So what if I jumped the band wagon?

I honestly don't care what people say about the Hunger Games.  They can say I jumped the band wagon cause I didn't read it till February, but does it really matter?  The series was still AMAZING!   Just cause everyone else read it first doesn't change the storyline.   I definitely recommend it to those of you who still haven't gotten the chance to read it.

The storyline is so much deeper than just a love triangle.  Katniss was a real heroine.  Strong, brave, loving, someone you could definitely look up to.   It's a must-read!

Well anyways the movie came out on Thursday, March 23, 2012. and as a die-hard fan of the books I HAD to go see the movie, I was gonna go today with my girlfriend from the dorms, but lucky for me.... my friends accidentally bought an extra ticket to the midnight premiere!   I don't think I've ever been soooo excited!  I actually started crying tears of joy right before the movie started lol





The movie was soooo good.  I felt like it was a bit rushed, but as with any book turned into a movie, there are minor details that will always be missed.  However it definitely stuck to the book and the actors were perfect. The movie just brought to life everything I couldn't actually imagine.  Reading the book first I felt like also filled in all those extra gaps that couldn't be spoken, life all of the character's thoughts.  and I won't give anything away for those who haven't seen the movie yet.... but Katniss' dress was LEGIT! So...

Let the Hunger Games begin, and may the odds be ever in your favor  ;)

Reading, Reading, Reading!!

Since school ended last semester, I've had so much more time to dedicate to reading.  Last spring, my wing-mate Kayla and I created a list of books we hoped to read.  In less than one month I was able to read six of these books.

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The first books I read were:  Hate List by Jennifer Brown, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, and Willow by Julia Hoban.

Hate List - was a heart-touching book as it follows Valerie Leftman's senior year in high school, after her boyfriend was involved in the school shooting.  Because of a "hate list" they created together, although she's injured while saving another girl she is implicated in the homicides.  This book is a pretty simple read and quite entertaining.  I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

Before I Fall - Samantha has it all, the perfect boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and anything else she wants.   Unfortunately, she doesn't get tomorrow.   What would you do if you had only one day left to live?  In this story, Sam relives her last day seven times, untangling the mystery to her death and discovering the true value of life and death.  I absolutely loved the lesson taught in this book as it made me really evaluate what's important in life, and the importance of time.  However because of some of the moral issues presented in the story such as sex, smoking, and such, I would not recommend this for younger readers. 

Definitely my favorite quote from the book: 

"Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around it, let it slide like coins through you fingers. So much time you can waste it.

But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."

Willow - The pain of losing both parents in a car accident must be horribly tragic but to know that you were the one driving would be unbearable.  Julia Hoban does an amazing job at revealing the mind of a cutter and expressing the pain one feels after such a tragic loss.  Intertwined with romance, this book makes an excellent read.  I enjoyed it, however the book does take a while to pick up pace, about 100 hundred pages lol but it's still pretty good.

And I don't think there was a better way to end break and start the new semester than reading Scott Westerfeld's trilogy: The Uglies, Pretties, and Specials.    This quick-paced series was so good!  Although it is swamped in political agendas and a false perception of beauty, I found it as a good way to re-evaluate what I believe and why.  I felt it also high-lighted that our imperfections are what make us beautiful.  Filled with action, adventure, and romance;  I recommend this series to everyone!   There is also a 4th book called Extras which is placed in the same setting as these three although it is not the sequel to it.  I definitely plan to read this book later on this year.

 Anyways I'm on the last book from the Hunger Games Trilogy right now and DEFINITELY recommend them!   Especially since the first movie comes out this March :)  Hopefully later this week or next week I'll post a review on them as well.   

Music is the story your heart wants to sing, and pain the honesty that makes it beautiful...

Being a writer is probably one of the most emotionally painful jobs to have.   It's painful because to write out something with the honesty you have to many times go back and relive some of your hurts.  But I don't think I could have it any other way, it's one of my biggest passions in life. Probably one of my hardest songs to write was my song "Hard As Metal," which I wrote in June of this year.

I finally got the sound file from my guyfriend for it, which we recorded together on his laptop a few weeks ago.  I absolutely love it.  I've been songwriting for about three maybe four years now, but this probably one of my first songs I really like.   It's a painful song, but it's definitely beautiful. It talks about how we tend to close our hearts off after heartbreak, becoming hard as metal, and the only way to be able to love again is to learn to forgive.   One day, I hope to get it professionally recorded then I can show it to you guys. I might make a music video too. ;) 

I honestly had no idea for an album name when his iTunes was asking us for one, but my guyfriend came up with a pretty sweet name from part of my lyrics. "Crimson Words In Cursive"  I think it's sounds pretty good, so I might just keep it.   Well anyways I was taking some random pictures of this red rose I got from our choir concert last night, and I couldn't help but use one of the pictures for making a possible CD cover.  Any ideas, suggestions, or comments??  Let me know!

"Courageous"

On Saturday, my daddy took me on a date to the movies to watch "Courageous" an inspirational movie (from the creators of "Fireproof") about men learning to be real Men of God. It is most definitely a Must-Watch! I cried like every other scene.

Like all inspirational movies, I left super inspired.  Seeing a clear example of what being a Man of God makes me want to live my life like God asks me to.  The only thing is.... I'm not a guy.  Which makes me feel like as a girl all I can do is sit on the side-line till Mr. Right shows up and hopefully he will be a Real man.   As I was talking with my dad about this he brought up a really important point. It will probably still be several years from now before I find the right man mostly because I'm so young, if I want to find a real man and not settle I need to learn to be okay being single and being single for a few more years.  To do this I know I need to learn to find my acceptance in God and grow in Him.

