A Song I Wrote

Well... these are just the lyrics.  The tune is all figured and such, I'm just writing out the piano accompaniment.  It is coming along quite nicely.  I like this song.  A lot.  Maybe someday I'll post a video of the actual music part of the song.

You are so flawless,

You don't know that you are.

I want to give you my heart

When you smile across the room.

You make my sky cloudless,

You always know what to say

To make my heart float away

Like a balloon.

Please say you want me,

Please say that you really care.

Please say you need me,

Please say you'll always be there.

And every time that you look at me I feel my love for you grow,

And all that I wish...

Is that none of my flaws would show.

You are so gorgeous.

I love the way that you smile,

It leaves me dazed for a while

And lets me know it'll be alright.

You're a light in the darkness,

Chasing my doubts away

Each and every day.

You are all I think about at night.

Please say you want me,

Please say that you really care.

Please say you need me,

Please say you'll always be there.

And every time that you look at me I feel my love for you grow,

And all that I wish...

Is that none of my flaws would show.

If there was anything in this world that I could do

To make you notice me the same way that I notice you,

It'd be worth it.

Cuz boy, you're so perfect.

Please say you want me,

Please say that you really care.

Please say you need me,

Please say you'll always be there.

And every time that you look at me I feel my love for you grow,

And all that I wish...

Is that none of my flaws would show.

None of my flaws would show.

Would show.

But they will show.

Any comments, requests, or threats?

I need a title... any suggestions?

There is So Much to Be Thankful For.

Some days we forget

To look around us.

Some days we can't see

The joy that surrounds us.

So caught up inside ourselves,

We take when we should give.

So for tonight, we pray for

What we know can be.

And on this day, we hope for

What we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change,

And even though we all can still do more,

There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves,

There's so much sorrow.

It's way too late to say

I'll cry tomorrow.

Each of us must find our truth,

It's so long overdue.

So for tonight, we pray for

What we know can be.

And every day, we hope for

What we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change,

And even though we all can still do more,

There's so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences,

There is a place we're all connected.

Each of us can find each other's light.

So for tonight, we pray for

What we know can be.

And on this day, we hope for

What we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change,

And even though this world needs so much more,

There's so much to be thankful for.

I would like to take this Thanksgiving(/Christmas... because my blog post is a few weeks late, but I fooled you by changing the date on the post) season to share what I am thankful for.

(In no particular order.)

1: Friends.

-All of them. They are always there for me, no matter what.

2: Family.

-They make me happy. (Most of the time.) And when they bug the heck outta me they teach me patience. :)

3: An education.

-I might hate school. And I might never do my homework. But I AM thankful for the opportunity I have to learn and gain an education.

4: Being well off.

-This isn't meant to be a braggy post. I'm serious. I am so thankful to have a father who works hard at a well-paying job to support my family and still has money left over for the fun stuff. There are so many families that don't have this blessing, and I am truly sorry for them.

5: The gospel.

-I am so grateful to have the true gospel in my life. It helps me get through hard times. It lets me know that everything will be okay. :)

6: Music.

-Without music, I would be lost in this world. Music brings everything to life. Feelings, truth, gospel... music is life. I'm thankful for choir, Jive, orchestra, and all the music teachers I have ever had. Thank you.

7: My talents.

-This goes hand in hand with music, but encompasses more. I so thankful for all the talents God has given me.

8: The leaders of the church.

-I am so grateful for the apostles. I love those cute little old men. :) They are so funny, yet wise. I know that they always speak the truth.

9: DVR.

-Without DVR I would never be able to watch all the many shows I love.

10: Missionaries.

-Not only are the male missionaries the most attractive men I have ever seen in my life ;), but I know that they are doing the Lord's work. I also know that having two missionaries in my family has blessed us greatly.

11: Modern technology.

-Yes, it has it's downs, but for the most part, technology is a great thing. It speeds up and simplifies communication and finding information as well as makes things such as blogging, pinning, and Facebooking possible.

12: Food.

-Yum. I love eating, cooking, and baking food.

13: Temples.

