A Favorite Subject...

So this blog was created initially to record my thoughts and inspirations. Basically a diary into my life that I would be comfortable sharing with others who stumble upon it. Me being the disorganized person that I am, I don't usually write an entry in it unless something absolutely amazing and spiritual happens to me. Tonight was the 3rd show of Sweeney Todd here on the USU Campus. My friends Alan and Elise drove all the way down from Rexburg today just to see me in the show and then drove all the way back. As I was contemplating on that single action, (at two o clock in the morning), I had a wonderful manifestation of the Holy Spirit of the Lord that was something like this: "They drove here to see you because they love you." It literally made me cry. I am so incredibly blessed to have friends who care that much that they would be willing to drive 2 1/2 hours to come see me for less than about 30 minutes total. The tender mercies of the Lord do exist and my whole entire life is a testimony to that. I don't know what I would do without the special people in my life like Alan, Elise, my family, and my other friends and extended family. They're what keep me going. Truly, "what greater gift [can God] bestow, what greater goodness can we know, than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways, strengthen our faith, enrich our days." For those of you who this message is about, thank you. More to come...

Sunday musings...

I am a very lucky guy with a good life and wonderful blessings. Unfortunately, I have this uncontrollable knack for always seeing the negative side of things and thinking about all that I cannot do rather than what is actually possible and exciting for me in my life ahead. I finally had the courage to ask myself, "Why?" And I was surprised to find that I could not give myself a good answer. At all. So the main purpose of this entry is to declare to myself (and to the world) that I refuse to remain a slave to my own inhibitions and fears. I am finally in control. If there's something that I want to do, I'm going to do it. No more will I hide behind the mask of insecurity. Now that said, little by little I will be trying my hardest to purge all of the unnecessary negativity out of my life. I do realize that there must be both yin and yang, so obviously I can't be happy one hundred percent of the time, but I am determined to noticeably change my attitude about a lot of things. Why the sudden change of heart? My voice teacher, the incredible Cindy Dewey, made a comment in my last lesson that really struck a chord with me. She noticed a lot of "heaviness" in my posture and my tone and I don't remember exactly what she said but it had to do with truly enjoying what I do, not trying to please my teacher just because she asks for something. "You're so afraid to make a mistake! Just let it happen!" Good advice indeed. Little did she know that her comments would bring about a spiritual change in me in addition to a change in my musicianship. More to come...

HELLO LOGAN!!!!!

I have just experienced another major jolting change in my life:

After 3 years at BYU-Idaho and being used to always having my parents in the Salt Lake Valley, I have uprooted everything I ever knew and was comfortable with to start a new chapter in my life. The parents are all settled in Parker (for now), 20 minutes outside of Rexburg and I am living it up now in Logan at Utah State University with my brother and LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT. It's incredible how quickly I've gotten adjusted and I couldn't feel better about the way my life is headed right now. The professors here are AMAZING and the program is so exciting. Collegiate Singers will always have a special place in my heart but Chamber Singers is going to be just as great. Dr. Evans announced to all of us today in class that we are going to New York and New Haven, CT for a weekend in November on a mini-tour towards the end of this semester. As for the opera theatre, we are doing the incredible show Sweeney Todd and also preparing to do Gianni Schicchi and possibly another one act in the Spring. Auditions for that are this weekend, so we'll see how that goes. It's funny, now that I'm here in Logan, it really feels like home (even though I'm still trying to learn campus, after Rexburg this place is HUGE!). The only thing I need now to make my experience complete is a good job that will work with my crazy schedule! Ha. Anyways, life is grand. New places, new experiences. That's what life should be all about. I think the best part is that I'm slowly learning how to come out of my shell a little bit more. More to come...