College Life

Hey! Ok so my goal was to try and post at least every month...but hehehehe you can see how well that worked. In my defence, I've had a lot of school. And I mean, yes, I know that everyone has a lot of homework, high school or college. But uh yeah. The average course load for a full time student is 3-4 courses or 12 credits. I have 9 courses equalling 19.5 credits. NINE. Life of a music student y'all 😑😄

But! School has been pretty amazing and I've been learning a ton. Literally ;) 

My courses this semester have been as follows:

Two Applied Music Lessons ~ these were vocal lessons and because of the certificate I was in, I had to take two. So yeah. Also, it was sooo encouraging to learn that I was the only in that program and no one else was because it was the harder one. Greeeeeeaaaattt :P 

Large Ensemble I and II ~ so much singing! and so much music to learn! We ended up having so much going on in choir, my music professor decided it was enough content for two semesters instead of one. It's been a pretty fun experience though. In October, the choir went to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall (more on this later ^_^) and then in early December, we had four concerts over the span of two days. (also more on this later ;))

Contemporary Music and Performance Practice ~ well...not really much to say about this. Except that it was very long and was mainly learning about genres of music. It was also a night class and yeah. I'll leave it at that. However, I DO have to do a presentation on Monday and I'm looking forward to that because it's gonna be on country music and I love country :D)

Introduction to the Old Testament ~ had to read the whole Old Testament in 12 weeks. TWELVE WEEKS. And yes. Everything. Leviticus, 1+2 Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the whole shebang. And that's not including the really really thick textbook that gave me about a 100 pages of joy every week. (Ok actually though, the textbook was really interesting) And I did learn a lot and was probably one of my favourite classes because the professor was just amazing and made all his lessons so intriguing. 

Hermeneutics ~ basically just learning how to interpret the Bible. And make lots of observations. Like...lots.  

Christian Formation ~ A mini-course on living life to the fullest as a Christian. Actually had already done a lot of the stuff that was taught here...budgeting, scheduling, managing time, avoiding procrastination, etc. But we got to do some community work which was really fun (including carolling!!!) and I'm looking forward to doing more next semester! 

Music Fundamentals III ~ HAHAHAHAHAHA. OK. This course was...INTERESTING. I mean, I learned a lot, that's for sure. But my first class I just sat there with basically 3/4 of the content going over my head. And then I found out that it was a second-year course. And that there was a Music Fundamentals I and II that came before III. Makes sense I guess. Except that I hadn't taken those courses because apparently my theory scores were high enough for me to skip I and go into III. And yet somehow I could barely keep up with what was going on. And II was for ear training and sight singing. Hehe. Also hadn't taken that. Imagine my shock when my teacher gave me a sheet of music and said "Ok sing this out loud using solfege!" Soooo yeahhhh...this course was definitely a learning experience. But! I have survived it and completed it so YAY!

Anywayyyy...here's a look at the past four months through some pictures ^_^ 

// Studying 😄

// New York!

Super amazing experience although yeah, I'm not meant to live in the city. Too much stuff going on. And so many people. It's crazy. But we got to go to Central Park, walk through some rather expensive stores (Tiffany's is craaaazy), go to a street food market thingy at night and go to Times Square at night. And then the highlight of the trip...Carnegie Hall! It was so much fun and the architect of the building was breathtaking. 

Our College Choir!

Following 2 photos are not mine and were taken by a professional photographer :D

After the performance at Carnegie, the choir and orchestra were taken on a dinner cruise and it was so. much. fun. We passed the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge and eeks walking on the top deck with the wind blowing in our faces was amaaaazing.

//Babysitting

Cause I mean...I can't go without kids y'all. I sometimes scare my roommate by coming into our room and randomly saying out loud "I want a baby" :P But yeah anyway, I ended up babysitting for one of the seminary students who attend the same college I do and my first time was so much fun. I carved pumpkins for the first time, although I was a little taken aback by all the teeth I had to cut out for one of them :P I love the kids to bits and the parents are absolutely amazing, godly people who are honestly just a huge blessing in my life.

// Reading Week + Midterms 

Having fun with filters xD

Lookit all those notes :O 

I had been warned by some second-year students that the Hermeneutics midterm exam was one of the hardest exams ever so I tried to be as prepared as I could. I ended up memorizing all eight lectures word for word. My brain was absolutely fried at the end of it, but during the exam, I honestly just flew through it :P 

// Community Work

Part of one of my courses is to do community work, so the class is basically split into groups and then assigned certain areas of the village nearby to care for and witness to. We did a food drive in early November and it was quite the experience. Some of it was very encouraging, other times, not so much but all in all it was really fun and a great way to bond with the rest of my group as well. 

// Christmas Banquet

This is an annual event the college holds every November and goodness was it fun! I wore heels for the first time and can you believe it...didn't break an ankle!! xD

My Parakaleo Group

All my roomies 💜

// Christmas Concert(s)

The college choir had been practising for this event since the middle of October and the closer to the date of the concerts, the more intense practice became. It was a really big event at my music professor's church and normally all four concerts were always sold out, which meant there were a couple thousand or more people coming every year. The last week before the concert, we had rehearsals on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then two concerts on Saturday and two concerts on Sunday. It was craaazy. There was sooo much singing I thought I was going to lose my voice. Weirdly enough, it ended up strengthening my voice instead and on Monday during my vocal lesson, my teacher and I were both surprised to find that I could still sing :P

Love this girl 💛

// MY FIRST PAID GIG

Ok so I was soooo excited to find a PM asking if I was able to play at a Christmas banquet with one of the college graduates at a church nearby. It was very last minute and I only had one night to learn six Christmas songs (which happen to have chords at every single beat, but I found a way around it xD) but it was so much fun! I know I made a ton of mistakes, especially when I was nervous, but it was a great experience and people were very forgiving. And Julia, the one singing, was amaaaazing. Honestly, she has an incredible voice and it was so exciting getting to perform with her. Definitely made a lot of memories that night! 

