I'll just leave this here...

Ignorance is Bliss....

Hey it's been a while... I've made a lot of drafts but nothing was really sticking or having real worth. So what we have here today is me double-dipping and using my English homework for my blog. We were assigned to do a "This I Believe" paper, which is just a belief you have, and why it's important to you. So, here's a little something I believe.

Ignorance is bliss. Usually we say this with a degree of sarcasm and condescension. He doesn’t know anything about politics or the economy, we say. Ah, well, ignorance is bliss, I suppose. I believe there are aspects of this saying that are very insightful and wise. Ignorance is bliss is a common phrase with an uncommon hidden meaning. 
How many times have we said, I miss the good ole’ days. The days where we spent all day running and playing, the days where crossing the road was the most dangerous thing we did, and making friends was as easy as picking your nose. Okay, so maybe not the picking your nose part, but I miss the naivete of childhood. I miss being ignorant to the worries of the world, to not caring how I would be perceived if I did what I wanted to do. I know I’m probably still pretty ignorant by most standards, but I know a lot more than I would like to.
The best things are the things we never see coming. I think my biggest issue with being “informed” is that people come to expect things like they happen in the movies, or to the celebrities, or in the steamy books some read. If you spend your life wanting to be like someone else, I think you’re in for a lot of disappointment. Girls in particular watch all of those romantic comedies, and then they start thinking. And then they start overthinking. I am probably one of the biggest culprits of this. Oh my gosh! Like, what if my best guy friend really loves me? If I go on vacation to some exotic place, I’ll find the man of my dreams! This kind of thinking ends up breaking many a heart, because they miss the most important part of the story. The characters don’t go out looking for love, they just happen upon situations, completely ignorant to the love that’s awaiting them. 
Finding love isn’t the only perk of being ignorant. Ignorance also prevents desensitization. I don’t watch rated R movies, and sometimes I get a lot of crap for that, but I honestly believe that I can get through life without them. I know that not everyone shares this view, and there are some really funny or powerful movies out there that I will never watch but I don’t want to see or hear anything that deserves to be rated R. It’s really simple to me. Things like that stay in your mind and affect your thinking. Some would argue that some of those movies have extreme historical importance, and maybe if you want to be informed about certain things, it is important to subject yourself to horrifying movies about the holocaust, or child abuse, or whatever. But to be more blissful in life, I choose to ignore things that will totally devastate me in spirit. Ignorance is bliss isn’t the phrase for everyone. Some people would rather know the gritty details about everything so they can make better, more educated decisions. But I am not that person. I’m the person who won’t listen until I learn it for myself. I’d rather be blissfully unaware until the time comes where I have to face my problems, and then I will deal with them as I believe is right, and not what I’ve seen done in other people’s lives. Blissful ignorance is what helps me to make my own decisions.

Movie endings...

Okay, this one's probably going to be a quickie because I'm tired and I want to go to bed. I've been thinking about this just for the last couple of minutes, and I really want to share with you. So let's talk about romantic comedies. Or a romance in general. The girl has always got boy problems, whether it be a stupid boyfriend or just the lack of love in life. Along comes Mister Gorgeous. They meet, they fall in love, they're perfect for each other. It appears as if there will be a happy ending. BUT WAIT! The girl's got some previous issue she hasn't settled yet. She decides that this is all too much for her, and that she's going back to her other way of life. Now here's where it gets interesting. Enter the best friend, the well meaning grandmother, that person who apparently thinks they know best. And what did they tell the guy? If you love her let her go. How stupid. Now maybe it's just me, but I think that's the worst advice ever. In my very limited experience, the leading cause of unhappiness is the lack of communication. If you love that girl, let her know! If you can't stand the thought of life without her, don't stand idly by and let her ruin your chance of happiness! Maybe she will decide best thing to do is leave, but at least you tried. If you just let her leave without any hesitation, why would she want to stay? And who are you to know what's best for them? They can make that decision, they're big girls. Anyways, I think that if you love someone, you have to work for them, fight for them, let them know you're willing to figure this out. That would be the cutest story of all. Never giving up.
So if someone ever tells me if you love them let them go, I can personally guarantee that I will work for what I love.