-Not only are they gorgeous, but when I am there I feel the spirit so strongly.

14: Attractive, funny, nice men.

-;) Well, men/guys. (Some of these guys aren't quite 'men' yet.) They are fun to look at and to talk to, it's like a double win!

15: Being me.

-Sometimes I feel like it sucks to be me, but in reality, I love it. :) When I'm sane, I would never ask for anything different than just to be me.

16: Having so many things to be grateful for.

-Many people don't have as many things to be as grateful for as I do, whether it is because they don't view certain things as blessings, or because they just don't have as much.

I am so thankful. :)

I can & I will.

This past week I realized something. Well, a few things, actually...

but they can all be schmooshed together into

.one.

.big.

.thing.

and that thing is...

I have POTENTIAL.

We all do.

~~~

In the words of Hannah Montana, "It's easy to feel like you're all alone, to feel like nobody knows. The great that you are, the good that's inside you, is trying so hard to break through. Maybe it's your time to lift off and fly. You won't know if you never try. I will be there with you all of the way; you'll be fine. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not strong enough. Don't give up! There's nothing wrong with just being yourself; that's more than enough! So come on and raise your voice. Speak your mind and make some noise." I love how this song states that you can do anything; you just need to try. Everyone has potential.

This past week I came to realize that I am a "jack of all trades, master of none." I play the piano and cello, sing, swim, play water polo, play percussion, and more... but nothing am I incredible at. Sometimes I look back and think where I would be in my life if I had just chosen to develop one or two of these talents instead of trying to do them all. People always say there is no way at this point that I can become great at one of these; it's too late. But it's not. Like I have already said... I have potential. My piano teacher says so, my voice teacher says so, my cello teacher says so, even my swimming coach. What brought on this post on potential was that last Friday I had one on one swim practice with my coach. I worked on butterfly the whole time. Coach said that because I am built to butterfly and have such good form I could possibly make State next year in butterfly if I get enough pool time in for practice. Me, chubby little Elizabeth who has been swimming for seven whole years but continually gets beaten by rookies at the sport, get a State time? Never! Especially not in butterfly, the most difficult/tiring/drudgerious (---by the way, drudgerious is a word I made up a few years ago for an Honors English application; it'a pretty much just an adjective form of the noun drudgery) stroke! But no, not "never." It's obviously possible if my coach says it is. I just need to believe and practice. And that is the same with everyone and everything, It kinda goes with the whole "faith without works is dead" bit, but with faith anything is possible if you put forth effort for it to be so.

Practice+Belief=Anything you want to accomplish.

Many people think that saying "I can" is a great way to motivate yourself; I disagree. Saying "I can" just states a fact. "I can do my homework." "I can go on a diet." "I can get to bed early." Yeah, so what? I already knew that stuff. Why does printing it out make any difference? I already knew it was true. I find that when you change "can" to "will" the fact becomes a goal. A goal that will hopefully be accomplished.

I will get at least a high B in my Calculus class.**

I will strive my hardest to become valedictorian.**

I will exercise regularly (even when swim season is over).**

I will finish all my homework on time.**

I will be kind to everyone I come in contact with.**

Make State in the 100 Fly senior year.**

Now those are goals. Goals that I hope to achieve. Goals that I know I can achieve.

Elevator Goes Up...

Wow, this week has been intense. Good and bad. Up and down. I've been physically and emotionally exhausted, completely hyper and insane, calm and peaceful. Am I bipolar? ...I don't think so... just a teenage girl with a lot going on. I think I'm gonna mix things up a bit. Instead of writing paragraph after paragraph of what's going on in my life I think I'll just do an "ABC's of the Week" sorta thing. So here it goes!

-A is for Allergies. Ughh. I have never in my life had allergies until the beginning of this summer. Now I constantly get itchy eyes and I sneeze all the time! I hate it! And at our swim team spaghetti feed Friday night my allergies were horrible. My eyes were bright red and really puffy. People said I looked like I was going to die. I believed it because I felt like I was going to die. My eyes are still kinda puffy, but they are mostly better.

-B is for Bobby pins. Okay, so, funny story: I had this substitute teacher in English. One girl walked into the class and said "Does anyone have a bobby pin?" The sub said "Bobby pin? Honey, they don't sell those anymore!" Apparently bobby pins were very popular like 60 years ago, and they used them to curl hair. The substitute demonstrated how they did it on my hair. It was slightly strange. Okay, maybe a little more than slightly.

-C is for Calculators and the many mysterious apps which they hold. Call me a nerd. I don't care. I am one. But this past week I was totally messing around on my calculator and discovering new apps and such. Some of them are quite entertaining. :D

