Eleven Things

So, Mrs. Jenilee is doing this thing... this is my response.

1. What is your dream vacation?

I would love to go to Ireland, England, Hawaii, Arizona (again), or China.

2. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

I didn't go anywhere...

3. If you could meet one famous person, who would it be?

Honestly? Well, if the person must be legit famous, probably Kendall Jenner (sorry, that's a Kardashian...) or Elle Fanning or Taylor Swift. Or Megan and Liz. Christina Grimmie  (she just did a cover of "In Christ Alone"!). Okay... how about Amy Grant? That's better. Nah... everyone knows I wanna meet Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.

4. What is your favorite Bible verse?

2 Corinthians 5:17. And I am NOT quoting it because I am lazy... wait, wait... isn't that a sin? No... yes??? Okay, not exactly lazy...

5. Iced or Hot coffee?

Iced... with hot coffee I've burned my tongue MANY times... I'm not gonna risk it!

6. If you could renovate one room in your house, which one would it be?

Um... I have no control over my house, LoL. The average day of a thirteen-year-old. But if I COULD, I would turn my room into a music room where I can stash all my instruments (the bass is a toughy, though). My bed would go somewhere else... how about the sunroom that has no air conditioning or heating? Sounds relaxing.

7. How old were you when you got married?

I DIDN'T!!!! Let me guess anyway... 21???

8. Do you journal on paper or just on a blog?

Yes, I have a paper journal as well. Like, four, actually. Only two are in use (the ones I collaged in my last post).

9. Have you ever met a blog friend in real life?

Aside from the ones I already knew? Not really.

10. Do you say pop or soda?

Depends if I'm in the south or north. I don't know which says which most often anyway... long story short, I say soda.

11. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

I wouldn't call myself a morning person... I get up ten minutes before my bus arrives! Yes, i'm a night owl alright... admit it: we all have tried to go to bed early, it just plain doesn't work! Like right now. It's 10:50, I'm supposed to be in the shower, probably should be asleep, and I'm blogging. Yeah.

A Tour of my House

Here's what's in my house!!!!

 This is the bass I play. I told you it's not a bass guitar...

 I collage like crazy. I love magazine papers. These are my poetry and prayer/sermon note journals.

 My guitar... sorry, my room is just a mess. It's clean now, but this is an average school day for ya.

 My piano that I rarely play, which sits next to the bass in my family room.

 MY BRAND NEW VIOLIN!!!!! On my un-made bed...so tired and stressed from homework... I wanna dive into it!

My pretty wall! Viola!

True Intimacy vs. Desire

Rend Collective Experiment.

Deas Vail.

Two different bands with two similarities.

1. On their newest albums, both bands let the females, Brianna Gaither (Rend Collective) and Laura Blaylock (Deas Vail), step up and sing.
2. Both songs are about desire for a stronger faith (I think).

Now, the question is: Which song sounds better?

Well, "True Intimacy" is super catchy, has an amazing chorus, and great percussion while "Desire" has beautiful harmonics, is simple to learn on guitar, and has a killer bassline.

I can't choose just one... but can you???

My Spring Playlist

Seasonally, since autumn, I have been posting what I have been listening to lately. Boy, it's a lot, but I guess I'll have to summarize it...