Things that make me lose respect...

I'm going to start out by saying that there are exceptions to every rule, and there are situations that are extreme situations that don't fall into the categories. Also, I'm kind of feeling bitter right now, so these things might be slightly biased to the current situation. As always , these are mine unusual ramblings, and I'm justified because I warned about it in my title.

The first super respect loser is dishonesty. I'm the kind of person who believes people when they tell me things, and when I find out the they lied to me, I'm heartbroken. The worst part is that I'm also a kind of a forgiving person. They keep stabbing me, over and over again. Eventually, though, it comes to a point where enough is enough and I just lose all respect for them. I can't trust them, and I can hardly even look at them.

The second super irritating respect loser is the pressurer. That person who no matter how many times you say no, just won't give up. If I don't want to tell you my feelings, you're not going to weasel them out of me. Fight me. If I have a secret and I don't want to tell you the first time, I'm not going to. Get over it.

Conversely, I also lose respect for pushovers. People who standards shift and sway with who they are with, what they're doing, or what's in style. Have your own opinions, goshdangit! Stand up for what you believe in! Don't let people push you around, and tell you what you can and can't do, and try to control your life. If you have a secret and don't want to tell, tell them to fight you.

The final group of people have no respect for are the "woe is me" type. The people who think that life is so hard, and that everyone should pity them. Yes life is hard, but you shouldn't go crying about it all day. This one I might be kind of a hypocrite on, but everybody's got something to improve on. It's okay to be upset sometimes, and it's okay not to be happy with where you are in life. But just sitting around sulking isn't going to solve anyone's problems. Crying just to get pity is the weakest trick I know.

So now I'm wondering if you can guess what I'm upset about today. I always call people I'm upset at tools, but I think really there just using me. I am the tool. But one day, this tool is going to smash some fingers. That's all I'm saying.

The first of many lists...

In my opinion, these are 10 cutest love songs ever. Not that I've listened to every love song in the world or anything, but these are the songs that give me feels. I've noticed that they are all sung by men, and I don't know if that's because guy feelings are more solid and meaningful or if it's because I'm a girl and a sucker for love songs. So while these may not be the world's cutest love songs ever, they are the ones that get me every time.
Before I start, I would like to clarify something. Just because I think the songs are adorable doesn't mean I'm super over-analyzing them and imagining people serenading me. I just think that somebody deserves to be serenaded with these songs and that the girls they're written about are really lucky.

1. Mona Lisa by The Summer Set
This song is just adorable. It's like saying all of the world's most amazing, precious sights and things are nothing compared to being with this girl. It's so... awesome, and listening to it makes me happy inside.

2. I'll have to say I love you (in a song) by Jim Croce
This is a really old song. I was first introduced to it listening to my dad's music with him. It's really simple, and repeats a bit, but the guitar is beautiful and it seems like real, honest-to-goodness feelings. I just imagine Jim Croce throwing pebbles at a girl's window in the middle of the night, and him serenading her with his guitar and a giant smile.

3. The Man who Can't be Moved by The Script
Just listen to the words for this song. No explanation necessary. Outstanding song.

4. Your Guardian Angel by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
This song starts off really soft and pretty and then gets crazy intense about halfway through. I really like it because its like "Seasons are changing and waves are crashing and stars are shining all for us." I mean, how adorable can you get?

5. Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade
I honestly don't even know why I like this song so much. I just do. It gets me in the feelings. Every time.

6. I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz
I love this song so much! I don't even know how to express my sentiments towards this song. Let's just say that when I hear this song, I almost start crying. It's beautiful, it's powerful, and it's... Just a heart winner.