-D is for Dogs barking and freaking me put at 5 in the morning. On Tuesday and Thursday morning I went swimming at 5:30 AM. On Tuesday I walked outside and there was this dog. Sitting there. I walked over to my car and then the dog started barking and snarling at me. Freaky. And then on Thursday my friend Sarah (who went swimming with me) called me saying that her dogs were barking outside, and they wouldn't stop. Just the night before we had been discussing how there is someone terrorizing her neighborhood, so she was freaked out. And her being freaked out freaked me out as well.

-E is for Eating a bagel in my car as I rush to 6th period. On Friday I wasn't going to be home between school and swimming because I had a piano lesson right after school, so I texted my mom and asked her to bring me my goggles, which I had forgotten at home. She said she had just barely left the house, so she asked if I could just come home at lunch and get them; she said she could have lunch ready for me. I replied "Okay, sounds great." When I arrive at home, however, my mom isn't there. Needing to leave for school in less than 15 minutes I text her wondering where she is. I then receive a text from her saying "So what's the plan? Are you coming or not?" I was confused, so I called her. Apparently she didn't realize that her inbox was full, so she didn't get my last couple messages, so she was on her way home from running errands, and I had no lunch. My mom said she'd be home in 2 minutes and then could make me a quick lunch. I frustratingly responded that I needed to leave in less than 2 minutes, but I waited. When she got home she made me a bagel sandwich, and I hurriedly ate in in my car on the way to school. I was late for 6th period. Almost 10 minutes late. Swell. But whatever.

-F is for Failing tests. This was totally the worst possible test-taking week for me ever in my life. 95% of tests I have taken in my life I have received A's on. But not this past week. Last Friday I had a Calculus test that I was sure I failed, when I received my test back, however, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I received a 65%! Wahoo! I didn't fail! I only almost failed. :D I also received a 77% (which then got bumped up to an 80%) on a history test. And then, on a chemistry test that I found extraordinarily easy while taking, I got an 81%. A low B. Really? I have a feeling that it will be very difficult for me to keep as high a GPA as I would like to this school year.

-G is for General Conference. :D :D :D This happens to be what I am watching this very second! I absolutely love listening to the talks of the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If you would like to read more of my input on these talks it will soon be on my other blog, here.

-H is for Homework and lack of completing it. You think I would have learned my lesson last year when I received my first B in a class due to lack of homework-doing, but apparently not. I'm already getting back into the habit of not doing homework. It's because of business, tiredness, and procrastination(ness?). I should probably start doing homework more regularly since my test grades obviously won't be enough to keep my grades up (as they have been in past years).

-I is for Intense swimming workouts and dance routines. You know, with all the exercise (and sweating) I have been doing lately, I had better sure as heck start losing weight! I already have noticed strengthen of muscles, but that's not what I want! I want to lose this big bubble of fat-stuffs stuck on my stomach. >:P It is so unflattering.

-J is for JIVE! Oh wow, I am so glad that I am in Jive. It is the most fun I have had in quite some time. Sure, it's a lot of work. Sure, it takes up a whole lot of time. Sure, it feels as if I have sold my soul in order to be in it. But who cares?! I. LOVE. IT. :D

-K is for Kendall. Haha, that boy is one funny boy. He always tells me everything. And then I tell someone something he told me, and he says, "See?! This is why I don't tell you anything!" Then I say, "But you do tell me everything!" And then he gets all quiet and says, "...I know, but I won't anymore!" And then the next day, guess what? He's telling me something again. :D Man, do I love that kid. He's one of my bestest friends.

-L is for Love (or at least the teenage equivalent of it). I find high school relationships very entertaining. People are like "I love you" one week, and then the next they are like "I hate you." If you honestly loved them, you wouldn't hate them the next week. Yeah, people get crushes (even I'm not exempt from that), but having "relationships" is not necessary until you are at least graduated, I think. Being in high school is the time to meet people to find qualities you would like in someone that you will date someday. It's a time to flirt, have fun. If you are in a relationship it is like building a wall so you are no longer to flirt and have fun! And if you continue to flirt, it will only make you feel guilty (unless of course you are heartless, as some people are).

-M is for Meth/Mell. Dear people (by the way, I know who at least one of you is) who wrote "Meth" on my car. Really? That's immature. And I knew it said Meth. The only reason I asked you if you wrote "Mell" on my car is because it somewhat looked like that is what it said, I had a somewhat legitimate reason for it to say that, and I knew you would laugh and look at me like I was stupid if you really had been the one who wrote Mell on my car. So yeah. If I just asked if you had written Meth you may have lied and I would still not know. But now I do know. The End.

