My Presentation

I chose to do my presentation as a drawing on the board because creativity is not my strongest suit. In past projects, I've drawn things to describe them, and it has always worked for me, so this method seemed like the best option for me. I chose the song Opera Singer by Cake because I really love Cake, and that seemed like a very fitting song.

I really enjoy singing. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. I think that people should always do what they're passionate about. Singing is my passion, and I am so excited to continue studying music and I cannot wait to perform.

I knew that when I went to college I might change my mind about music. However, through studying at Converse, my passion has only intensified. Music has become much more interesting to me, and I want to learn everything about it. Thanks to Converse, I have discovered that music is the only option that I want.

In college, I have become a lot more independent, and I've learned to procrastinate less. I feel a lot more confident in myself, and I feel more comfortable expressing myself, both through my music, and in my day to day life.

My Future Plans

When I grow up, I would love to be an opera singer. I want to be a part of an opera company and have the ability to be in multiple operas a year. That is my dream job. I would ideally live somewhere on the East Coast. If I could have my way completely, I would get to sing at the Met, so I'd live in New York. Regardless of city, however, I intend to live on the East Coast. I intend to be married at some point, so concerns about finances are a little bit different. Ideally he will have a steadier job than I will so it won't matter as much how much money I make. However, if he has an equally unsteady job, that could pose as an issue at some point. Economically, I would like to be able to live with a similar life style that I have right now. That being said, it would be okay if I don't have quite the same life style, as long as I am able to pay my bills, not go into debt and not have to survive on ramen. 

There are several advantages to being an opera singer. First, I would get to do what I'm passionate about. There will come times when it will be difficult, but that will come with any career choice. Second, I love the time commitment of being an opera singer. It's not the average 9-5 job, which I enjoy. Hopefully I won't have to wake up as early, and I'll get to stay up late, which would go better with my internal clock. Third, I would get great travel opportunities if I ever got to sing in Europe, which would be fantastic. I love to travel, and that kind of a life style sounds wonderful.

There are also disadvantages to being an opera singer. First, traveling can get old after a while. If I get married, as I intend to, traveling a lot for work can make that difficult. Second, the pay is not always regular, which can make financial planning very difficult. However, these are small prices to pay for getting to pursue my passion. 

Favorite Songs

This first song is called Alleluia, and it is a piece I got to perform with my high school choir. I chose this for several reasons. To start, I think it's beautifully written and I've always loved the sound of it. My high school choir was a large part of my life, and it's one of the things I miss the most about home. We performed this particular recording in the First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, which is one of my favorite places to perform because the sanctuary is beautiful and I love the acoustics. I love this song because it has a lot of meaning to me because of the text, and because of the context. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAhPD9zAImI

The second song is called The Awakening, and it was composed by Joseph Martin. This was my school's school song. I came from a Fine Arts school, and we didn't have any sort of mascot or alma mater or anything. This piece was performed at every single graduation, and throughout the years it began to be considered our school song. The text is about music and the last pages say the words, "Let music never die in me, forever let my spirit sing. Let all our voices join as one to praise the Giver of the song. Let music live!" That text was very fitting for my school, and for me as a person. It is just a piece that means a lot to me for that reason. It also means a lot to me because it reminds me of my school and where I came from. It reminds me to be thankful for the time I had at my high school, because it shape me as a person and as a musician. 

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRJxfbLXKk

This last song is called A State of Texas and it's by the Old 97s. I grew up listening to the Old 97s. They came from Dallas, and they are my favorite band. I love listening to their music; it just feels like home. I like their style because it's what we call "Texas country" due to the fact it sounds a little bit like country music, but it's definitely its own category. I chose this particular song by them because it just seemed like the most fitting piece because I have so much state pride. Also this is one of my favorite songs by this band. It's meaningful to me because this is the band I listen to when I feel particularly homesick. It just makes me feel like I'm about to take a drive through Texas with my family. It's fantastic. 

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztHPIWkpvIs

To future littles:

         When going to college, remember not to over commit yourself. It's hard to balance a heavy course load with a lot of other activities. Decide what is important to you, and devote time to that. With that being said, however, allow yourself to take opportunities that arise. Allow yourself to explore new things and find out what you really enjoy. Let yourself develop into who you want to be.

          Don't let your parents have too much control over your life. You are in college. You are an adult. You need to make decisions for yourself. While at times you should take your parents' opinions into consideration, you need to make your own decisions. If they want you to major in one thing but you want to major in something else, you need to make that decision. It is your life. In the end, you have to live with the choices you make, so make sure they're yours and not your parents'. 

