Casual.

I don't write in my blog very often, because I have the propensity to assume that my blog entries must be groundbreaking or monumental. But there are plenty of people that write about normal, everyday occurrences in their lives, so maybe I'll try to write more often in here, things just might be a bit mundane sometimes.

I am so excited for the end of school. It's coming up in a little over a month, and I've been waiting for the end of school since practically before it began. Pathetic, but true. I just can't wait to go home and have a Washington summer, to be home for more than a week or two every couple of months. I always get jealous of the Utah kids who just run home whenever they are feeling a little homesick or need some of momma's home cookin'. Spoiled. Oh well, I wouldn't want to live in Utah anyways.

I'm going to make a list of things that I love. I love lists, for one. But here it goes:

1) Sunshine. It makes the most dismal of days that much better. The warmth, the light, shining down on you...it heals the soul somehow. It's a great contradiction that I love both Washington and sun, but it cannot be helped. Washington IN the sun makes me giddy.

2) Violin. I have had somewhat of a love/hate relationship with my instrument of choice since I choose it in 5th grade. I love it so much of course, but I always seem to drag my feet about practicing! And, for all the years and lessons I've taken, I'm okay, but I'm not great. I listen to the virtuosos at BYU, and I am truly amazed at their skill. Of course, I haven't chosen the path they have, because violin is a hobby and interest of mine, not an obsession. They have dedicated their lives to it, and no one can truly understand how much skill and talent and hard work and time it takes to master this instrument. Yet, it is never really mastered, for there will always be something to improve, something to make better. Learning to play the violin can be frustrating, because you are always discovering just how horrible you really are and how much more you must learn. Every time you think you have come close to mastering something, you realize that you are only at the beginning of a long road. Yet, the violin is something that I love, and I would not give up for the world. There have been several times in my life that I have considered quitting, but I'm so grateful I didn't. I owe so much to my grandpa, who gave me his beautiful violin, my parents who paid for lessons and encouraged me to practice, my violin teacher Darlene Johnson, who is such an inspiring, talented woman and someone who I consider to be my friend, Tacoma Youth Symphony, which I only participated in one year, but which inspired me more than almost anything, and my BYU music minor, which is teaching me so much!

3) The Ocean. I have been living without one for about seven months now and it is driving me crazy. I consider the Puget Sound to be an ocean....though it is perhaps different to the real ocean, it is a body of water that has more substance than a lake! It is something to break up the scenery, freeing you from claustrophobia. In Utah I get so tired of being in the shadow of the mountains, without any WATER. I feel as if I am parched for the lack of moisture in the air, the lack of green and trees and rain, and the lack of a beautiful Puget Sound to keep my company. I can't wait until me and the beautiful sound are reunited.

4) Being Young. I've always had a longing for the next exciting event in my life to hurry up and happen! When I was younger, I couldn't wait to obtain my driver's licence. Then it was graduation, then college, etc. But now that I've grown to the ripe old age of 19, I've realized that I need to sit back and enjoy my youth! I have enough time to be old and wrinkly, to worry about the cares of an adult! I only have a few more precious years of youth, and it will be gone forever! I really do enjoy having friends and being a teenager, even though there are some tough trade offs for the benefits.

5) Showers, Shampoo, Hygiene! Well, it might seem pretty obvious, but I like to be clean. I freak out when I have to be dirty...I just feel so disgusting and I am constantly washing my hands, brushing my teeth. Some might call it OCD, but I call it I don't like to be disgusting! I don't know what I would do if I had to live back in the day, when people took a bath every year or so. How awful smelling and unromantic!

Well...I was going to keep going, but I'm getting pretty tired. I guess this is a pretty laid back post. Is that good? I don't know, you tell me....if anyone is reading this?