This last week, I sang in the 2014 Nebraska All-State Chorus. It was an indescribable experience. This is my second year attending All-State, but I was just as blown away as I was the first time. The sound that the choir makes is breathtaking. I feel so blessed to have been a part of making such a beautiful sound.

In its entirety, All-State was three days and two nights. The girls that sat around me were kind and fun to be around. One girl that sat to my left had a lovely accent. Being so interested in other cultures, I couldn’t help but to ask her about it. She told me that she moved here from Mexico three years ago, and I told her about how interested I was in learning Spanish. Then, it was time to sing again, but during our next break between songs our conversation started up again. This time, it was turned around, and sort of comical!

The girl turned to me and said that is sounded like I had an accent as well, and she asked if I was from Germany! I laughed and told her I was not. She was surprised and then described to me a foreign exchange student at her school that was from Germany…who I apparently looked and sounded just like.

The topic came up a few times later, and I found the entire situation to be quite charming. I really enjoyed getting to know her. Overall, this is one of the smaller things that I found made my experience at All-State so wonderful. I’m glad I can look up I see that there are so many little things that make great things so great.

Oh! Also, if you ever get the chance to go watch the All-State Chorus perform, I highly suggest it! Have a lovely week! Happy Thanksgiving! (:

The wintery season is upon us. Though it is not yet technically winter, Nebraska has decided to throw some snow at us. I thought it was funny, because a foreign exchange student from my school listed on Facebook the she was so surprised there was snow in November! This can only bring a smile to a Nebraskan’s face, considering the weather here is highly unpredictable, and some years we have snow in October! The thing about winter, however, is that, while some people love it, others absolutely despise it. Even if wee are hone latter, we have to try and look at the bright side of things during these dark, cold days.
When I was in about sixth grade, I walked a little boy to school every single day. He was a kindergartner at the time, and, once the excitement of snow ball fights and fort building was over, he decided that winter was not his favorite. I can still picture him trudging through the snow, with his backpack and snow boots, crying to me, “It’s going to be winter foreverrrrrrr”. I tried explaining to him that it would end eventually, but he wasn’t convinced until the snow melted and the grass turned green.
We all think like he did at some point, though it might not be as dramatic (: After the Thanksgiving feasts, the merriment of Christmas, and the excitement of New Years, we all kind of grow tired of the cold and the snow. We have to remember that each season will end, and bring the next, and each season is special. We have to look up and enjoy nature, enjoy the holidays for what they really mean, and enjoy the fact that we get to experience them.

 

As November 4th has come and gone, we have seen yet another election. This is only my second time voting, but, both times, I have just been humbled by the fact that we are truly blessed to live in a country that’s allows us to give our input on important matters. However, voting needs to be something that we use to our advantage. Last year, my persuasive speech for the speech team concerned the topic: “Why everyone should be an informed voter”. I think this is a really important concept. Without being informed, how do you know if you are contributing to the betterment or worsening of our nation? I think yet another aspect of looking up is acknowledging all of the factors that come to making an informed decision on how you should vote.
A lot of the time, if think people are conformists when it comes to voting. They just vote on whatever or whomever they see is popular to the rest of the population. People will more than likely vote for whatever or whomever their party supports, rather than analyzing the entire situation and forming their own opinions. As sad as it may be, politicians often will lie or trick their audience in order to get them to lean their way. Even though this is immoral, we have to take the situation as it is and make sure that we are informed before marking our ballots.
Bottom line, we would be doing ourselves and each other a favor by becoming informed before we cast our votes. Research things that you are unsure about. If you are going to vote on something, being unsure is not the way to go about business! We all need to stop conforming, so that we can secure a better tomorrow. We need to look up and see what needs to be done in this country, and get it done!