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Performances, Parties, Harry Potter, and Epiphanies

Well I'd say it's been a quite successful long weekend here in Provo. This MLK day holiday is one of the TWO we get for the entire semester. So it all started on Friday after class when my friend Kaylee and I decided that we wanted to go get some Jamba Juice. So were walking up to the Wilk, and we see a crowd gathering in Brigham Square, so we decided we would check out what was happening. We reached the circle and lo and behold none other than VOCAL POINT was standing in the center of the crowd!! We heard them sing a couple of songs and it was absolutely amazing! They are seriously incredible!! Such a great start to the weekend! That night, my friends and I went to see Divine Comedy and they were hilarious as usual! Their sketches are so creative! Then we watched Harry Potter 7.1! It was my first time seeing it, and earlier this week I finished reading the last of the books!

My friend Anna and I have birthdays two days apart in July, so we decided that we were going to celebrate our half birthdays which happened to be this weekend! At 2 in the morning on Friday night I heard noises outside my room, and while I was slightly creeped out I literally thought to myself, "There are no murderers here!" and promptly fell asleep. The next morning, I walked out of my room to find that Anna had decorated my door with beautiful Harry Potter pictures and a Happy (half) Birthday sign! It seriously made my day! I wish I could post a picture, but my poor camera that has been with me for five or six years has decided to die. So, you'll have to take my word for it when I say it was awesome. Saturday afternoon, my ward went ice skating! I hadn't gone in sooo long and it was so much fun! Then my friends and I went to the basketball game which we won, followed by a viewing of He's Just Not that Into You followed by a late night chat!

I always love Sundays. I love going to church (even if it is at 9 am), Skyping with my family, and having just a day of rest! Sunday night after Ward Prayer, we watched Harry Potter 7 part 2 and it was SO GOOD. Just SO GOOD. I've now officially seen all of the movies and read all of the books! Then we all fell asleep in Sam and Alyssa's room only to wake up an hour later completely confused. Oh good times.

Today was MLK day. I spent most of the afternoon preparing for my application to the Music Ed program. As I was about to begin all of this work, I began to feel completely overwhelmed, to the point that I was nearly in tears. I had no idea how I was going to get everything done. Then, the negative thoughts started flowing. "What if all of this work is for nothing?" "I probably won't even get into the program, so what's the point in enduring all of this stress and even trying?" and so on. Then, a little voice popped into my head, encouraging me to go down to the practice rooms in the basement of our building and just sing. "Like that will do anything to help," said the cynical voice inside my head, but I knew which one I had to listen to. So, I grabbed my books and headed downstairs to the practice room. It was amazing what spending 45 minutes in that practice room did. I sang and sang and didn't care who might've been outside listening. I sang potential audition songs, and reminisced about the times I'd performed them previously. As I left the room and walked back up to my dorm, I realized something. Heavenly Father gave me the gift of music for many reasons. I've always thought it was just because performing really does have the power to touch people when both I and they least expect it. It wasn't until today that I realized how personal this gift is. Singing my heart out in that practice room today washed away my fears and brought me true joy when I was overwhelmed and stressed beyond belief. He knew that I would need this gift not only to bring joy not only to others, but also to myself. It is truly amazing!

Then tonight, my friends and I went out to dinner at Cafe Rio to celebrate mine and Anna's half birthdays! We spent a couple of hours at the restaurant just talking and laughing! I feel such strong bonds of friendship with these amazing girls, and I feel beyond blessed to have them in my life!

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