musicnation's blog

I've been thinking a lot lately about my 12 years of schooling lately -- what I've done right or wrong, what I've accomplished, what I realize now, that I didn't realize then... etc.  In doing so, I have thought in great depth about our nation's education system.

As a violinist, I am very aware of the importance of having a teacher who I connect with, as far as my goals, personality, style of learning, etc.  Over the years I have realized that if the teacher isn't a fit... it makes learning slow, monotonous, and not very easy.  Read More »

When I got home from school today, I didn't feel like doing a THING. Do I have senioritis? Of course I do... but I know a lot of people who are not seniors... who just don't want to do what they need to (h/w, study, applications, etc.)  Whatever happened to self-discipline?

When I was at Spring Open House for the college I'll be attending next year, I heard one of the staff members say "Every day, do something you don't want to do." .... and so believe it or not, I actually took it to heart.  Whenever I am having a Senioritis attack, I remember him saying that, and I do something.  It's amazing how much it has actually helped me out.   Read More »

My high school has experienced four deaths since February.

TO the best of my knowledge, the first had nothing to do with alcohol. The next three on the other hand, did.

Three weeks ago a young man who graduated last year was killed in a drunk driving accident. He grabbed the wheel and his friend, who was driving drunk ( and under-aged) over-corrected, and the car flipped. When the driver woke up, he looked everywhere for the passenger. When he found him, he wasn't breathing. He gave him CPR.. and miraculously brought him back temporarily, but the ambulence took 20 minutes to get there, and by then it was just too late.

This past Saturday evening, a girl and her boyfriend were killed in a drunk driving accident. The guy was drunk, and driving entirely way too fast... and consequently the car got completely wrapped around a tree.  3 other people were in the car just minutes before, and demanded to be let out, because they did not feel comfortable with the driver driving... one of the people was the girl's (who died) twin sister.

What is it going to take for people to realize that it can happen to them. Why do people keep drinking and driving, and UNDERAGED! There is a reason the legal drinking age is 21.  Even at that though... it's not safe.  Read More »

"This Place is a Place..."

During the summer of 2005 I attended North Carolina Governor's School- West. I remember a particular performance put on by the drama department.  All the lights were off in the theatre and from all directions you could hear voices one after another "This place is a place.. where..." and each person would finish the thought.   I don't know what the intended purpose of it was, or if there was even an intended purpose at all.  Whenever I think about that line, "This place is a place where..." and I feel like it encompasses everything important about governor's school.  Read More »

"This Place is a Place..."

During the summer of 2005 I attended North Carolina Governor's School- West. I remember a particular performance put on by the drama department.  All the lights were off in the theatre and from all directions you could hear voices one after another "This place is a place.. where..." and each person would finish the thought.   I don't know what the intended purpose of it was, or if there was even an intended purpose at all.  Whenever I think about that line, "This place is a place where..." and I feel like it encompasses everything important about governor's school.  Read More »

As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and no man rebelled, those wrongs would last forever.  ~Clarence Darrow

 I think this quote proves true in many cases.  Dictatorships, slavery, women's rights, segregation, etc.

I know some people who just sit around and complain in their own world, and just sit around and let it happen like there is nothing they can do about it.   ~ ~   On the other hand, I know some people who, whenever they feel that the tiniest thing is wrong, they blow it up into a huge battle.   Read More »

As a highschool senior only a month away from graduation, I've heard a lot of talk among my friends about not feeling like we are ready for college.  So many people I know have mentioned how they feel like they are still just kids.  I know part of the purpose of college is to get young adults away from their families and more on their own so that they start developing more of a sense of independence. ... But should we be more ready than we seem? 

I've heard talk about how colleges are trying to get parents to ease off a little and let their kids do more of the gritty work when getting ready for college.  I completely understand this idea. After all, our parents aren't going to be there for us forever.

But why is it that we feel like we're being catapulted into something new?  I've been doing some thinking on this (Granted, not for very long)... and in my town's society... Teenagers don't have a lot to live up to. I mean - They don't have a lot of responsibilities.  A lot of what they get is handed to them. 

I think if more teenagers were made to get jobs, have responsibilities, college wouldn't be such a shock.  It's not just college even.  I think these same people would have the same issue with life in general.  I'm not saying no one has responsibilities, and that college is gonna be a slam back to reality for EVERYONE.  But I know for a fact there are some.

I'm still thinking all this through in my head, so don't take anything too personally.  I'd like your input, thoughts, opinions, etc on the topic.

Somtimes I get the impression that generations before us, as a whole, made it routine to listen to classical music.  It seems to me that people these days listen to a lot more pop, rock, rap, etc.   So what happend to classical?  As a high school student, I can't even begin to tell how many times and how many different ways I've heard people essentially say "It's written by some dead guys. It doesn't say anything. It's boring" ....  Read More »