Home Is Where the Heart Is...

For the past few years now I tend to get really homesick around this time of year.  I first noticed it during the second semester of my junior year of college.  I know the reasons for wanting to go home that semester...a lot of different emotions and a few different circumstances just piled up all at once, and I needed to get outta there!  But I've had the feeling of needing to go home and get out of my current surroundings for 3 years now at pretty much the same time each year with nowhere near the same circumstances.  I really don't mind living in Jackson.  I've met some great people, I love the church I've been going to, and my internship is going well.  But I still just wanna leave!  What is up with me?!

Maybe it's due to the weather change:  it's finally starting to become spring.  The weather is warmer, the sun it out longer, and it makes me want to get up and go.  But being farther from home and all the friends I left makes it pretty much impossible to have a good weekend getaway.  Plus having this little furball to take care of makes it a little more difficult to travel...he's so needy!  Maybe my homesickness (is that a word?) is due to the fact that there's nothing to do here unless you want to spend money:  eating out, shopping, going to the movies...that's pretty much it.  And since I am a poor college student that focuses on surviving rather than having fun, I don't like spending a lot of money right now.  Or maybe, as pathetic as this might be, it's because of all the mushy gushy love time going on:  Valentines Day, people getting engaged, wedding season coming up...it's all a little overwhelming when you don't have a "special someone" of your own.  Being around friends and family makes it all a little more manageable, and when I don't have that, I miss it.

Enough of the depression and loneliness.  I'm almost done with my internship!  And it's gone really well!  I've gotten lots of positive feedback, but I've also learned a lot while I've been here.  I should finish my last day on March 26th.  I'll move out of my apartment the 31st with the help of mom and dad.  Then it's a quick stop at home to pick up Laura's stuff, and then it's off to Springfield again!  Mom and Laura found an apartment that's about 10 minutes from both Drury and MSU.  And the really nice thing is that they offer a shuttle service to MSU, which means Laura doesn't have to worry about parking when she gets on campus.  It looks like a really nice apartment, and I'm ready to be back in the Springfield area.  And the weather has been great this week!  The snow has finally melted, and I don't freeze my tookus off every time I step outside.

Well, I guess it's time to stop rambling for now.  I need to clean the apartment, do some laundry, make a quick run to the store for some groceries, and maybe work out...maybe.   Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! 5 and a half more weeks and I'm home!!!

"Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room." ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Perfect Guy

As you may or may not have noticed, it's Valentines Day!  Or for those of you in the same boat as me, it's Singles Awareness Day!  And for those of you that don't care about any of that, it is also the Chinese New Year (year of the tiger) and, according to my brother, the third day of the Olympics.  Yay!  In honor of this momentous day, I thought I would share with you a song I wrote a couple years back.  It's titled "The Perfect Guy."  I was gonna post a video of it, but it wouldn't upload.  So you'll just have to settle for the lyrics.

The Perfect Guy

If I were Drew Barrymore I’d go on 50 first dates
And with each first kiss I’d think this is fate
If I were Paris Hilton, you’d be hot
And we’d have a little dog that I would carry while I shop
If I were Kate Winslet, I’d never let go
Unless you’re hogging all the clock on which we float
If I were Britney Spears I’d shave my head
And sing to you Toxic while we lie in bed

Cause you’re the perfect guy
You’re the apple of my eye
Even though that line is cheesy
I thought I’d give it a try
You’re just so great that thinkin’ of you makes me rhyme
That’s why
You’re my perfect guy

If I were a penguin, I’d give you a pebble
I’d waddle up to you and we would cuddle
If I were a lobster, you’d be mine
We’ll never leave each other, be together for all time
If I were a seahorse, you’d have my babies
Cause the guy seahorse gets pregnant, and that’s just crazy
If I were a lioness, you’d be my king
And every morning I’d wake up and sing

Cause you’re the perfect guy
You’re the apple of my eye
Even though that line is cheesy
I thought I’d give it a try
You’re just so great that thinkin’ of you makes me rhyme
That’s why
You’re my perfect guy

If I were a present, you’d be the bow
That sparkled in the beauty of the fallen snow
If I were a trinket at a garage sale
You’d be the pretty penny that bought this pail
What makes you so perfect is I don’t know you yet
You’re a great big mystery since we haven’t met
That makes it all the better, cause one day I’ll see
That we’re meant to be together, just you and me

Cause you’re the perfect guy
You’re the apple of my eye
Even though that line is cheesy
I thought I’d give it a try
You’re just so great that thinkin’ of you makes me rhyme
That’s why
You’re my perfect guy

Hope everyone's had a great day!