• "Alive (Mary Magdalene)" by Natalie Grant. Oh my gosh, this song is beautiful. The lyrics... "What kind of King would choose to wear a crown that bleeds and scars to win my heart?" Perfect song for Easter.
• "Looking Up" by Paramore. "Honestly, can you believe we crossed the world while it's asleep?.... It's not a dream anymore, it's worth fighting for." Such a great song.
• "Monster" by Paramore. Remember when I posted the lyrics to this song? It's amazing.
• "Falling" by Paul Baloche. I remember being four years old, literally SCREAMING this song in the shower. Knowing me, half the lyrics I sang were probably wrong, but who cares. All I remember singing correctly is "I am falling... I am falling in love... I am falling in love... I am falling in love with You."
• "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from Hercules (it's Megara's song). I use this song to tease people when I accuse them of liking someone. "Who'd ya think you're kidding? He's the earth and heaven to ya, tryin' to keep it hidden, well honey we can see right through ya... we know how you feelin'! Who you're thinking of???... You swoon, you sigh, why deny it? baby we're not lying, hun we saw you hit the ceiling, face it like a grown-up when you're gonna own up that you got, got, got it bad!... Give up or give in (check the grin, you're in love!)... You're doing flips, read our lips--- you're in love! Now don't be proud, it's okay, you're in love." And then my favorite part is Megara's last line: "Oh... at least out loud, I won't say I'm in... love."
• "Hellfire" from Hunchback of Notre Dame. Such a dark song for a Disney movie, eh? The best part is that last line Frollo says (I'm thinking of Rolo candy, too...): "God have mercy on her... God have mercy on me... But she will be mine or SHE... WILL... BUUUUUUUUUUUURN!"
• "American Baby" by Dave Matthews Band. This is probably not the best song for me to be listening to, but I loooove the guitar lead.
• "When I Look at You" by Miley Cyrus. "When I look at you... I see forgiveness. I see the truth. You love me for who I am..." Or, after seeing the video this is me: "When I look at you... I see Liam Hemsworth... I see Gale from the Hunger Games..."
• "Mombasa" by Hans Zimmer. Even more epic than "Time." And I learned "Time" on violin by the way (yes, I play the violin... nearly two weeks of experience).
• "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan by Donny Osmond. The choir is amazing on the "We are men..." part. So the reason anyone wouldn't like that song? no one knows. It's as "mysterious as the dark side of the moon."
• "My Heart is Broken" by Evanescence. Amy Lee's voice is INCREDIBLE--- she starts the song all sweet and pretty... "I will wander 'til the end of time torn away from you..." then the piano and drums kick in, then the guitar and bass and she is all like "I ... PULLED AWAY TO FACE THE PAIN"--- it's just incredible.
• "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray. You don't even know--- this song is forever mine. The piano is great, ,but those lyrics.. wow. And I love this band even more because Isaac Slade's (lead vocalist) parents are missionaries! And if you heard the band's "You Found Me," you know it's basically about being angry with God and wondering where He's been (love it).
• "I Am (Creation)" by Overture. It's kinda like "Time..." but the message is great. Even though it's an instrumental.
• "Wizard Love" by meekakitty. I'm not a Harry potter fan. At all. But the harmonics... love. "I never thought you'd be in my life! Two different worlds that we let collide, and it'll never be the way it was before..."
• "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. I want this song played at my wedding, please... oh, pretty please, Pastor Brown?
• "I Am the Doctor" from Doctor Who. This song makes me both smile and cry. Because whenever something bad has happened, this is the eleventh doctor's theme, and you hear this song suddenly come on, something tells you something good is on its way. The speech that introduced this popular song? "I am the doctor. Basically, run."
• "God Help the Outcasts" from Hunchback of Notre Dame. Beautiful song. Totally describes how the Catholic church used to be "I ask for wealth, I ask for fame. I ask for glory to shine on my name. I ask for all I can posess. I ask for God and His angels to bless me." And I love Esmeralda---the gypsy---and her verse afterwards: "I ask for nothing, I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I. Please help my people, the poor and downtrod. I thought we all were the children of God." And Esmeralda is not in any way lucky--- she's a gypsy (and maybe a little bit of a prostitute, because that's how "Hellfire" portrays her).
• "Domino" by Megan and Liz. They take out the cussing. I wish they took out the "dirty dancing in the moonlight" too and maybe changed it to "yeah, we're dancing in the moonlight". That's what I would have done.
• "12 Months Ago" by Megan and Liz. So sad. Describes me six months ago. "Don't you know that I'm desperate for you? For who we used to be, wondering if you miss me too. Is it hard to think that there is a future where my heart is back with yours?" Only for me it's different... he was never mine.
• "This is Gallifrey/Vale Decem" form Doctor Who. "Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell, farewell! Farewell, farewell, farewell, farewel, fare...well..."
• "Undone" by FFH. Haven't heard this song in awhile...
• "Love's to Blame" by For KING & COUNTRY. It's such a sad song... I generally love love songs, but I love them even more when a guy sings them. It just sounds... so... cute. I think it's because girls are generally A LOT more emotional, so when I see a guy cry or say something lovely ("I lost memory, she had water in her eyes, she cried, 'stay with me,' and asked, 'how can this be love if you're leaving me?' Well darling, love's to blame. And I can't see you right now 'cause I just can't fake it. Can't be near you right now 'cause I know you're no longer mine... Even though I knew your heart so well, we're strangers... my best friend's gone, my world has been torn. We'll never share a name<3, never be one... "), it makes me feel like, "Oh my gosh, he's such a sweety..."
• "Fine Fine Life" by For KING & COUNTRY. The happiest song I've heard in my life! Like, seriously. The moment they performed this song at Winter Jam (it was their opening song) I instantly knew I was gonna get attached and dragged Drewbie out to FK&C's booth. Joel and Luke are seeking new band members and are the brothers of Rebecca St. James, those that are familiar with Christian music. I really don't like Rebecca's music, but I LOOOOVE Joel and Luke.
• "Breakdown" by Group 1 Crew. The girl in the band, Blanca, was at a Chipotle in Cincinnati when I was there. It was so cool... I waited in line for 45 minutes to get a burrito, and so did Kari Jobe and Blanca. They were already eating when me, Pastor Jay, Kayla, a kid named Elisha, Drew and I were standing in line over by their table. Drew recognized Blanca (but not Kari Jobe) and was like, "Hey, go up to that girl and ask her if she's in a band. If she says yes, ask her if it's called Group 1 Crew." Pastor Jay slowly creeped up to her. "Are you in a band?" he asked. She nodded. "Is it called Group 1 Crew?" She nodded again. He told her Drew was the one that wondered. "How did you recognize me???" She asked. I don't know how he did... I wouldn't have recognized any of the people we saw there! But he took a picture with her. The next day at church this is Drew, looking at he rpicture: "She's FLAWLESS. Her skin is FLAWLESS." Sounds like Drewbie's got a little crush? You can see his picture with Blanca here.
• "Wide Eyes" by the Local Natives. You just can't believe how awesome they are until you "see it with" your "Own eyes!"
• Last but not least... "The Redeemer" by Sanctus Real. I'm singing it for Fine Arts this year.

