Day 8: A Moment When I Felt Most Satisfied With My Life

The first moment that comes to mind when I think of this topic is the moment my band and I marched into Disney World...

It was a swelteringly hot Florida afternoon, and we were lining up in our parade block behind the secret gate into the park, wearing polyester uniforms. I was nervous and excited and terrified at the same time, but I also remember, underneath all that, having a feeling of calm. Somehow I knew we were going to be awesome.

Our drum line did a roll off, and we launched straight into the song, "It Had Better Be Tonight," as we marched into the Magic Kingdom. At that moment, all of my doubts and insecurities fell away and I led my band as I never had before. I realized then that despite the doubts I'd had about my ability to be a good leader, I do, in fact, have what it takes. Our band director wouldn't have chosen me to be one of her drum majors if she didn't think I could do it, and in that moment, I knew she was right to choose me. And I am immensely grateful that she did, because being drum major is one of the most awesome things in the whole world, in my opinion. I love the exhilaration of conducting, listening to the gorgeous music the band makes under my direction, I love helping people get better at marching so that the band can improve as a whole, and I love being seen as important, being needed. There is no role I'd rather have in a marching ensemble.

Sorry this got a little random, but I felt it necessary to explain exactly why marching into Disney World made me feel most satisfied with my life.

Day 7: My Favorite Childhood Toys

Well, I guess I'm kind of terrible at keeping promises, at least when it comes to blog posts, but nobody reads this anyway, so whatever.

Favorite childhood toys is an interesting topic to discuss with me, because while most people will say they had a teddy bear or whatever (which I did) my childhood toys were basically anything my brother and I could find around the house. I mean, we had Legos, Star Wars figures, stuffed animals, blocks, and matchbox cars, but we also used napkins, cardboard boxes, laundry baskets, and wooden spools quite creatively. A laundry basket became a boat, paper napkins were cut up and taped together for stuffed animal clothes, cardboard boxes were used for little houses, and spools became little people, divided into "families" by the brand of thread they had once held. We would spend hours playing, sending our toys on epic quests and making up several novels' worth of stories in a day. Of course, we never wrote any of our games down, which is something I regret now. So many wonderful memories were made while playing those games, letting our imaginations run wild. Now... I don't take much interest in playing anymore, and I reel like my imagination has lost some of its former potency. That's just one of the things I don't like about getting older.

Day 6: My Zodiac Sign and Does it Fit My Personality

I'm a Gemini, and I have had differing opinions on whether or not it fits my personality (this only serves to prove that it does.) I used to think that Geminis were shallow, talkative extroverts, which isn't really me. The more research I did, though, the more I realized that my zodiac sign does, in fact, fit my personality.

Geminis are said to have somewhat of a dual personality and be indecisive about their feelings, which is generally me. I can be very indecisive and flip-floppy, and sometimes it really annoys me. Geminis are also supposed to need people, which is why I thought I didn't fit the criteria at first, because I am an extreme introvert most of the time. However, I have discovered that Geminis don't just need people for social interaction, they need people for support and affirmation. This is also true for me. In addition, Geminis are creative and good at adapting to new things, which is also me, for the most part. As for being shallow, I can be that too sometimes, which is something I strongly dislike about myself. So, in the end, I guess I do fit the description of my zodiac sign, for better or for worse.

Day 5: My Favorite Comfort Foods and Why They're My Favorites

My favorite comfort foods would probably have to be homemade macaroni and cheese with ham in it, homemade soup of any kind, homemade bread, potatoes of the either mashed or roadside variety, and chocolate cake. As for why these are my favorites:

Homemade macaroni is something my mom just started making frequently again, and I absolutely love it. The sauce has like three or four different kinds of cheese in it, and some flour to make it nice and thick and creamy. And the little chunks of ham in it just make it more awesome.

Mashed potatoes are a favorite of mine because my mom makes really good mashed potatoes. Roadside potatoes are hash browns with cheese, buttermilk, and butter mixed in with them that have been cooked in a crockpot. The recipe came from one of my grandma's friends, and they are the most delicious kind of potato, in my opinion.

