Hidden Gems

I really like my songwriting class. I REALLY like it. I'm being pushed out of my comfort zone and finding that I can do well. This realization makes me even more excited about my future. It opens up opportunities and broadens my horizons. I like that. Next week we have to perform a song for the class and I'm kind of excited. I've never performed in front of people, like a solo, but I've always really kind of wanted to. I'm really thankful for my musical talent, especially for the piano. That talent really lends itself well to lyric writing and vice-versa. For that class we also have free access to the campus music lab (as in they help us professionally record our songs for free)! So maybe after I record some songs I'll put them on here for you to see. :)

Actually, this semester I'm REALLY liking all my classes. British Literature . . . I honestly thought I'd hate it, but I don't. I thought I'd hate all the poetry, but I don't. I love it! I've been introduced to some cool new forms of writing, rhyme, and story-telling. It's awesome!

Then there's my History class. It's just a basic class, 1500, and I just took it so I could be a full-time student. And even though I'm probably not going to come out with an amazing grade (since I have trouble remembering all the facts) I'm coming out with cool ideas. Like we were learning about the Indus Valley and the Harappan people. Did you know that no one's been able to crack the Harappan language? So how could would a story be where someone cracks the code and finds out all these amazing secrets or something? And then did you know that the code of Hamurabi was written on a giant pillar? I thought that would be cool to incorporate into a society for a story. All the laws written on great pillars that uphold the justice building? Cool, right? So history is a great resource.

I'm also taking American Literature. The professor who teaches it is one of my favorite at WSU. He's the one who I had my Notebook and Journal writing class with last semester. Most of the writers we're studying have (so far) focused on religion and I've really liked reading about their beliefs. They're so humble and in tune with the love of God. Their faith is amazing and makes me want to be a better person. For this class we have a 2 volume anthology we study from and mine is marked and marked and marked. There are so many great thoughts, quotes, stories, etc. inside those pages. I love it!

So, things for me are pretty good. I'm still struggling to become the kind of person I want to be, but that struggle is a good thing. I feel the Lord helping me with my worthy goals. I'm learning what real education is and starting to find the balance in life to achieve it. I'm learning to value my thoughts, to love myself, which in turn helps me love others and their thoughts.

Something I wrote in my American Lit. class captures this nicely, I think:

The main impression I get from Emerson is that we must learn to value ourselves. Value our thoughts, our ideas, our dreams, our goals, our passions, etc. And the way we learn to value ourselves is finding true value to those things around us. By connecting, forming our own unique and personal relationship with nature and the world around us, we come to value ourselves as both part of the world--a sense of belonging and awe--and as a unique being--a sense of largeness and potential.

So yeah, life is good. I'm learning, growing, and really happy! There are hidden gems all around us, just waiting for us to see them!

Have a good weekend everybody! :)