Merry Chris...I mean Happy Holidays

Like I said in my earlier post, I'm part of an ensemble that sings Christmas Carols throughout the winter season. Different octets of the 22 person strong ensemble are hired to sing around the local Hackney's for two hours almost every day for the two weeks leading up to Christmas. When we're hired, we sing for an hour, take a 10 minute break, then sing for another 50 minutes. Afterwards we get free food for singing, and we get TIPS! But we're told that they would rather us say "Happy Holidays" after singing instead of "Merry Christmas" because then it appeals to more people and not just Christians.
So alright, that makes sense. I mean we don't live in an 100% Christian community and I'm all for being politically correct, but then I thought about all the songs we sing. We only know and sing one Hanukkah song and the other thirty something songs are all Christmas related songs. How come we are advised not to say Merry Christmas when we can sing it to them in 3 various and different ways before walking away? Why is singing "Merry Christmas" advised and encouraged and paid for, but I can't say it someone in passing?
So should I be upset or annoyed about this? Probably not, just because I'm still getting paid to do something I love. But it definitely is something to think about.

Bonnets and Hoop-skirts

At school, I'm in an extra-curricular singing ensemble, that has a huge focus on Christmas Music. There are twenty-two of us and throughout the winter/Christmas season we are hired at local restaurants, country clubs and parties to carol and entertain. When I first heard I was going to be in the group, I couldn't stop singing all my favorite Christmas songs...in June. But that's really not my favorite part about the ensemble.

My favorite part about being in Chambers (the ensemble), is that although we strive to sound perfect and mature, we are also hired to entertain. And so when I see my conductor put a lot of emphasis on smiling and cheeriness while singing, I know I'm in a truly amazing ensemble. Lots of times we sing for children, and we have an array of sing-a-long tunes that talk about Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman. The girls wear bonnets and hoop-skirts and the boys wear top hats and tailed jackets to look like the old fashion. So seeing the children's faces light up and, if anything, be curious about who we are and what we're singing is amazing.

How often do children care if the harmonies are tight and the arrangements complex? All I cared about when I was little was that Santa was Comin' to Town and all these older kids were telling me so. So much of singing and Holiday cheer is just about bringing a smile to people's faces. Sure I'll be embarrassed if I start on the wrong note and get my harmonies messed up, but any serious singer would feel that way even though I know people won't notice.

At what point do people learn to let go a little and let the pure joy of just singing and dressing up take over. I'm glad I get to see this come to life every time we "Wassail" in and out of the local Hackney's restaurant. It's not everyday you see an octet of teenagers in hoop-skirts.

Color in the Lines

Lately I've been doing a lot of arts and crafts. I've been coloring non-stop with all my favorite sharpies and have really improved on my bubble letter skills, but I'm still not very good. But, I've been pushed to the very edge of my artistic limits. See, I've been working on a project since August that involves coloring at least 18 different items. Each of these items must also be unique. Normally I wouldn't be so determined to make everything look so good, but I have an actual artist in my group doing similar work. Because of her, I want everything to look amazing.

Flashback to first grade. I owned the 64 crayon Crayola box and my classmate right next to me owned the 96 crayon Crayola box. I tried so hard to get all my pictures to look like hers, but it couldn't be done. She was using all the crayons that weren't found in the 64 crayon box. It wasn't even that she was a better artist, but she had more opportunities and more options to work with. And now having graduated to markers and sharpies years and years later, I've realized I am just no artist.

Recently I've learned a lot about the perspective of the world and how people approach what they're viewing. My artwork might not be a concise as the girls' next to me, but I've put just as much emotion, or maybe more, into it as she has. The world may view her artwork as better or more skilled, but with background information, maybe someone may realize the perspective I had trying to do similar work. The world doesn't have the same viewpoint about everything, so there is hope for my artwork. There is hope that one day, it might be just as regarded.

"You're stooooopid"

I used to openly tell people I was a "dumb blonde". It was a good ice-breaker and it was useful for those ever-so-frequent embarrassing moments. I always thought that it was better to be more on the average/stupid side than smarter because some people just didn't like being around smarter people. Now, when someone calls me "stupid" or a "dumb blonde", I get really self-conscious. Lately, I've been nervous that I've represented myself as naturally an unintelligent person when really I am pretty smart. But I was just a kid back when I gave myself that label, right?

Little children call each other "stupid" all the time. I heard it in my old 3rd grade religious education classes, the open enrollment ultimate Frisbee club I'm in and in the hallways. Children are told not to call each other names or be mean, but do they really understand the implications they might be having on other people's lives.

When someone told me I was "stupid" or a "dumb blonde", I laughed it off or tried to embody it and then surprise others when I did something smart later during the year. Does a child's simplistic look on the world and people in it, shape and create who we are that early in life? No matter how hard my mom tried to tell me I really was smart, I just kept the dumb blonde label because I made more friends and that's just who I was to people.

Simplicity can be great when you run into a rough problem or situation, but maybe simplicity hurts more than it helps in this situation. The greatest thing about growing up may be that we can re-invent who we are.

Response: Quest for Innocence

Recently, my friend sent me this blog post about nostalgia as a coping mechanism. The blog post stated that, obviously, as we get older we encounter more experiences that result in a loss of innocence. Then, once we encounter some emotionally troubling experiences, some people turn to dugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. But that maybe by returning to our good ol' memories, they can cope in a much healthier fashion.