Walter

Well, here I am, having another snow day.  I don't understand why either, but I do enjoy the extra day of being lazy.  I have to admit, living alone can be pretty nice.  I can go wherever, whenever.  I don't have to worry about cleaning anyone else's dishes or messes.  But it gets lonely sometimes too.  Luckily, I have a roommate.  Well...sorta.  I thought I'd tell you a little about him.

This is Walter.  He's my buddy.  I found him in Springfield last year.  He wandered up to my house at school the week I was getting ready to move out.  I found him one night before a big storm.  I couldn't do anything with him at the time because I was going to a friend's house at that exact moment...plus one of my roommates really didn't like cats.  So I left him to fend for himself.  The next day he was back.  This time Mom and Andy saw him too.  They let him in the house and immediately fell in love with him.  And to my complete amazement and bewilderment, Mom not only agreed but suggested that we bring him home with us!  So she and Andy went off to buy him a cat carrier, some food, and a litter box.

He is a very friendly cat.  Any person that comes to my apartment, he sees as a new friend and someone to love on him.  And he does surprisingly well in the car!  He's made 4 6-hour trips to and from Jackson, and we've only had problems once.  Well, since he grew up in the tough ghetto of Springfield, MO (note the sarcasm there) he learned to not like any other type of four-legged creature.  When we got him home, he would hiss and growl at both Gato and Ann (our other cat and dog).  Luckily, my apartment in Jackson is pet-friendly.  So I interited a new roommate!

You're probably wondering why we named him "Walter."  Funny story...I was in the kitchen getting him some water.  Andy asked me what I was doing.  I told him.  "I'm getting a bowl for water."  His response:  "Why did you name him Walter?"  He misheard me.  But we both liked the name.  And now we have Walter.  And like any pet we have, he has multiple nicknames:  The Walz, Wally, Bubby, Stupid Cat,  Walfred...the list goes on and on.

Don't let this lazy ball of fur fool you.  He can be quite the handfull.  He's very feisty and likes to play, but sometimes plays too rough.  We declawed his front paws, but he's got a good little chomper!  His breath stinks, he poops constantly, and he would eat an entire bag of food in a day if I let him.  He doesn't like it when I sleep late and will sit at my bed and cry if I don't get up.  And he sheds like a monkey!  And with his white hair, it is noticeable on everything!  He jumps up on all my counters (which I am correcting by squirting him with a water bottle...very effective).  And he eats anything and everything...the down arrow key on my computer keyboard is completely destroyed.  But as annoying as all of this sounds, I have to admit I love this little furball.  He keeps me company.  It's nice to have someone (something?) to come home to at the end of the day.  And it's really nice when he curls up beside me on the futon so we can take a nap together.

Well, that's about all I have to say about the Walz.  We are gonna enjoy this snow day by falling asleep watching a movie now.   Hope everyone is staying safe and warm!

Music Therapy

I realized that my saying I'm a music therapy student in my "About Me" section might not make much sense to everyone that reads this.  So, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you a brief look into my life as a music therapist.

I hate when people ask me the question "What is music therapy?"  There are so many different definitions out there and so much we do!  Here's the American Music Therapy Association's definition of music therapy:

• Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.

Everyone lost?  Great...basically, music therapy uses musical activities to address non-music goals.  It's not music lessons and we are not music educators.  We address cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and academic goals, just to name a few.  Lots of people can benefit from music therapy.  We work with people with Alzheimer's, developmental disabilities, Autism, TBI, ADD, physical disabilities, Down Syndrome, etc.  Turns out, music is a global process in the brain, meaning it takes different areas of the brain to process all of the components of music.  That being said, people can use music to communicate when other means of communication have been damaged.

I pretty much love music therapy.  It's the perfect combination of music, medical, and helping people.  I love the clients and the therapists I work with.  And I'm glad I've stuck with it.  It has taken 4 years of school and a 6-month internship, which I am still working on.  I should be done with my internship by the beginning of April.  Then it's back to Springfield to get my Masters.

Hopefully this helps explain what I do and why I do it.  Time to get back to work!  Enjoy your day!

"Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words."  ~Robert G. Ingersoll 

Snow Days & Sundays

Much like the rest of the country, Jackson got hit with a good bit of the white stuff! It started snowing around 9am on Friday and didn't fully stop until sometime Saturday afternoon. I took some pics throughout to show how much snow we got.

