"Be Not Afraid"

This one isn't actually a video. It just plays the song, but it is well-worth listening to. My mom introduced this song to me when she and my dad and my brother Ryan visited us here in Hays last year. It made me cry. I have often looked up at the stars and tried to imagine all of the world out there. And then, I have thought. "How could I really matter when I am so small compared to all that?" This song seems to be an answer to that thought.

"Beautiful Heartbreak"

This song was recommended by my cousin Nikki. I had never heard it before, but it so amazing! I suppose we all carry around invisible signs that are labeled with our personal trials, and we might be surprised if we could see what other people have been through. Even people who seem to have a perfect life are actually suffering just like the rest of us. It's something to think about.

The song seemed especially powerful to me yesterday when I listened to it because I was right in the middle of my biggest paper of the semester. This is the last week of class, and three papers came due all in the same week. I worked last week and over the weekend, but I still had keep working into this week. I finished one Monday and another last night. I still have to do another tonight and tomorrow. . . It's basically endless. And at the same time, I am fighting to keep my blood sugar down and I can't help feeling overloaded.

This song is a good reminder that trials bring perspective to our lives. I have learned compassion through my diabetes in so many ways. I understand what's it's like to be sick for a long period of time and what it's like to be judged unfairly by others. I also understand better now than ever that God loves me and watches over me. I don't think I would know all these things if I had never had trials. They can truly magnify you in ways you would never imagine.

"Just the Way You Are"

Where the last song was very self-affirming, this one is focused on uplifting someone else. It's about a guy who loves a girl just the way she is and he tells her so. We all have tremendous power to uplift others by loving just as they are, by seeing the best that is in them and believing the best about them.

"Who Says"

So, this week's topic is uplifting songs. I really love this one by Selena Gomez. I don't keep track of what's popular in music--I just happened upon this one day when I was looking up another video on Youtube. But I appreciate the message of it. We tend to be our own worst critics and to judge ourselves so harshly when we really are already good enough to start with.

"Restless Soul"

Okay, the video is a little odd. But this is the best introspective song that I know of. It might as well be my theme song when I get into certain moods. I know what kind of a person I'm supposed to be, what kind of a person I want to be. But then there's the person that I am, which is something quite different. I get so angry with myself for falling into the same patterns over and over, for making the same mistakes. It's good to stop and look at those mistakes, though, so that I can find ways to improve, to get a little closer to that person I imagine myself becoming.

And I am looking forward quite a bit these days as I begin the last week of my second-to-last semester as a college student. I can't help but feel a little nostalgic as I also look back at all the days I have spent in school. It seems crazy that I will soon leave school behind and start a new phase of life. In many ways, it feels more intense to me even than graduating high school because I have a clearer focus now of what I want from life than I did then.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this song. Don't forget to post songs that are important to you, and I might just feature them at some point.

The Super Awesome Purpose of This Blog

Writers like me like to talk about ourselves. It's a fact. We sit down in front of the computer and find ourselves happily hundreds of words into blog posts, all of it about... well, our profound thoughts and the things that happen to us to inspire our thoughts. You get the idea.

Am I the only one who thinks this is kind of self-centered?

I'll be the first one to admit that my old blog was the self-centered sort. I liked writing about my life, and I wanted to share my experiences with the world. Sometimes it was like therapy, a cathartic release of all the turmoil inside of me.

But, here's a thought. It may just be possible to make blogging about more than just me. I'd like to reach out and make connections with other human beings, their experiences, and their thoughts. So I'm starting this new blog for the purpose of actually making connections. I know, it's a novel idea.

So, this is what I'm going to do. Everything week, I will have a topic that I explore throughout the week in all of my posts. At the same time, of course, I will talk about myself and my opinions and tastes and all of the exciting things that happen in my life but with a focus that others can enjoy. I'll start this week with my first topic: inspiring songs.