I looked at this option of coping and realized that this method is purely conditional.
Condition Example 1: A family member passes away
In this condition, nostalgia seems almost perfect. Families commonly sit around at a meal and tell many funny, heart-warming stories about the deceased family member. To look back on the good of that person can help people remember them in a good light and have a bonding experience with the rest of the extended family. To fall back into the innocence of the times may help lighten the mood of such a serious event in people's lives.

Condition Example 2: A boyfriend/girlfriend breaks up with you
In this condition, looking back at the good times in a relationship may be harmful to your recovery from such a chain of events. My sister had a serious boyfriend for over a year and when the relationship ended, there was a good couple weeks when she would think back to certain moments they had and would analyze everything or just simply miss him in her life. With this situation, one usually needs to just move forward from the situation and looking back would only harm the progress.

Lastly, I thought about the idea that it might be unhealthy to always be thinking about your past and maybe never moving forward. I commonly look back to some great memories, but always feel sad when I realize that I have to snap out of it and still deal with some present situations. But that might just be me, who knows? Regardless, this idea is much better than turing to other coping mechanisms that won't progress the situation either.

Article

Am I really this old?

This past weekend my last homecoming of my high school career. I had my last week of dress up days, my last pep rally (where I got to speak), and my last stressful hair appointment. But, the idea of it being my last one wasn't what as on my mind the majority of the time. What I was truly thinking of, was the idea that "yes, I am senior, but do I even act and look like a senior?".

Up until I was about 10, I would have a variety of babysitters watch after us when my parents would have their festivities to attend. I don't exactly remember how old they were, but definitely older than 10. They were the prettiest girls, who had the most adventurous lives and I wanted to be just like them. Now that my friends and I are just as old as my babysitters were, are we as pretty or as adventurous or even just mature enough to be called seniors?

What I saw when I was 10 was a completely different way of life. I was still constrained by how far I could ride my bike and my freakishly early bedtime of 8pm. My babysitters had driver's licenses and the legal curfews of 12pm. So much of my childhood was looking up to people and what they seem they can do, but the older I get, the more I have realized that it was all something I had created in my head. I feel just as mature and I keep thinking I look just like I did when I was 10 years old.

Nothing really changes unless you make it change. I've learned that just by reflecting on my high school years. I used to think that I would get to that adventurous stage I saw when I was 10 but it never really just happened. I had to jump out of my comfort zone and at times be a little bit more than who I naturally am to get that "senior" feeling I wanted. As children, they might think they still have the whole work ahead of them, but sadly they might not. If they loom up to their babysitters, they're gonna have to work for what they want in life, not think it just naturally comes to you.

I'm rich, I'm rich!

I recently went to a family get-together where I was hanging out with one of my younger cousins. She is 7 and actually one of the smartest children I know, but she surprised me that day. I told her I would give her a dollar if she could do some sort of trick. She did her trick and I willingly gave her that dollar bill. Right after I handed it to her, she sprinted up my basement stairs, through my kitchen, out my back door and to my aunt. I found her screaming at the top of her lungs repeating, “I’m rich, I’m rich!”

Naturally, I let out a giggle. The smartest 7yr old I’d ever met thought she was rich because she had one dollar in her hand. I dollar doesn’t even buy you things at the dollar store anymore, but she didn’t know that. My aunt made her give the dollar back to me and she was crushed. But it was just a dollar, right?

I don’t really think about money much; national economic problems, yes, but my own money ordeals, no. I frequently ask friends to go out for coffee or ice-cream, and roughly spend $5 at each place. But those little expenditures add up, and before I know it, my allowance for the month is gone in the first two weeks.

I was giggling at the idea of a dollar meaning the world to my little cousin, but maybe she hasn’t lost her genius status just yet. A dollar, to most teenagers and adults, means nothing. But is this the right way of looking at a dollar? It’s like saying that a nickel means nothing, yet I’m one of the biggest advocates of saving change. Because before you know it, all your change is actually $35. So why haven’t I, or many others, put that perspective on a dollar which is worth way more than a nickel? If I wasn’t so willing to buy that cheap chocolate bar every day, I could have a few new shirts instead of wearing old t-shirts.

Children are lucky because everything is bigger, stronger, and not tainted by society. That dollar bill was worth that same to me as it was to her, but she respected its value. The more conscious we are, like children, the more we can save. And soon, I might be screaming “I’m rich, I’m rich!”

Introduction

I distinctly remember the day I found out that my hometown was bigger than my neighborhood and the shopping center near my house. That was a big defining moment in my childhood; this was because my world had literally expanded and I was being introduced to so many different parts of life. And since then, all I've been doing is trying to keep my life as simple and close to childish as possible.

Everyday I hear from a different adult telling me that I shouldn't wish to be older, that I will miss out on my adolescence. I come from a pretty sheltered community and staying a kid forever doesn't seem like that bad of an option, especially since next year we will all be our separate ways into the bid world we live in. But everyday we see people and different aspects of the world and changing what was once so innocent and simple into a complex mess.

This blog will discuss many topics, but with a children's frame of thought in mind. With that, the idea of lack of innocence in today's world will continuously be brought up. Sometimes we need to take a step back and remember our childhood and how simple our worlds were. Sometimes we don't see the fact that we've corrupted a very simple and loved perspective, and that's what I hope to point out. I mean, who doesn't love being a kid?