          Talk everything out with your roommate in the beginning. Ask all of the awkward questions within the first week. It helps you avoid awkward situations later on. Discuss everything from how you feel about music playing in your room to what your sleeping schedule is like to how you feel about having boys in your dorm. Some conversations are a little uncomfortable, but it's better to get them out of the way in the beginning so you won't have misunderstandings in the future.

          Allow yourself to meet people, even if you're an introvert. It's a lot nicer to have a lot of people you're friendly with. Also, give people a chance. Even if they remind you of people you know from high school that you don't like, give them a chance. They may surprise you. Also remember that everyone has reasons for the way that they act, and keep that in mind before you judge people. 

          Time management has always been something that has come naturally to me. While I am a procrastinator, I've never had any huge issues when it comes to getting my work done in a timely manner. That being said, before I came to college I realized that I was going to need to pay more attention to my scheduling. I knew I needed to put forth an effort to not procrastinate.

          A lot of my procrastination stems from me not wanting to do work that is assigned to me. In high school, I never had issues reading the books for English, because I love to read. I had huge issues when it came to willing myself to do my math homework or to write whatever paper was assigned. I can be a very stubborn person, and when I didn't want to do my work, I had a hard time forcing myself to do it. 

          So far in college, I have not really procrastinated at all. I've been doing my work in advance, and I haven't had any worries or stressful situations so far. I know that I don't enjoy devoting time to school work. I'm terrible about forcing myself to study. I would much rather read or watch Netflix or eat food with my friends. What I've been doing so far is I schedule certain days every week to do my homework. I make sure those days have enough time to get all of my work done, and on the days I haven't scheduled work, I get to relax and do whatever I would like. Usually I take naps on those days. This system has been working beautifully for me so far. I know that as I continue in school, I'm going to be assigned more work and more time consuming work, so I may have to alter my system in the future. Right now, however, I am quite content with only devoting 3-4 days a week to homework. On homework days, it's a lot easier to make myself do my work when I know that the next day I can relax and not worry about schoolwork. 

I realize that this system may not be manageable as I continue in my collegiate studies, but it's working very well for me currently.

Blog #1

1. I decided to go to college because there really was never another option for me. I know that college isn't for everyone, but it was always clear that I was going to attend college due to how much I loved school. I've always been interested in pursuing a higher education, although my interests have changed throughout the years. 2.When I began my college process, I had my heart set on the University of Texas at Austin. I was raised as a die hard Longhorn fan, and when I began to do research about the school, I learned that they are very competitive academically. I loved the campus, I loved the atmosphere, and I could not wait to be a student there. I wasn't seriously considering any other college options, but my voice teacher insisted that I apply to Converse. She told me that it was a small women's college in South Carolina, and I thought she was out of her mind. I had zero interest in coming here, but there was no application fee and I didn't have to write an extra essay, so I decided to apply to humor her. Throughout the application process, I realized just how wonderful it is here. I was opposed to the idea of a small college- until I realized that it meant I would get more help from my professors and I could actually have a relationship with them. I was opposed to the idea of a women's college- until I realized that I could go to class in sweat pants and not worry about running into any attractive men. With these appealing things along with how great the admissions counselors were, I was sold. When I came out here for my audition, I fell in love with the campus and refused to audition anywhere else because I knew that this was where I needed to go and where I needed to be. I decided to come to Converse because once I got here, I realized there was no other option for me. 3. I have always had a passion for music. I've been singing ever since I could talk, and I've never been able to consider a life without music. However, when I was younger, I did not seriously consider a career in music because I was convinced that there wasn't great job opportunity in the musical field. So I focused on biology and decided I would pursue a career in the scientific field. During my junior year of high school, I participated in the Classical Singers Competition, and the first round of the competition was held at the Texas Christian University, in one of their auditoriums. I know it sounds cliche, but while I was on stage, it became abundantly clear to me that there really was no other option for me than to sing. I talked a lot with my voice teacher and discovered that there are available jobs for musicians and for singers, and I decided that I would pursue singing professionally. I'm still planning on doing work in biology, but singing is definitely my passion and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. 4.I would want to take my Bible with me in my basket. If I couldn't take my laptop or my phone to stay in contact with important people in my life, I would want some item of comfort with me. I think my Bible is really important to me because it's a great source for advice and comfort. It can be helpful in any situation, and I would definitely want it with me on any journey I took.