If you read all that, you've got a swell attention span, mister! ;)

Hating Blogger's New Layout

I wish they never changed the layout of Blogspot... I am totally a hater now.

+1 me if you agree...

And no, this is not one of those "Reblog this on seven posts" things. I simply am giving my opinion. But if you wanna repost this, feel free. Nothing's stopping you.

Escape

You'd got me obsessed
Now I'm depressed
Weighing on my shoulders
Little devil, little angel
(Pretend this poem rhymes.)
Dark, I know...
But this was the only feeling I knew
24 hours ago.
I have to let go, darling
I loved you but it's holding me back
I'm making this miserable for the both of us.
I wanted it to be a secret
I wanted you to know
They told you
I kept silent
I regret.
I regret saying nothing.
I regret ignoring you
Because whether I want to face it or not
There's a love greater than me that I want you to see
You think no one loves you, I thought Jesus loved you...
I thought I loved you...
But only God knows your destiny
All I can do is pray
Time won't escape
Time won't escape
And you won't escape
Before it's too late.

Fourteen Paths

Why fourteen, you say?
Why? Because you turn fourteen today.
You know who you are
I know who you are
Perhaps you're flattered,
Perhaps you're not.
Either way odds aren't ever in our favor
But we'll fight
To the death.
Fourteen paths, there are
But only one leads to eternity's way.
There's lust,
There's hate,
There's covet,
There's murder,
There's violence,
There's apathy,
There's silence,
There's revenge,
There's greed,
There's jealousy,
There's anger,
There's distractions,
There are lies,
There is a straight, narrow path.
Fourteen ways...
Which will you take?
Yeah, you.
With the smile like dawn (innocent?).
You weren't mine, but I wouldn't let go until you were mine (desperate jealousy).
I didn't tell you, I was afraid (my stupid, apathetic silence).
And you're distracted.
I want to tell you that yes there is a place
The hellfire we've all been running from
You may believe it isn't there
But darling I'm afraid to tell you it is
I know it is
Trust me.
Once
Just this once
Follow me
I'll take the lead
To the stairs to heaven,
I know they're there
Trust me.