5.30.2009

It's Official!

I have decided that my album will be called "Story for the Raise", which will also be the name of my song that took me forever to name. This album has brought the best out of me... I truly believe it! It's more a journal than anything, of my life as it is right in the moment. I feel like I'm telling stories in every single song and the sun's rays are the ones that I sing to. I heart the rays of the 
sun in more ways than I can tell you. I am a firm believer in Seasonal depression!! As well as this album title being about the sun, it's a little bit of a play-on-words. During this time period which I wrote all of these songs, I went from the lowest point in my life, to the best point in my life. It is a "story for the raise" as it began with my heart aching to daily rejoicing. Pretty sweet right? Anywho... the recording is ballin and I just am thrilled about it. We've now laid down 8 of the songs and all of the drums. I'm just finishing writing my last 2 songs (maybe 3) to go on the album and I will be 100% broke by the time I finish.... WAHOO! It has been worth every penny though!
[Love this as much as I do? go HERE]
My advice for today? Do what you want with your whole BEING. Don't let anyone or anything tell you that your heart's desires are incorrect (and NO, being a lazy drunk partier is not a true heart desire). It has taken me what seems like a lifetime to finally look someone in the eye who asks me what I'm doing in school and say... "I am not going back to school, I'm working full time and recording my first album. I have an incredible life!" I've gotten only 3 types of responses to this answer that I give people:

1. They GET IT! They know that I am going after my dream and their eyes sparkle and wonder at how incredible it is that I can actually do that! (what awesome people!)
2. They are upset with me because I AM going after my dream and they didn't or "can't" (I don't believe in that word!). They tend to speak to me with happy words but their eyes don't sparkle and I don't feel their joy emitting from their souls as I do with the first response.
3. They think that money is all that matters and search rapidly for a kind response, though their minds are racing at full force into the gloom that if I don't go to school and graduate, I won't have any money. (by the way, to all of you thinking that. I plan on going all the way! I will make more money with my music then I could with anything else.) I thank number 3s for their concern but gee whiz money could never make me happy!

So PLEASE do what you truly desire!! Whether that's going to school to become a Computer Scientist. Going to Paul Mitchell to get a hair license. Getting married right out of high school and having 15 kids. Military service. Traveling the world. Training for the NFL. Or recording your first album with plans of sharing it with the world to inspire. There are so many options and education does not mean college. Education means being where you are while learning as much as you can!

Go for it! Take your dream and run!

5.16.2009

I had thee COOLEST epiphone yesterday. . .

So I decided to take my lunch break from work to go to the park and work on some song lyrics. As I'm sitting there, I start thinking of all the guys in the past few years that I've truly liked and WHY I liked them so much. I follow the same pattern: Like somebody, hang out with them, then decide that I don't like them anymore (some last longer than others). I started writing each of their names down on a piece of yellow notebook paper (you know the kind I'm talking about), and it came to me. . . . Each of these men in my life have one extreme attribute or characteristic. I had a list of 7 men and 7 COMPLETELY different characteristics tagged to a name. I realized that God has given me an outline of 7 men and a characteristic from each to find my own man. I never loved these men. . . . I loved that extreme attribute (fun, funny, kind, spiritual, all out cool, knows how to treat girls right, motivated and successful). I understand that for a lot of people, there are MANY different others who they would work well with. I am NOT one of those people! I could be HAPPY with MANY different people, but I can't choose one just because. I have to find somebody with the same sort of extreme attribute as those 7 men. So I guess it is now time to be really patient, people like that don't come around very often!!!!