-N is for Noodles (aka Spaghetti). I like spaghetti. And swim team. And swim team spaghetti feeds. Even when my eyes are puffy. At spaghetti feeds our team bonds and grows together. Their my favorite part about swim team! That and oatmeal carmelitas. ;)

-O is for One Direction. So I was YouTube music searching last night and I saw this song "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. Love, love, love that song. Love, love, love that band. (The fact that all the members of the band are extremely attractive teenage boys only helps. And they have British accents. Yum.) I love the song, but I don't agree with it. It says "You don't know yo're beautiful, but that's what makes you beautiful." I think that girls who know who they are and know that they are beautiful are more beautiful because they have a glow in their eyes. But other than that little flaw, the song is incredible.

-P is for Piano improvisations. I have always wished I could improv... and now in my piano lessons that is what I'm learning! I'm still not all that great at it, but I'm getting better! Before long I'll be able to improv song that I may not have even been able to sightread! (And sightreading is my forte!) I'm so excited. :D

-Q is for Quartets (barbershop). On Tuesday for choir we went up to Boise to a barbershop quartet concert for a high school barbershop workshop. It was so fun. It was fun mingling with choir members that are now my friends, and it was fun on the bus ride, and it was fun at the concert. I pretty much fell in love with every single boy that sang. Wow. They were incredible.

-R is for Rachel. WHY MUST EVERYONE CALL ME RACHEL?!?! Haha, Teagan Savage has been calling me Rachel because she knew my sister (Rachel) really well and apparently I look a lot like her. And now a bunch of people are calling me Rachel as a joke because they know that isn't my name, but then some people who don't know my name assume that my name really is Rachel, and it is somewhat obnoxious. :P

-S is for Sesame Street spoofs.

This rocks.

This next one isn't as great, but I love it at 1:11 (Keep in mind that the puppet is supposed to be Justin Bieber.)

-T is for Thinking I saw a mouse in the freezer. Eww. I opened the freezer and heard little mouse-sounding clicky noises. I thought nothing of it. But then I saw something move in the back. I screamed. No mouse has been found. Everyone is making fun of me. Not cool.

-U is for 'U is.' This is a quote from my Calculus professor. Haha. "You is!" Sounds smart, doesn't it? U was a variable and so he would always say "U is this" and "U is that." Maybe I'm just easily entertained, but I found it very entertaining.

-V is for Varying emotions. As you can probably see from how some of these topics have been happy and some have been not so happy, I have been an emotional roller-coaster. It's like the song "Elevator" by David Archuleta.

I had a dream last night
I didn't know which floor to get off on, hey
The doors, they opened on 4 and 5 and 6
And you were gone, all gone

I didn't understand
I didn't wanna know
At least I took a chance
I had to let it go

Elevator goes up
Elevator come down
And you just go with the flow
Until your feet are back on the ground
It's an endless ride
Sometimes it takes you up
Sometimes it tears you down inside
But it's the butterflies
That keep you feeling so alive, so alive
You gotta get back that high

And in my dream last night
The doors they finally shut and I was there, somewhere
Alone in my reality inside an empty box
That's filled with air
But I don't care, no

Next time I'll get it right
Next time I'll be okay
I'll have a different dream tonight
Tomorrow's another day

Elevator goes up
Elevator come down
And you just go with the flow
Until your feet are back on the ground
It's an endless ride
Sometimes it takes you up
Sometimes it tears you down inside
But it's the butterflies
That keep you feeling so alive, so alive
You gotta get back that high

You'll never know
What you're gonna get
What you don't expect will come and find you
If you laugh or cry
If you run and hide
But it's all right

Elevator goes up
Elevator come down
And you just go with the flow
Until your feet are back on the ground
It's an endless ride
Sometimes it takes you up
Sometimes it tears you down inside
But it's the butterflies
That keep you feeling so alive, so alive
You gotta get back that high

-W is for Wishes. I like wishes. This doesn't have anything to do with what happened in the last week... I just felt like wishes was a good W word to use. :)

-X is for absolutely nothing.

-Y is for Yoyaknowyouyoyeahyoyouyonikonoyo. This is somewhat hard to explain. So I won't. Haha, have fun wondering what the heck this is about!

-Z is for Zippy! Me. Elizabeth. Yeah. :D

For those of you who actually read this entire post. Thank you for your support! Now maybe you should go do something worthwhile. :P The end. :)

Just a fantasy.

I enjoy nature. A lot more than I thought I did. I've always loved being in the outdoors while camping and such (excluding the bugs), but I never realized how peaceful it can be just in my backyard. Hearing the birds and the rustle of the trees in the wind. I wish I would spend more time outside surrounded by nature, but I guess bugs are just icky enough to keep me away. :/

