Olympic pride meets too much genius

Its that time of the month again....blogging time!

So what's been up with me? I had college orientation and I just received my schedule for school. Yikes. Makes everything seem a bit more real.

Usually I don't include videos other than music, but watching the Olympics has changed that. Olympic gymnastics, to be more specific. I don't know whether or not you follow the U.S. team, but I sure do and I can't contain myself. If you do follow U.S. gymnastics, I think you know what I'm going to talk about. McKayla Maroney's vault. It was days ago and I'm still not over that. Somehow the judges managed to deduct points from this, but I'm really not sure how. It was utter flawlessness. Just take a look at this sheer perfection.

I've been inspired to write again, but whenever I actually have inspiration, I have no idea what to write and everything turns out junky. And I have about five story ideas right now and I'm currently working on two, but I don't have time for this. New ideas for new stories need to stop popping into my head.  Welcome to the life of a writer.


I've decided to change things up a bit. Instead of including the music right here, I'm just going to give a list of the music that I've been listening to lately, and if you feel up to it, give them a listen.

The Ever-changing Playlist

World's Gunna End- Megan and Liz

Bad for Me- Megan and Liz (The song that is on the new Macy's commercial! Yay, they've come so far. I feel like a proud mama.)

Sort Of- Ingrid Michaelson

Carry On- Fun.

Ed Sheeran- Wake Me Up (his lyrics are heavenly)

The Bird and the Worm- Owl City

And speaking of music, I have some spectacular news that has to do with me, three amazing musical groups/singers, and concerts. Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, and Fun. will be having concerts at my school this year. The best part is that tickets are 20 dollars or less. YES. Life really doesn't get better than that.

a world of hatred vs random acts of kindness

I want to apologize in advance for the intensity of this post. But...

The inhumanity of some people is unbelievable. That shooting in Colorado. In a movie theatre of all places. A movie theatre, really? We can't even go to a movie anymore without having to worry about our safety? It's absolutely ridiculous. Some people are so cruel. It's really sad actually. And even things on twitter and other internet sites...the negativity and the cruelty is ridiculous. That is why I've made it my goal to make people smile. Negativity is everywhere, and I want to be one of those people that can cancel out that negativity. I want to be a good influence and an encourager in a world of negativity and hatred. I've always been a positive person and I know that is one of my strengths, so I want to use that to my advantage and influence people with strength.

I saw a post on twitter a few days ago-multiple posts actually- about people who have committed suicide because they were bullied to such an extreme. While this is nothing new, it just really hit me this time. And then a certain post spoke the words that summed everything up perfectly.

 "Nobody knows just how much words can hurt. STOP BULLYING. How many deaths do we need until people get it?"

That was the line that got me. People are dying and killing themselves because they don't feel loved. And it happens all the time, which is no small tragedy. That is absolutely unacceptable. The world doesn't see that as a problem? People are killing themselves, and yet people still don't get that bullying is a serious problem. That's is exactly what is wrong with the world. People just still don't get it.

And this is exactly why I've made my goal to make people smile and to make people feel loved. I want the bullying thing not to exist. And while I can't prevent it all on my own, I can help. I really wish I could give a hug to everybody who feels unloved. While I can't realistically do that,  I can give love and compliments and positivity to those I do come in contact with and that alone can make a difference. It's all about random acts of kindness. You don't know people's stories. As far as you know, someone could be contemplating suicide and by talking to them kindly and being friendly, you may save their life.  You never know. What you say can make or break a day. And I don't know about you, but knowing that I made someone's day better totally makes my day. And saving a life.... if that doesn't make your day, nothing can.

So in conclusion, be kind to everyone because you never know how much of a difference you can make in someone's life just by participating in random acts of kindness and by being a friend.



And now for the weekly (monthly...now, by the look of it.) songs.

  

(To go with the theme of today's post. Just a few lines that totally relate to the whole message. "When every other light goes out, to shine for you's my specialty." "And you know I'll be your friend even when its not the trend." That's what it is all about. Being a friend even when the whole world is thinking otherwise. And I understand that this is Nickelodon, but don't judge. I'm still a child at heart.)

 More Nickelodon. Figures.

And two by Ariana Grande (who is on Nickelodeon.) Anyone sensing a trend here?

Hey, look at this. Ed Sheeran. NOT Nickelodeon. That's new.

Anything else? No. Good. Don't want to overload you on songs. But I'm obsessed with music, so that's just how life works for me. I have too many songs on my mind that I need to share.

Please take my message to heart. Random acts of kindness can save a life. So go do good.

~Sophie Leigh

faith and taking steps

on Sunday and Monday, the seniors got to lead the church service, which was really cool and I had a great time. Ever since then, I've had worship songs stuck in my head, which is so good for me since that doesn't usually happen. That was a big step for me. My faith has been a bit shaky for the past few years, but this year its come back stronger then ever, and I have to thank my friends at my school for that. Without them, I'm not really sure how I'd be right now. So thank you. :)

So I'm kind of switching up my genres right now and showcasing some things that I don't usually share. My friends have me listening to WayFM and everything and now I am hooked on Christian rock, which has never appealed to me until my faith started growing and youth group ended. But now that I've taken a listen, I love it and I don't know why I didn't like it before. I think the whole faith thing just kind of scared me. But now I'm back in my faith and stronger than ever, so just take a listen if you'd like.

Super powerful song right here. You Won't Relent. I love it so much and its been in my head since Thursday's rehearsal.

And we didn't sing this one, but I sang this the last time I was in the worship band for the regular church service, and its been in my head all day. Break Every Chain. I seriously have at least five songs in my head at the same time right now and I don't know which one to listen to.


