WDL Demo Rss

Homemade chai is just as good as that Starbucks stuff.

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I may be going crazy.
My every thought is saturated with unknowns...
Where will I live next semester?
What will I major in?
How will I pay for it?

As I browse the source of every undergrad's angst, I am baffled and overwhelmed.
I like a lot of things. How am I supposed to choose just one to devote another 2.5 (maybe 3 or more) years of my life? People keep asking me the same question:
"WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES?"

Well, ok. Here they are:

1. Spend a lifetime deepening my relationship with the Trinity.
2. Be in active ministry here in the States. At present, I believe this may involve music. Regardless, I want to be a relational missionary to non-Christians here, in whatever form the Lord leads.
3. Get married and spend a lifetime deepening my relationship with my spouse.
4. Become a mother, and be the best and most devoted mother I can be.
5. Pursue and deepen my gift for music, and use it in the ministry that God provides. Always keep music a part of my life.

This list has 5 numbers. It has had 5 numbers for quite some time. Music has always been #5. I don't think it should ever be higher on the list.
And so we reach the paradox. I am in a time of life when my #5 priority must become my #1. If you've had even half of a conversation with me about this topic then you have heard me explain that to be a music student at the University of Oklahoma, one must be 100% committed. It is not merely a degree path, it is a lifestyle. I love music dearly, yet I cannot dedicate my entirety to it. My voice teacher literally worships music (really), and recently explained to me that in order to really rise above the other students and mediocrity, I must also give myself over to music and worship it, as it deserves.
Blasphemy.

I have been studying the jealousy of God recently, and am daily astonished at the seriousness of the Lord's burning desire for our entirety.
The question(s)?
Is music, at this point in my life as a degree choice, a means or an end? And depending either way on the answer, how much time, thought, energy, sweat, toil, and dedication does it deserve? How much is too much?
If I decide to pull out of the music program, then what do I major in? How will I finance it (my scholarships are almost entirely from the music school)?
Is my frustration an indication that it is time to lay music on the altar, or just cut back on hours and plod longer on with the hope of a rewarding career?

Well, idk, my bff jill. You'll be the first to know.



My subconscious reset the alarm clock again,

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so I didn't make it to my first two classes. It doesn't really matter. I have A's, and even if I didn't it wouldn't matter. I'm coming to realize that my sanity takes precedence over my grades.

There is a large bouquet of daisies sitting about 13 inches to the left of my face. Happiness.

Yesterday Stephen asked what some of my favorite things are, and I had to admit the embarrassing fact that I don't really have favorite things. Sorry Julie Andrews. The most I could come up with was that yellow is my favorite backup color, and daisies are my favorite backup flower. I think it's impossible to have favorite things when one's likes change frequently. Ever since coming to college, I've fallen into a lovely state of being that involves becoming interested in whatever my friends are (interested in? end a sentence with a preposition?). Not in the sense that I change who I am; rather to have the most fun possible with people who really do have favorite things.
For example, my friend Elle loves to watch "So You Think You Can Dance." I enjoy the show, but she loves it. This makes me happy! If someone asked me what my favorite dance show was, I would without hesitation answer, "SYTYCD, of course," not because it actually defines my character as Laura Bartlett, but because right now, today, it's my favorite because of who I watch it with.
I have no idea if this makes sense.

Today my favorite musicians are John Mayer, Journey, and Josh Groban. This is pretty consistent. However, I'm also diggin Hayley Williams... mostly because of her b.a. hair color.

Favorite memory (today) from high school: Making the Mario Party banquet videos. As much as I complained about the time commitment, I really did have a blast.

The tenser the back muscles, the better the musician.

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As sit here at Cafe Plaid, sipping my house blend and humming along to Beethoven's Piano Sonata #1, it's hard to imagine being anywhere else than right here.

So many questions flood my mind; all involve life-changing decisions.

I love OU. I love being an OU student. I am Sooner born and Sooner bred, and have always envisioned a happy 4 years of undergraduate work in Norman, Oklahoma tied off with a triumphant march across the stage in Owen Field. Although I was disappointed to live in the dorms again this semester, I was not upset to be on campus. There is something magical and enchanting about the atmosphere here--vintage street lamps, red telephone booths, ivy league, bricked buildings, radiant foliage, ever-changing gardens, classic fountains--that makes a person want to set up camp and never leave.
Yet have my romanticized views of this place jaded my common sense in making said life-changing decisions?
I could ramble for hours at how lovely my surroundings are and how dearly I love my friends and how much I love school spirit and how ... much... but when it comes down to it, I am not happy.
I am unhappy. I work hard, receive good grades, and don't care. This is extremely unfortunate, considering that I love to learn, sing, and develop my skills. It is no secret that a resident of Catlett Music Center cannot be 96% committed and succeed. A music degree from this university means selling one's entire time, energy, focus, and efforts to the hope of 5 year journey of long days, late nights, and weekend commitments. It's like a 60 hour job with no salary and a $15,000 fee.
I hate to be cynical. College is hard, and a degree earned is well earned. But as I feel myself flickering and slowly burning to the end of my proverbial wick, I wonder if this is worth it.