~~~

Word of Advice: You know, people always say "don't judge a book by it's cover," but the same thing goes for first impressions. Even if you talk to someone and then decide that you don't like them, or whatever, you should still be kind and try to get to know them better. First impressions are rarely ever correct. I feel like I may have lost chances at many new friendships due to either my judging of others via first impressions or vice versa. Always give people a second chance. And a third. And fourth, and how ever many it may take for you to actually know them.

~~~

I always find myself daydreaming (so I guess it's a good thing that I can pay attention to things subconsciously while thinking of other things). I always fantasize about scenarios that honestly could happen... the likelihood of them occurring, however, is less than the chance of me marrying a Vietnamese hippopotamus. Unsurprisingly, these daydreams usually have to do with boys. I think "Well, today will be the day he talks to me." And then I go through an entire conversation in my head. Does it ever happen? No. Do I do the same thing the next day? Yes. That's what being hopeful is! Actually, I lied. It did happen once! Of course, it was a different person then I was imagining, but the concept is still the same! Being hopeful always pays off. :D

"You stood there in front of me

Just close enough to touch

Close enough to hope you couldn't

See what I was thinking of."

'Sparks Fly' - Taylor Swift

"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you."

'Enchanted' - Taylor Swift

You know... there seems to be a Taylor Swift song for any situation a girl may be in. Do you think Taylor Swift does that on purpose? Or has she just been in all of those situations that girls are put in? Because if it's the latter, then Taylor is both a very fortunate and unfortunate girl. Actually, before she was famous she was kinda a loser in her school and stuff. It makes you think... what do the people who went to school with her think now? "Well, I was super stupid for being mean to her. And now there is a song (with my name included in it) that everyone in the country knows. Just swell."

~~~

Epic moment: First, understand that I absolutely love the Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb. Go ahead and judge me, but it is a good show, and nothing you say will alter my opinion of it. So yesterday I was waiting to pick my little brother Danny up from school. I noticed a girl wearing a Perry the Platypus (my favorite character) t-shirt. I quickly grabbed my iPod, changed the song, and rolled down the windows of my car. As she walked by I blasted the Perry the Platypus theme song. At first I didn't think she noticed, but then I looked in the rearview mirror and saw her looking back at me like I was crazy. Needless to say, it made my day.