Chapter One

The practice room closes at ten p.m. It's ten o' one. And yet, she is still there. Hurling her hideously shrill voice till its piercing vibrato rattles the pictures hanging on the wall in my bedroom. Her fingers still pound and the keys, their sharp tones carry through the cold, cement laundry room like an echo in a cave. I toss and turn, aching, longing for the sleep that will not come. Like a phantom her voice rings out in the distance, yet it seems so close. One note higher, then another. She is well above high B flat now. Sudden silence. What has halted her melodious wailing? Now all I here is the ticking of the clock. Suddenly I hear the echoes of footsteps in the distance. They seem to be moving in time with the clock. My breath quickens and my heart begins to race. The darkness seems to be suppressing me. I can barely see my hand in front of me as I search for the chain to the antique lamp on my bedside table. I find it and yank it as hard as I can. In unison with the click of the light, the footsteps come to an abrupt halt. The room is flooded with light, and I find myself alone. Suddenly the singing begins again. My eyelids become heavy, and my head falls back against the pillow. The song is now a lullaby to my ears, the indication that I am not alone and without protection in the austere place. And yet, as I turn out the light, I feel as though someone is watching me, waiting for me.

Where has the Time Gone

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I had an amazing Thanksgiving Break, and I was sad to see it end. My sister came up and stayed with me for the week. On Tuesday night we went to the David Archuleta Christmas Concert in Salt Lake. It was so much fun!! David's opening act was a boy from Highland, Ut. named Benton Paul. My sister and I came home after the concert and bought his CDs on iTunes. It also turns out that he was on the 2007 EFY CD. I really like his music. My sister also made me get in a picture with her and him. It was alot of fun. On Wednesday we went to the Transsiberian Orchestra Concert. It was interesting, and nothing like what I expected. The narration was really odd, but the music was good. I still haven't decided whether I liked it or not though. I was sad to tell my sister goodbye when I dropped her off at the airport today. I am really looking forward to Christmas break. I can't believe time is going so fast! Haha I think my song for today is Home by Michael Buble(Sorry there is no accent).

Ganta Liberia

Home Sweet Home

I am loving college, but I am kind of ready to go home. I guess I just miss my family. I am still really looking forward to this weekend. Okay so I know this is a really weird thing to say, but I realized that I am horrible at determining when a guy is interested. I haven't had any recent experiences with this, but I guess I would be oblivious if I had. The last time a boy liked me, I didn't realize it until my friend pointed it out to me. I guess I've just gone along thinking that when a guy liked me, I would be able to tell. But then I realized that sometimes when I've liked a guy in the past, he didn't know unless I told him. I also feel like everyone around me is dating and happy and loving life and planning their weddings. Why is this the case? I am still waiting for somebody, but I wish they would hurry up and come. This topic is kind of immature, I know, but... How do you know when a guy is interested? Is it always blatantly obvious?
On to a more serious topic. Today I attended an educational forum on campus. We heard from Mr. Greg Mortenson, co author of the book Three Cups of Tea. It was very interesting to hear about his efforts to promote education in poverty stricken areas and his contributions to the Afghani education system. The things that he said reminded me a lot of our trip to Africa this past summer. After the forum today, I felt really inspired to go out into the world and make a difference. I want to use journalism and music as a way to help and serve people in places like Afghanistan and Africa. When we were in Africa, we met Christina Holder, a journalist for the Washington Times. She has written several articles about the war in Liberia and the after-effects of that war. I think it is really cool that she contributed to both Liberia and the U.S. by making people aware of what is going on in Liberia. Maybe part of the magazine I plan on starting will have a section that highlights people using music to influence the lives of other people in a positive way. I want to focus on the underdog musicians, the ones that are really good but have yet to be discovered. Unfortunately, I have to stop writing so I can go to class. Today's song is Mayberry by Rascal Flatts, a tribute to my homesickness.

http://dreamchimney.com/tracks/artist_images/19292_image0_20080326_auto.jpg

Check out the Bangles and their awesome 80sness!