I love homemade soup and bread because there's nothing like coming in from outside on a chilly fall or winter evening and eating a bowl of wonderfully hot and delectable soup and a piece of homemade bread. And as for the cake, I simply think chocolate cake is one of the best things about life.

The one thing all of these comfort foods have in common, though, is that they all remind me of my childhood in some way. I remember eating homemade macaroni when I was just a toddler, and the rest of them have been present all my life. Maybe that's why they're called comfort foods, because they fill you both literally and figuratively, bringing back memories, and reminding you of happier times.

Day 4: My Views on Religion

This'll be kinda short, because it's really late, but I'll write more tomorrow.

My view son religion are simple: I don't much care what denomination people are, who they worship, or how they worship, as long as they respect other people of other religions. I always try to respect others and their beliefs, and I try to understand other religions the best I can. Because really, why argue about who's religion is the "true religion," when nobody knows for sure because nobody has ever come back from Heaven, or wherever people go when they die? It doesn't make much sense. I mean, I understand that people are passionate about their beliefs, but I at least try to not be judgemental towards those who believe different things than me.

Day 3: My Top 5 Pet Peeves

I'm off to a good start at keeping my promise (see last post). Yay!

Let's see... Five pet peeves. What are five things that just annoy me to no end. Well, first of all, when people leave a huge mess in the kitchen after cooking, and then tell me to clean it up. I'm just like, seriously? I make messes when I cook, too, but I clean them up myself. Without being asked to. Because of two reasons: one, no one will agree to help me, and two, I understand the frustration of having so many dishes that you don't know what to do with yourself.

Secondly, eating store bought frosting directly out of the can is one of those things that just make my stomach turn over with disgust. I mean, frosting is good, don't get me wrong, but I had a bad experience with eating it out of the can once, and now it just doesn't appeal to me. I can't watch other people do that, either. So from now on, all of the frosting I use for cookies, cake, or whatever, will be homemade, because homemade frosting not only agrees with my stomach, it tastes better too.

Thirdly, it really, really, really annoys me when people who don't know how to play the piano start banging out random notes on my piano. I just can't stand it. The sound of all those discombobulated notes makes me want to run as far away from my house as I can get, just to get away from it.

Fourthly, people who think they know everything and think they're better than you but they're really not also annoy me. Especially in band. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my band, but there are some people that just... Do not work well with everyone else for the good of the whole. In any ensemble, the goal is for everyone to work hard and accept constructive criticism so that the whole ensemble can be the best it can be. When you have people in said ensemble who get all mad because you tell them they missed a flat (even though they missed just about every flat in the piece) or someone who doesn't really know the piece starts telling people how to play it... Wrong, there's a problem.

And finally, my biggest pet peeve, the thing that annoys me the very most, is people who just don't try. They never practice, never come to their lesson, they're always saying they want to quit band, and they simply have a bad attitude about everything. All they really seem to care about is what's going on in that phone on their music stand during rehearsal. These people annoy me the most because while it isn't vital that everyone care about band as much as I do, they should at least try to have a positive attitude, or quit. And these people aren't only present in band, they're in all of my other classes too. Never making an effort to do really well at things, never really contributing, just skating through life, assuming they'll pass the class. And if they don't, they don't care about that, either. They just want to fit in with their friends and not do anything too extraordinary. Their attitude towards life just makes me sad.

Now, I understand that not everyone is a slacker. I know many people who are dedicated, hardworking people in band and in academics. Someone I greatly admire said once that "Those are the people who matter most, and many care more than they'll admit due to reputation with dumb teenagers." Which is true. Many people my age want to be accepted by the general public at school more than they want to find and pursue their true passions. Personally, though, I love band, and I'm not going to change that to be accepted by people when I am already accepted by some really awesome people in the band room.