// Finals

My dear, dear sister gave me this box to help me through finals. Isn't she the sweetest? 😉💕

I caved and bought ice cream and consoled myself with it during studying because well - it was just necessary xD 

Aaaannd yesterday, I had my LAST exam and it was the hardest but I finished it and I'm still alive and AHHHHH I'M DONE THE SEMESTER. So so so so SO so so so happy!!!! And then we made spaghetti and got people over to share it with and it actually tasted good and *happy sigh* it was a nice way to end the semester.

Honestly, this semester has been amazing even though at times it was so crazy busy I didn't think I could do it anymore. Work was relentless and never ended...until now. And boy oh boy. The feeling of no homework is AWESOME. I'm so thankful to God that I was given the opportunity to come here and I'm hoping I can continue it the next few years, but even if I don't, I'll still be glad for the memories I made here. I'm not the most extroverted person and tend to stay in my room a lot - partly because I'm an introvert and also because honestly, I had SO much homework :P I've learned so much and the people here are amazing. The relationships I've formed here are precious and they've taught me so much about life, God, and myself. I've found clarity where before all I could see was a tangled mess of pain and depression. I've found love and understanding and endless encouragement and support. They're amazing and I don't ever want to leave them 💕

But for now, we're all gonna take a nice Christmas break with NO SCHOOL and it's going to be absolutely positively amazing. 

Now for home and the holidays!🎄⛄

C.O.L.L.E.G.E.

Y'all. You are now looking at a brand new, super nervous, super excited, kinda confuzzled, (and still crazy) college student (ok so this picture was taken before college but honestly not much has changed besides the fact that my arms are scarred all the way up to my elbows with blisters and burns from an evil garden of parsnips...but yeah that's a whole 'nother story) 

But yeah...the next step in my life began yesterday when I began moving my life into a dorm room.

I feel like everything went by in a blur though - one minute there was a stack of boxes in my room and the next I was pinning the last couple pictures to my wall. I love how small the college is though. It's just like this super awesome community where I'm pretty sure everyone will probably know everyone else by next week - two weeks latest. And everyone is so very welcoming. One of the funniest moments of yesterday was backing up in front of the dorm and then having this swarm of people in blue shirts suddenly opening the trunk of the car and just grabbing ALL my stuff and carrying it away to my dorm with no explanation at all. Nice but totally unexpected. 

Then there came the unpacking which went by super fast thanks to my mom, sister, and dorm mate/friend. My shelf was instantly filled with textbooks and an overabundance of super pretty notebooks. And then of course the pictures and other delightful whatnot to make everything more homey and cozy and lovely.  

Ahhhh and the kitchen! While ok more the DISHES. I went shopping for college stuff with my two besties and thrift stores are AMAZING. Like - just hands down awesome. I've always wanted to fill my own little house with dishes and stuff and I kinda got the chance to do that with my dorm room. So we went to the thrift store and came back with a box packed full of stuff - all for under $20! There were these super cute yellow plates that were 5 for a $1...and then super cute mugs for like 25 cents each and a casserole dish and ramekins and spoons and knives and forks and yeahhh it was awesome. Wasn't able to take a picture of everything but here's some of the stuff:

And chocolate. So much chocolate. Bars of chocolate, candied chocolates, chocolate chip granola bars, huge can of hot chocolate, chocolate ice cream, Nutella...I think you might get the point. Lots and lots of very delicious chocolate. I have amazing friends and family, you guys xD

Finally done unpacking!

Oh my goodness you guys. Ok so at lunch...there was this ADORABLE 7 week old puppy. And I held him and he was wrapped up in my flannel shirt and HE WAS SO CUTE. I really really want a puppy ❤️

Aaaand of course this super special girl who has supported me basically my whole life and who helped to unpack all my stuff and then hid a box full of awesomeness and notes that made me laugh so hard. Yes we cried. I mean, we tried not to. But then she did when we said goodbye and then I couldn't hold it back anymore and yeah we cried in the middle of the parking lot. I mean, it's hard! How do you not cry when you don't get to live with your best friend after like...her whole life?? Botheration now I'm starting to cry writing this :P  I'm very much so gonna miss her...but we're gonna keep in touch as much as possible. Thank goodness for technology. And weekends!!!! 

Honestly...I still feel the same. I've just kinda been plopped into a new place and room...but it's still me. Which is a good thing I think :P I dunno...I thought I'd feel like some kind of college student but don't know what that feels like - or if that even is a thing. I just feel like...me :P 

Despite all the confuzzledness I feel though, I DO know that I'm thankful for this opportunity and I'm excited to see what God has in store for me in this stage of my life. 

No clue whatsoever what life is going to be like now...but I'm trusting the Lord with it all. Every class, every person, every day and every night - every single step of the way, He's in control of it all. (and yeah I need to keep reminding myself of that ;)) 

Happy school year everyone! 📚