I feel so blessed right now. It is incredible.

~Sophie

High School Blues

Hello friends. I'm back. So I just wanted to talk about some more music obsessions. Like usual. But first, lets talk about high school. I'm a senior. It is ridiculous how close I am to being finished with school. Sixteen days left. Sixteen days until I am finished. Forever. This year went by so fast. I arrived at this school at the beginning of the year after twelve years in a different school system, and it was the best decision I ever made. The bad thing about that is that while everyone else is suffering from senioritis and can't wait to leave, I feel like I just got here. I haven't had enough time with everyone. Its kind of odd when you look at that. A senior that isn't so sure she wants to leave quite yet.
I'm not going to get too sentimental on you yet. I still have some time left and I'm going to use that all to my advantage. And like always, I'll leave you with some music that's on my mind.

For some really weird reason, I've recently (and by recently, I mean in the past two days) become obsessed with Adele's first album. I found it sitting in my car, so I decided to pop it in the stereo, and I'm kind of hooked. It's a lot more chill sounding than "21" is, and I kind of like the vibe. It's relaxing, and since there is no hope on me belting out Someone Like You and sounding half as decent as Adele, I can somewhat sing some of these without murdering my vocal chords. Always a good thing. Oh, and this one is called "Melt My Heart to Stone". I like it.

Also, I've gotten increasingly obsessed with the Civil Wars. While I'm not a huge country fan,  I still love them. Though I think I would categorize this more as bluegrass. And I must warn you, the harmonies are absolutely stunning. And the lyrics are stellar. So just have a listen. :)

Have a lovely day! ~Sophie

I just realized that I have the most random music taste ever. Some of them are so old school and nobody has every heard of them. Like, when people ask me what kind of music I like I don't even know how to respond. Some examples....

Long Night By the Corrs

I'm Not So Tough by Ilse DeLange

(I mean, a Dutch artist? Where did that even come from?)

So my life... I guess I can talk about that.

We're doing Anything Goes for this year's musical, and it is going spectacular. We had a three and a half hour dance rehearsal today.
Solo & Ensemble was a few weeks ago and I made it to State, so that's pretty exciting. :)

That's really all. My life isn't all that exciting right now. So I suppose I will just leave you will another song that I really like. Oh yes, almost forgot. I'm really loving Kate Voegele right now. I've known who she is for awhile, but I just recently discovered her 2011 album, which is only on iTunes and is not in stores. So here is one of her masterpieces. And I adore the entire album. But here is one of favorites.

Gravity Happens by Kate Voegele.

Chao. :)

~Sophie

music nerd

so i have a lot of music to update on. i have so many music obsessions. this is not normal. but anyways, let's get cracking.

So Ariana Grande (from Victorious) had her first single out a few days ago, and I am in love. First off, I love the album cover. It's very 50's vintage looking, which I adore. It's called Put Your Hearts Up, and the name itself already kind of tells you what the song is about. It's really inspirational, and I just love it. I don't really know how to explain it, so just have a listen for yourself.

Lately I've needed some new music to listen to in journalism since we're at the computers everyday, so I was just browsing through youtube looking up random songs....when I came across this. I've heard her before, when she did a cover of Elton John's "Your Song", but I hadn't heard any of her originals or other songs before. I am in love. So without further ado, ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you Ellie Goulding. And along with this song, I also recommend her song, "The End", and her cover of "Nobody's Crying".

Thirdly, we have Lenka. Oh, Lenka. She is marvelous. I was bored one day and I had money left on my iTunes account, so I was browsing through some music and ended up buying one of her albums. Her voice is so unique, and I love it. This song isn't on that album, but once Christmas comes and I get all those iTunes cards I'm asking for, I am totally buying this one. It's great song. I present to you....Roll With The Punches. And this is an awesome video too. Stop motion is so cool.

so musically, I've been pretty busy. honors choir and all that. we had our Christmas concert last Wednesday, and we've been caroling a lot. i got out of classes for that, so i was definitely pleased with the caroling. i didn't even get that behind, so we're all good with missing school for caroling.

tomorrow is my last day of school until holiday break, and then i'll be off school for two weeks. :) almost there. 

so yeah. great conclusion i've created there.

songwriting, novels, and everything in between

today is an epic writing day. i just finished writing the song i've been trying to figure out for weeks. it's called "Too Wonderful To Waste". the bridge is done, and i was literally jumping for joy once i finished that. so pretty exciting.

i'm attempting to write a novel right now. i've spent weeks plotting and characterizing and whatnot, and i've just finished the very first chapter. of course i still have loads of editing to do, but its seven handwritten pages, so this is exciting too.

since today's blog is about writing, i might as well post this little thing about writing and stories i wrote a few months ago.

"Stories are pretty amazing if you think about it. They start with an idea. A itsy bitsy smidgen of an idea which eventually blooms into a full plan. Out of that plan erupts your characters and plots and conflicts...all the little individual seeds that contribute to the finished project. From those characters and plots and conflicts come your story. Your emotions and memories merge with the rest to create a masterpiece. Your story of you life and all the things you wish it could be, allowing yourself to write the book you want to read. To me, going from a seed to a tree is an amazing thing because strories are the same. One small idea leads up to the masterpiece that may change your life. So go on and think...tell your story."

and since i have to post a song after all my blogs, just because music is that important to me, here's Hunter Hayes, who's concert i went to last Thursday.

OH. and i cannot possibly forget "Are You Happy Now?" by Megan and Liz, the song that inspired my newly finished song.  and i cannot believe that i hadn't thought to post this song yet, since I've been listening to it non-stop since it came out.