Small Steps

I feel totally awesome.

I am so proud of myself right now, and without going into any large detail, I just want to say that I am happy to have had such great guidance for the first 18 years of my life. Because I know know know that I have a good head on my shoulders.

Sometimes there are those moments that you reach an obstacle and you say, "ok, if I can get through this, I can get through the rest of it" - so you keep your focus in sight and keep pushing forward. And then you know you can do the rest because the worst of it is over.

Tonight, I was reminded that it is more important for me to like myself than for others to like me. And if I like myself and can be confident with my decisions and judgment, other people like me too.

It's nights like this that I hold onto to remember that I am a good person, and I know who I am.

Thanks to all of you that helped along the way.

Peace & Love,

Lauren

Address - this is so bad and internet stalker inviting...

In case any of you were thinking of writing to me (since I know my family reads this now- welcome!) I thought I would post my school address here. Grandma, this is for you :)


My Name :D
658 Towers North
642 University Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701

Love you all

I Could Not Let You Go

I love WOCO. There is a consensus between the 80 of us that we are the greatest cult around. By that, I sincerely mean that I love my women's choir (WOCO for short...) and having so many sisters is really, really great. Did I mention that of all the people (particularly of all the music people) I've met on campus, the girls from WOCO are the ones that legitimately remember my name and care about what I have to say? It's nice. Nothing could replace Cantabile or Madison Youth Choir in my heart, but having WOCO is the closest I can get.

We're singing really great literature. In particular, we are singing two pieces by James Quitman Mulholland (who is coming to work with us and record us for his cd later this fall) that pull me. Mulholland has always pulled me. "If Music Be the Food of Love" and "Heart We Will Forget Him!" especially. He is especially good at translating emotions into music- so much that one can feel the pull of their heartstrings in the dissonance between the 2nd Sopranos and Altos. Know what I mean? Great stuff.

The piece I feel most connected to of the two (the one that isn't in a frustrating time signature of 7/8) is called "I Could Not Let You Go". Both the pieces have text from poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay. "I Could Not Let You Go" is from a set of sonnets. I thought I would share the text- it is so beautiful, and when Mulholland works his magic and sets it to music...oh. So, so wonderful.


"Strange thing that I, by nature nothing prone
To fret the summer blossom on its stem,
Who know the hidden nest, but leave alone
The magic eggs, the bird that cuddles them,
Should have no place till your bewildered heart
Hung fluttering at the window of my breast,
Till I had ravished to my bitter smart
Your kiss from the stern moment, could not rest.
"Swift wing, sweet blossom, live again in air!
Depart, poor flower; poor feather you are free!"
Thus do I cry, being teased by shame and care
That beauty should be brought to terms by me;
Yet shamed the more that in my heart I know,
Cry as I may, I could not let you go."

Best Wishes,

- Lauren

A few things

Things I Like:

- mascots giving high fives at the bottom of the hill monday morning
- Womens Concert Chorale
- transfer meals
- watching tv in bed
- meeting new people
- the way the Chippewa river looks from the footbridge
- "The Dress Looks Nice On You" by Sufjan Stevens at the end of a long day
- "Soundtrack to Our Movie" by Mae at anytime of day
- only having to wait one more day until I get to see my family

Things I Do Not Like:

- headaches
- that sudden urge for sleep around 2 pm
- only having 2 bowls and 2 plates
- having to swim, then bike and or run to lower campus in less than 10 minutes. I did not sign up for a triathlon to get to class.
- my job


That's pretty much it for now, folks. Just a piece of my mind this afternoon/evening.

:)