- Helen Keller

Final exams and a big blogging milestone

Guess what?  I am only 8 pageviews away from 500!!!  I'm officially excited.  Whether you actually follow this blog and put in consistent views or if all 492 have been chance views, I think it's a pretty big milestone.  Thank you to all who might be reading!

Also, final exams are coming up, and I'm a little nervous.  I'm kinda pressed for time too.  They start in exactly 5 days, and I have a lot to do in that short span of time.  There's papers to write, performances to do, and presentations to prepare for.  Oh, joy. :)  I better go get started!  Talk to you all soon!

Sincerely,
An Excited, Procrastinating, Self-Proclaimed Nerd

Quote of the Day #15

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."

-C.S. Lewis

Descending Into Fall (one of my poems)

Here's another one of the poems that I've written in the past.  It's probably my favorite work that I've done, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  I would love it if you would comment and tell me what you think!  Thanks!

Background: I wrote this on December 25, 2010, at 4:13 pm.  I was actually inspired to write it three months before when I was riding my bike through Kensington Park.  It was the very end of summer, and the leaves were turning beautifully.  As I thought back to that day, I just had to write about it.  Edited May 20, 2012.

Descending Into Fall

As I briskly ride by

The crisp, near-noon air streams past my face

The smooth pavement flows like a river under me

To my left, the glassy lake

To my right, a wall of trees

The leaves are just beginning to turn

Exchanging their vibrant greens for beautiful reds and oranges

The trees lean over to gaze into the mirror below

A leaf falls and the mirror cracks

As peaceful, concentric circles ripple outwards

The air is indecisive

Warm or cool?

Too difficult a choice

The temperature teeters between two sides

Eyes half-closed, I enjoy the complex simplicity of changing seasons

Breathing deeply

Unconsciously smiling

I hear the stresses of life knocking at my door

But, for now, they are only whispers in the wind

For that’s what the birth of autumn will do to you

Big news...

The amazing Russian  people have now surpassed my fellow Americans in blog views by 1 view.  I am honored.  Haha but really it's so cool to know people in a completely different country are actually even remotely interested in my daily life.  Thank you to all my Russian viewers, all my American viewers, and all you other lovely people too.  I love you all! :)

Sincerely,
A Very-Sorry-That-Her-Blog-Is-Slacking, Self-Proclaimed Nerd

P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!