Manic Monday

Oh man! It's only Monday! I have a feeling this week is going to go by slower than cold tar! Hahaha that phrase reminds me of my mom! I am really looking forward to this weekend. I think it is going to be really fun. This morning I managed to stay awake the whole time in Physical Science. Today my professor did some pretty awesome demos, and I am almost 99% positive that is why I kept my eyes open the whole time. Other than Physical Science, college has been so amazing. I have met some really cool people and made some great friends. My roommates are amazing. My ward is starting to grow on me. A lot of boys have received their mission calls. I am planning on going to a few missionary farewells in the next few weeks, and I am very excited for them. One boy is going to Madrid, Spain; I think he is leaving in February. I am so jealous! I really want to go to Madrid for a study abroad. I love Spanish, and I would like to learn how to speak it more fluidly. That reminds me of some songs my high school Spanish teachers used to play for us in class. There are the always popular "Capital Rocks". These songs were a way to help us learn the Central and South American Countries and their capitals. Another song I really liked was La Camisa Negra by Juanes. I even got into the Spanish stations on the radio. There was some really good music on those stations. I even improved at understanding what they were saying in the songs. My sister made fun of me when I would listen to the Spanish stations in the car, though.
Right now I am listening to Linkin Park. I really like Leave Out All the Rest and Shadow of the Day. I know that these songs are kind of old, but I really like them. I am also a big fan of Matt Nathanson's new CD. But no matter how much I like those artists, I just have a partiality towards small name garage bands, as long as they sound nice and have an amazing lead singer. I truly appreciate vocalists that don't need to be digitally edited to sound good.
We are having a ward talent show in January, and I am looking forward to trying out for it. Hopefully, the talent show will give some of those small garage bands to perform. A lot of the people in my ward have really nice voices. We almost lost our chance to have a talent show, because one of the girls in my ward tried to change it to a ward lip synching competition. I guess she doesn't feel like she has any real talent to contribute. Luckily, the other people at my meeting had the same feelings that I did, so our talent show will go on!
I think I am going to start finding songs that describe my day and inserting them at the end of each of my blogs. So far, I think today's song is Manic Monday. Thank you to the Bangles.

Once Upon A Time...

Today has been another page in the book of my life. That sounds really funny. I am having the greatest week ever and I don't know why! I guess I have to be careful because my week isn't over yet. I would hate to jinks it (knock on wood)! I feel like I always have a reason to smile. One good day carries over into the next day. Even my Physical Sceince test score couldn't bring me down! Maybe I am just so happy that I can forget about the bad stuff really easily! I'm in one of those moods where you catch yourself singing in the shower and whistling on your way to class. Today after my classes I spent an hour just hanging out and talking with my friend Katherine. When I got home, I saw that I had recieved a package. I was delighted to find some scarfs, a few pairs of PJ pants, a cute shirt, and the best part, a glow in the dark Halloween pillow case!! My mom is so awesome! By the way, for anyone who happens to read this blog, I think you should check out the band TRUMAN at www.myspace.com/trumanboys. They are awesome! I love their music!

The Why

Yesterday in one of my communications classes, my teacher encouraged us to start a blog. he said it would be a good opportunity for us to put our writing out there. He said it would give people a chance to see what our writing looks like unedited, in case they are interested in hiring us one day. I figured I might as well try it out. I don't know how often I will post, but I do have to say I have never been a consistent journal writer. I chose to title this blog The Lyrics of My Life because I love music and writing songs. Music can have a big impact on our feelings and can bring happiness and inspiration in our lives. Yes, on this blog I will probably talk about my lame boring everyday life. But I want to write to make a difference; somehow in some way. I want to write to inspire and bring happiness to peoples' lives. I want a place to share my thoughts and opinions, and I think this is the perfect place to do just that.