 

My car after it was all said and done

 
The parking lot of my apartment complex

 
 Walter wasn't sure what to think of the snow

 
Off of my balcony

 

 

Walter finally decided to venture out for a bit and see what this white stuff was all about

 

 

I always love watching the snow fall, but I love watching the people out in the snow even more! I cannot tell you how many people spent 5-10 minutes spinning out in the same spot because of ice on the parking lot. There was one pair that really caught my attention...a guy in a Ford Ranger was trying to get out of the parking lot, but he just could not get enough traction to go anywhere. He would have to back all the way to the end of the lot, take a running start, and try to muster up the tiny little incline at the entrance, but he just couldn't do it! After about 5 minutes of him trying, one of my other neighbors who has a huge Dodge Ram with 4-wheel drive comes driving into the lot. He would speed up, stop real fast, and skid to try and wear off some of the ice. He did this the entire length of the parking lot. After he had worn away a path for the Ford, he got behind him and made sure he actually got out of the lot ok. I just thought it was so awesome that a guy, who may have no idea who the other person is, was willing to get out in the cold, take a few moments out of his afternoon, and help. Yay for chivalrous people!!

We ended up getting so much snow and wintry precipitation that church was cancelled today. I have been going to FBC Humboldt with one of the girls I work with. Everyone is really friendly, and I don't feel awkward there like I did at some of the other churches I visited. They do still have a full choir in robes and use an organ. And let me tell you something, it is really hard to take some of the modern praise and worship songs seriously when you have the organ blaring, a pianist trying to keep up with it, a drummer that wants to take off but can't, and a full choir singing. It's a little whacky at times, but I really do enjoy going. Last week I noticed something about the congretation that really touched me...

The pastor has been presenting a sermon series on fear: how to overcome it, how to use it, how God uses it, etc. Last week was a really touching sermon and got a lot of people's attention. There was a huge response during the invitation. A lot of people went up to pray at the altar. As touching as all of that is, that's not what I noticed...

What I noticed was the love and dedication of that congretation. Any person that went up to pray had at least 3 other people around them praying with them. One person would go up to pray, others would see, and they would swarm around them, offering comfort and support with whatever that person was going through. The love and closeness of that congregation is amazing! And it wasn't just that...I looked over at the youth section during the sermon, and 90% of them were intently listening and taking notes. Before small groups in the morning there have to be at least 50 hugs exchanged in that group. They ask how your week has been, what you've been up to, and how you are doing. You can tell any member of that congregation a problem you have or something you struggle with, and they will love and pray over you without a shred of judgment or remorse. This is a group that genuinely love and care about each other, and it is amazing.

It got me to thinking about other congretations I have been in. I know we all strive to have that close-knit church family that we can go to with any problem or need. We all like to put on the welcoming smile for any visitor and hope they find a place to connect. But does the smile stay? Do we really LOVE the people in our church family? I have to admit, there are times when I don't. There are people I just don't mesh with, and I don't go out of my way to show them God's love through my actions. For that I am truly sorry. I'm working on being less judgmental of people and being more open to newcomers. It's just hard to branch out of your comfortable little pocket that you've always been in.

So this is my challenge; not only for me, but for anyone that reads this: LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE. Embrace the family God has blessed you with through your church. Put aside any negative thoughts or feelings and offer a word of encouragement, a handshake, a smile, a hug. Then maybe we can really start being the body of Christ.

“God didn't put us here for that pat on the back. He created us so He could be here Himself. So He could exist in the lives of those He created, in His image.”

Welcome to da Blog!

So, here I am in the blogging world! I finally caved in and decided to join everyone else and put up my thoughts and ramblings on a blog. I've thought about starting one since I moved to Jackson but never got around to it. And now that I've had two snow days and not much else to do, I finally got around to making one! Hope you enjoy!

You may be asking yourself, as I am, why have I started a blog? Various reasons actually...boredom, something to do; it's a way for anybody interested to keep up-to-date with my life; it's a place for me to keep my thoughts; the list goes on and on...

I like looking through other people's blogs and seeing how their lives are changing, whether it be for the better or worse. I love seeing the pictures people post. I used to see blogging as pointless and stupid. Why should I or anyone else put personal thoughts out in the open for everyone else to see? But since I already do that through facebook and Twitter, and after seeing how enjoyable it is for a lot of my friends, why not give myself more space to make my thoughts more detailed? So I'm gonna try this out. I've never been very good at keeping a diary or journaling, but maybe this will remedy that problem.

I hope you enjoying reading "CJ's Ramblings"! Now I am going to continue enjoying this snowy Saturday by writing a book report! More to come!