So my big question lately has been, what does being a Woman of God look like?   I know they say Proverbs 31 describes what a wife should be, but after reading it several times I'm still not completely sure what it means.  There are definitely traits I see with no problem such as: hardworking, clothed with strength and dignity, blessed, and few others, but I still find this difficult to follow.

I'm taking a Women's literature class this year, which seems to kind of be a feminist class--though I don't mind, I think it's probably my favorite class this semester--where I'm learning so much of what being a woman is in our culture and why, and what the Bible says about womanhood.   Anyways, so many things such as being a people-pleaser, always being pretty, etc are mostly ways society objectifies women and are not always Biblical.  God doesn't ask us to be a door-mat or to ignore our own emotions, these are many times what we are taught in society.  So one of my goals is to truly dig in God's word and find out what being a Woman of God looks like.

The picture God gave me to draw the other day during Spiritual Formation Group when we using Art as a way to Hear from God. His lesson for me was patience.

Slice of Summer

Me with the band "Slice of Summer" after the concert
Daniel, Grayson, Jared, Dalton
& Me!

So I don't know if you've heard of "Slice of Summer" but if you haven't you need to check them out!   After our open mic night, two of our fellow colleagues and their band put on a concert for all of the students.  Wow! I had heard of them, but I did not know how amazing they were.  Not only did they rock, but they are all excellent performers, there was even one point where their lead singer/guitarist jumped off the drumset, unfortunately I didn't catch it on cam :(  



So Daniel, the drummer of the band is actually one of my friends on-campus.  He's super cool, and he's probably one of the best drummers I've seen.  He rocks.  Plus he was singing vocals at the same time.

So I don't know too much about their band yet, though I think I will very soon ;)   but I'm pretty sure they're gonna be one of the bands playing at Warp Tour this year.   LEGIT!

India Arie

So yesterday my bestie was educating me on gospel music and some of her favorite singers, majority of them being black.  This lady definately stood out to me.  As a songwriter she touches on many issues and promotes good ethics.  Some of my favorite songs of hers include "Ghetto" which I got to sing back-up vocals for my friend Elika on International Justice Day.

The lyrics from her song "Video" touched me deeply.

I'm not the average girl from your video
and I ain't built like a supermodel
But, I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen

Red Riding Hood

So today was absolutely amazing.  The sun was back, I got hw done, brunch was tasty, and shopping is always fun.  Though I must admit this movie was my highlight!   I'm not too big into going to the theatre especially when there's no matinee, but this movie was definately worth every penny.

The perfect blend of action and romance mixed into the tale everyone knows.... SPECTACULAR!

Though based off of a kid's fairy tale, this movie most definately exceeded my expectations.   They strayed from the original story quite a bit, but the plot was so intense, and the ending was definately unexpected, kept ya on your toes.   Then the romance just made everything click.  I will definately watch this movie again in the future.  So cute yet thrilling!

Rachel Bishop

Rachel Bishop (aka Rachel Parrish) has some of the most beautiful music I have heard.  She is also a big inspiration in my life.  We actually go to the same school.  It's funny though cause since I first saw her in choir, I thought I've got to know this girl. 

Luckily we happened to be in the same NSO (new student orientation) group, and I have gotten to know her personally.  Not only does she have an awesome fashion sense, a fun personality, a radiating love for God and is beautiful but she's also an excellent songwriter and has a unique voice that sounds so pretty!   I then found out later that she has music on iTunes!!

The Katinas

Album Cover of their CD "Still"

Have you ever heard of The Katinas???  Well if you haven't you definately should check them out!  This 5 person group is made of 5 Simoan brothers who are impacting people through their music.  They were selling their music last week after chapel (they got to lead worship on Wednesday), and they definately rock.  They have beautiful voices and good music.  My favorite song so far is "Praying For You" which they performed live for us.  <3  It's also on this CD.  Go Check Them Out!

Grace Immersion by Rene Schlaepfer

Rene Schlaepfer

Ever feel completely exhausted by religion?  That no matter what you do you're never good enough.  This is because we usually forget that we are saved by grace and turn it into a legalistic lifestyle. 

This week in chapel we had Rene Schlaepfer come in and be our chapel speaker.  His focus was on God's grace, not on the works of Christianity.  "do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"  Galatians 2:21 

After chapel his family and him had a table set up where they were selling and handing out free copies of his book "Grace Immersion."  It's separated into a 50-day reading, to help you "plunge into God's amazing grace!"

I Kissed Dating Goodbye

So once again I have found another really good book.  It's Joshua Harris' "I Kissed Dating Goodbye."

Just like last time's book, this title could be misleading.  This book is not about swearing off dating or even that dating is wrong, rather how to date correctly.   It refers back to what many people call "courtship."  It's about commitment more than just not dating.

Whether you're single or in a relationship, this is an excellent book on God's view of romantic relationships.  I would definately recommend this book.  It's one of my favorite books.

Dance is the Bomb

So Chapel rocked on Wednesday!  Why?  Well we had some random band come in and get the college students dancin'.  This awesome group played soul/gospel and even some salsa music at the end.  The best music chapel so far.  Dancing can definately be worship,  I mean David danced naked for God. lol

Well anyhow, this entire week I've been dying to go dancing.  So to satisfy this thirst, I went onto Pandora and found an excellent selection of dance music.

Good Girls Don't Get Fat

So while we were in the downtown today we stopped by the library and while checking out the books, I found this one with a really intriguing title, Good Girls Don't Get Fat.   Seemed worth taking off the shelf and checking out.  However the more and more I read it, I could see that this book was not about staying thin but about how we develop this mentality and how to prevent it.    I haven't read it all yet, but what I have read so far has been really inspiring and helpful.