So I suppose I lied to you. There's only 6. But I don't feel like filling it up with random songs I don't seriously love so I'm going to leave it at 6. And I don't feel like changing the beginning because then it's changing my thought process at the time and also it's my blog, so I'll do what I want.
I would also like to apologize for the sappiness of this post. I promise not to fill up this blog with stupid love crap all the time. I needed to do at least one to be well rounded and such. So now I have, my post is complete, and I should stop writing stuff before I start sounding like an idiot. So... I be
going now...

Yeah... *walks away in shame*

Let's do the time warp...

This is a little poem-thingy I wrote for an English assignment a couple months ago and I just thought I'd share.

Have you ever stumbled
Or made a small mistake?
Forgot to do your homework
Had a chance you didn't take?
You wish you could return
And turn left instead of right
Take back something you regret
Worn pants that weren't so tight.
But what's the point of living
If mistakes can be undone?
What's the point of winning
If the game can be unwon?
Because what's in your future
Is made up of your past
Change one little error
And identity goes fast
I rather think that I'd remain
In my present time
All my little screw-ups
Are what make my life mine.

I just super agree with myself. If you explore all the what-ifs of everything that might have been, you're never going to be satisfied with what you have. And if you could go back in time, and change all your little blunders, you might wipe out something that is crucial to who you are now. Perhaps losing all of your 3rd grade softball games taught you good sportsmanship and eventually led to you being a really positive, resilient person. Maybe getting lost in Walmart taught you how to communicate with people you didn't know and to be able to ask for help, which in turn effects every struggle you've faced where you had someone to help you and someone you could rely on. I'm just saying, if you're a good person with good values, all the trials you've been through were worth it.

Why I joined Jazz Band...

       Alright, so here's just a bit of info for you: I play French horn and I love it. But, unfortunately, the French horn is not a jazzy instrument, so I've had to figure out other ways to be in jazz band. First, I played trumpet, but after playing an instrument with such a warm, mellow sound, the nasal nastiness of the trumpet was basically unbearable. So then I played piano, but I'm not the best at jazz piano, there are definitely people at school who do a WAY better job than I. So this year I decided to learn...*drum roll*... Trombone! I'm still pretty patchy at it, but I'm catching on for sure. I decided on this 1) because there's only one other trombonist (?) and it's definitely a cool part that needs to be heard 2) because I've always secretly had the crazy hots for trombone, and if I didn't play French horn, I would definitely play trombone for everything and just be pretty outstanding at it. But I'm contented to be merely mediocre at trombone because I have found the true reason I'm in jazz band. 
       Rehearsals are at 7:00 in the morning, and for some people, that's pretty early. Everyone there is so groggy and lifeless that it really isn't all that fun. Enter ME! I've been at the school since 6 IN THE MORNING (ask me how that makes me feel. I dare you.) and I am just about as awake as I'll ever be. So, being generally outgoing and a bit cray-cray, I'm the loudest, happiest, most negatively-positive person there. I scream in mock frustration when I see a key signature I don't like, laugh at my many blunders, question just about everything my director does, and make disgustingly beautiful sounds with my mouthpiece. Do I drive my director crazy? Most likely. But I'm keeping the people around me happy, or on their toes at least, and most importantly, I'm keeping me happy. And I think that's the important thing. 
       Today at jazz band practice we started a song entitled "What's New?" and the way it changes themes super randomly in the middle of the song made me wonder what the composer was thinking as he wrote it. So I very respectfully raised my hand and waited for my very hesitant band director to call on me. I asked him, "So... What's this song about?" He gave me some long drawn out blurb he read on his copy that was talking about instrumentation, and how it had a dominant alto sax part and a melody that switched between parts and a whole bunch of little technical stuff. Why the nuts would I care about something like that? I want to know the story. I want to know about the heartbreak I hear, about longing for the façade of happiness, because that's what I hear when I listen. Jazz isn't about instrumentation. It's not about who gets the melody where. It's raw feelings. It's soul. Or at least that's what it means to me. I don't know much about the technicalities of everything, but I know good music when I hear it, and I make good music when I feel it.