God Gave Us Voices, But We Make Them Sing

So school has been in full swing for a good two weeks now... do you know what that means???

It means Choir Retreat of course!!!

I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being in band and all... scratch that, I love playing my clarinet. In all honesty, I'm not the biggest fan of being IN band. You know how Christ told us to be in the world but not of it? That basically sums up what I've been feeling every 3rd hour. I would never ever drop band because of the great oportunities it presents me like Regionals and All State, plus outside things like EVMCO never would have happened had I never been in School Band.

And while I absolutely love playing an instrument, I have loved learning how to be a musician through my voice! I mean, I have thoroughly enjoyed it! When band class ends I almost breath a sigh of relief... when choir class ends I almost shed a tear. I never want it to end once we've started singing! Everybody in my class is so talented and is so dedicated, and that's what really makes the difference. Unlike in band, everybody in there is there because they genuinely love to sing and want to become better people and better musicians. Ees great, ees great. :)

So yesterday and Friday were the days that Concert Choir stayed at school and basically bonded like crazy! For every hour of rehearsal we'd have about two or three hours of team-bulding activities, and with the people we have and the talent we have... I'm going to guess that this will be a great year! The only downside was a few stink bombs who couldn't control their immaturity levels, but that's ok! My lovely group of friends totally cancel them out. :)

Speaking of my lovely group of friends, have I ever mentioned how much I love them all?!?!?! During lunch on Friday Camille, Rania, Mimi, Artemisa, and I all took turns making hideous faces into the camera and then laughing hysterically about it... I mean who does that besides the coolest people on earth??? To be able to laugh at yourself that much and still have a ton of confidence is probably one of the greatest things my increadible friends have taught me, and is what has helped us bond so much!

Also, I must record this story because it made my day so much brighter yesterday! You know how sometimes guy friends are so much better than gal friends (don't get me wrong girls, I love you to freaking death!)? Well yesterday after retreat ended I called my father on his cell phone twice to see if he was on his way to pick me up... no answer. So then I called the home phone, and there was my father's voice on the recieving end... "So I assume you're not on your way to get me dad?" Ha ha, seeing my obvious dilemma, my friend Nick called to me from his car and asked if I wanted a ride home. I made sure he knew what he was getting himself into (because I live totally far from the school), and then told my dad not to worry about grabbing me and hopped into his car. After dropping off another of our friends, Nick and I headed over to my house. Since we are still new-ish friends we talked about how I moved and then came back, and a little bit about him and how he moved. Then after a bit we got into the biggest, best spiritual discussion I had had in a LONG time!!! Man that kid had some increadible insights! I loved hearing what he had to say, and I loved being able to put in my two cents and have him listen and understand. Basically, it rocked. :)

So then we got home and since it was hot as Satan's living room I let him come in and grab a drink of water. Well, he came in and got his drink and we started talking a little bit more... and then in came my wonderful mother! Those of you who know me may or may not know that I am a listener AND a talker... meaning that I love talking to people, and there must be something about me that makes people feel like they can trust me because most often than not, people just confide in me! It's a talent that I hold most dear, but my talent is dwarfed by my mother's talent in the same area! She's increadible! Needless to say, me, my mother, and poor Nick sat in my kitchen for another hour discussing the same topic. It was amazing!

All in all, my friends are amazing people.

And I love each and every one of them!

And more pictures will probably be posted later. :)

Mimi and I after "The Yarn of Unity"... she's basically by bestest friend on earth... aint no thang. :)