Day Two: Where I'd Like To Be In Ten Years

Sorry this is really late, I just had an unexpected turn of events which caused me to not have a computer for a week. I promise I'll do my best to stick with my post-a-day schedule from now until I finish the thirty (now twenty-nine) day challenge.
So, day two. Where I'd like to be in ten years. I'll be done with college, or at least the first stage of it, and although I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do after college, I know I want to do something with music. My fantasy of ten years from now...

It's about 8:30 pm on a Monday evening in my New York apartment. I got home from rehearsal about two hours ago-- I play flute, piccolo, clarinet, and saxophone in a Broadway pit orchestra. I also give private lessons to aspiring flutists, clarinetists, and saxophonists. Now, I'm standing at the sink, doing dishes. The smell of spaghetti and garlic bread lingers in the kitchen as I scrub away the remnants of dinner and think about my schedule for the next week. I'll have to practice on my own and teach lessons every day, and then I'll go to the theater, change into my long black dress, black tights, and black shoes, and warm up for that night's show. Opening night is tomorrow, and I'm so excited! Even though I'll be playing the same music for eight shows every week for weeks on end, I'll be doing what I love-- making music.
I finish the dishes, reach down to pet the tortoiseshell cat that is sitting by my feet, and then I go into the living room, get out my flute, and start warming up for the minimum two hours I'll practice before going to bed. Outside, night is falling, but the streets are brightly lit and still bustling with people. As my music fills the apartment, my cat curls up on the couch, and in this moment, I am content.

So yeah. That's where I'd like to be ten years from now, although it probably won't happen that way. Note: I have included links to more information about Broadway pit orchestras and pit orchestras in general, in case anyone is curious. (See the words "Broadway" and "orchestra").

Day One: Current Relationship or Views on Singlehood

Replace "food" with "band" and you basically get the story of my life right now.

I am currently single, which is pretty awesome. I can flirt (or attempt to flirt) with whoever I want, I can like whoever I want, without feeling guilty or unfaithful. I haven't had hardly any luck with guys at all since I became old enough to date, so I have decided that I'm not going to date again unless somebody asks me out and I like them enough to say yes.
For me, being single means I am free to do what I want and be myself. I mean, it's nice to have companionship, somebody to talk to, etc, but I don't feel like I need all of the mushy-gushy stuff that also is supposed to come with a relationship at this point in my life, so why not just be friends with people? Right now, my main concern is being the best flute player, drum major, singer, actress, and student that I can be, and I've learned from past experience that being in a relationship can get in the way of that. In addition, I have recently realized something I didn't realize before, which is that I am awesome and I don't need some guy to tell me that. I have my music and my friends for acceptance, support, and companionship, and that's all I need at this point.
As far as romantic attraction goes, I am by no means against it. Of course I like someone (I'm not going to say who), but I just don't see the point in telling them about it or asking them out, because the last three times I did that, it turned out badly. My philosophy when it comes to this is: Admire from afar, because if they don't know you like them, they can't break your heart by refusing your affections. And if you keep your feelings about them strictly to yourself, then no one will judge you for still liking them even if they're already in a relationship.
So even though I don't have a significant other, I am happy with my life right now. I think it's good for me to be more independent and work on my confidence that way, rather than depending on some guy for words of affirmation. Not that there's anything wrong with relationships; they're great, just... Maybe not for me at this point. Like I said, I have my music and friends for companionship, and my philosophy on admiring from afar to explain my views on romantic attraction. And I am perfectly fine with this.

'Sup.

What's up, peeps? It's Rosetail the Flutist again, with more advice, opinions, and random observations from the front of the band room. This is my permanent blog address, so there won't be any more confusion over where to find my current blog. If you would like to visit my old blog, which looks just like this one but has a different URL, you can do that at www.flute36.blogspot.com.
Anyway, I'm going to start off this blog by doing a 30 day posting challenge. Each day, I'll post on a different topic, and the posts may or may not have to do with band. I suspect that most of them will, because band is such a huge part of my life, but if they don't, just bear with me. This is indeed a band/music blog, and after I get done with the 30 day challenge, I promise I'll be back to posting stuff about band and music.