"I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly."

"You would not believe your eyes if ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep. 'Cause they'd fill the open air and leave teardrops everywhere. You'd think me rude, but I would just stand and stare. I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'cause everything is never as it seems."

It is true, isn't? Life doesn't last long-- the world seems to turn too fast for any of us to catch up with it. We'd like to make ourselves believe that it doesn't-- but that doesn't stop it. Wishing and believing and dreaming doesn't stop anything. Sometimes, I wish I could take everything important in my life and save them all up in a little jar like fireflies so that they could never get away from me. But I guess that life doesn't ever give you a little jar to save up dreams and wishes like fireflies, because they were meant to fly away, free, into the night. Maybe, if you look close enough at the stars, you'll see one with little wings, and it'll flit away as you make a wish, to someone else's window, someone else's sky, and they'll make a wish too, and maybe one day, all the wishes on fireflies in a jar will come true.

"When I fall asleep...........

...........my dreams are bursting at the seams."

"Demons will charm you with a smile, for a while, but in time..."

Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around.
Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around. Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadays. I'll send 'em howling, I don't care, I got ways. No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna dare. Others can desert you, not to worry, whistle, I'll be there. Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while, but in time... Nothing can harm you, not while I'm around... Not to worry, not to worry. I may not be smart but I ain't dumb. I can do it, put me to it. Show me something I can overcome. Not to worry. Being close and being clever ain't like being true. I don't need to, I would never hide a thing from you, like some... Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around. Nothing's gonna harm you, darling, not while I'm around. Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while, but in time...
This year, I'm auditioning for GSA, the Governor's School for the Arts, in the area of Musical Theater. I'm pretty nervous about it, but I'm just going to try my best and see what happens from there. I already have two songs selected, which are "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" from The Sound of Music and "Not While I'm Around" from Sweeney Todd. "Not While I'm around" is probably my favorite song from any musical. It just has so much emotion, and I hope to portray it whenever I try out for GSA in March. The lyrics are just all so true, and not hard for me to relate to. I've learned how it feels to want to protect others from hurt and deception, and to prove that my promises are more than just words. Maybe one day it'll show, and maybe one day, you'll see.

"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."

When the darkness envelops the earth and it seems that we are truly lost in our troubles, it appears as if there is no bright side. Most people wonder why it is that there is such a thing as darkness, and why there can not always be light. The truth behind that is this: none of us can truly appreciate the light if there weren't any darkness to separate us from it.
We may not like to admit it, but we learn from all of the bad things in life. The lessons that we learn from our previous mistakes are the ones that keep us from making the same mistakes again. If we never did anything wrong, then we would never do anything right. It's a shame that we aren't all lucky enough to have a chance-- I would know. I've seen to many bad things happen to good people; but never could I bring myself understand why it is that these bad things happen. Nothing seemed to answer any of my questions. So, I asked a friend of mine. I told him of everyone and everything that could never come back and all of these things that just aren't fair.
He told me that things happen and there isn't really much we can do. Sometimes, we can't stop things, and we can't change things, no matter how hard we try. Sometimes, it's too hard to understand, and we just try to shut it out. But that's not the answer, Stephanie. Then he said this:

"It may not make sense to you now, and it may not make sense to you tomorrow. But, I'm sure of it, deep down, that in the end, it will make sense. Everything will. Maybe that's because you can only see the stars at night. It may not make sense when the sun is shining, but when it gets dark, and you see those stars shining, it all seems to make sense then."

"There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all."

Things aren't always that easy-- nope, not at all. But, they could be a little less hard.
No matter what has made you sad, no matter what has angered you, no matter how many lemons life throws at you, a smile will get you through it. That smile doesn't even have to be yours. Sometimes, the things that keep you going aren't from yourself, but from others. The smile of a friend, or even a stranger, is sometimes all that's needed to brighten another's day.
I've come to the realization that life is short, and is never quite what you want it to be. Sometimes, it's hard to just deal. I found that the best way to feel better is to make others feel better. I guess it's just a personal goal, but I've promised myself that no matter how horrible a day I've had, no matter how bad I may feel, no matter how many clouds are over my head, I'd help as many people as I possibly could. Sure, I may be one person-- a very small, insignificant person, in fact-- but it isn't true that there's nothing I can do to help the world. In my mind, happiness is the one thing that everyone seeks for in life. If we all had that, things wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, just maybe, through all the small acts of kindness, kind eyes, kind words, and kind smiles, I might just be able to help the world...

one person at a time.

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn."

One thing about this world that is troublesome, and sometimes goes unnoticed, is that everything and everyone you know is or will be, someday, lost to change. Things happen and people change before your eyes, and most of the time others seem to overlook it until something different stands before them. Some believe that change is for the better. Some believe that change is for the worst. I'm not quite sure where my stance is on the matter, but sometimes, you'd rather have everything stay the same, at least for a little bit longer. It's hard to grow up and leave behind all the things you've ever known. It's hard when a loved one passes and every aspect of life is different. It's hard when friends leave and when you never get to say goodbye. Change is never easy to deal with. Change is always hard. I've known a lot of people that have been trapped inside the grasp of change's hands, and have never escaped. It's very strange to see someone you once knew so well walk by you as if they've never known you at all. But, the thing is, change happens. Sometimes there is nothing you can do but to somehow find a way past it. Sometimes you'd rather just go back to the world you'd once known where everything was how it used to be, and nothing ever changed; No one ever changed. Sometimes you wish change wouldn't take away the ones that you love.
But sometimes, all you can do is watch the leaves turn color, as the people you once knew turn color, too.

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."

Even the most outgoing need their alone time, right? Life can give anyone a hard time, and sometimes some room for thought can make all the difference. Sometimes, I'd like nothing more than to drop everything I'm doing and just think. I'd think about pretty much anything I could think about. Sometimes, it's hard not to get lost in thought. That's usually how I fall asleep at night-- I spend hours thinking until there isn't anything left to come up with, and eventually close my eyes and drift off to sleep. Usually, we'd rather be out and about without any worries than sitting at home trying to get rid of those worries once and for all. The best you can do to solve something is to just think for a while. Why are things the way they are? Why did this happen? What am I supposed to do? Will things always be like this? Maybe.
Just think about it.

"The aim should not be victory, but progress."

So, as you all may have heard from my previous blog, our band's first competition was on Saturday. First, we went to OCHS to compete, and then came home to AHS to host our annual marching classic. I was very nervous for my first competition as a part of the colorguard-- but, surprisingly, things went better than I thought they would. Both the band and the colorguard(above) ranked first in our class (AAAAA), and 2nd overall. We took home the Reserved Grand Champion trophy! It was almost surreal to have done so well at our first competition. Usually we place near the lower end of the rankings. Needless to say, we didn't this time. I have a feeling that this is going to be a good year for our marching band. Never before have we had so much motivation to work as hard as we are working now, and never before has that hard work actually paid off. Things are finally looking up.
Maybe now, we'll make a name for ourselves.