My Song in the Night

Hey friends!

Well, I have found that fall semester is very different than summer! The other summer freshman and I are having a bit of culture shock. First of all, it has gotten piercingly cold very quickly. We had our first rainy tunnel singing and Labor day was just freezing. It has warmed up this week, but summer weather is definitely gone. Secondly, it is so crowded! We thought EFY was bad but fall semester is crazy. There are students just everywhere, which I am not used to. All of my classes have around 200 people in them! Oh well, that's undergrad life. I am taking Music Civilizations, Book of Mormon 121, World History 202, Poli Sci 110, and University Chorale. (I actually signed up for a Return Missionary BOM class on accident that I had to drop. Whoops!) Even though they will be a little challenging (Poli Sci especially!) I am enjoying them and can't wait to learn new things.

Well that football game was a disappointment. My friend from my sports pass group hadn't come back to Provo yet, so I sat by myself for an hour in the hot sun and finally left in frustration. I spent the time doing indexing though, so it was worth it. He's back now so the Sept. 13th game against UCLA should be much better!!!

Yesterday my roommate Ann and I auditioned for Noteworthy, our campus female a capella ensemble. I sang "Defying Gravity" which went very well! It was such a fun experience. I did not make it into the ensemble, but I expected that because there were only 5 openings and lots of very talented girls! I might try again next year. For now I am content singing in University Chorale. We haven't really started working on our music yet since we have only met for 2 hours this week, but it looks sooooo good. They are all gospel/religious songs, and I have not heard any of them before (except the 2 Christmas songs, but what do you expect?) I was skimming through some of the lyrics today, which are just breathtaking. Here are some of my favorite quotes from them:

"O Jesus, my Savior, my song in the night,
Come to us with Thy tender love, my souls' delight,
my comfort and joy, my souls' delight,
O Jesus Savior, my song in the night."
- Song in the Night, Southern Folk Song

"As the stream flows to the river,
as the spark turns into fire,
we grow stronger in our journey
to the land of heart's desire,
where the evil will be broken,
where the wrong will be made right.
And the ones who live in darkness
shall be children of the Light."
- Pilgrim Spring, by Sheila Dunlop and Reginald Unterseher

I can't wait to learn the beautiful music that goes along with these powerful lyrics. It will be so incredible to join in song with my fellow brothers and sisters, our voices intwined in rich harmonies and our hearts united in Christlike love. I never feel complete as a singer unless I am singing praises to the God who gives me my voice and breath to sing with, so I am most grateful for more opportunities to worship my Heavenly Father. As my voice rises to Heaven, I feel my heart rising closer to the Lord as well. Thank goodness for music!

Speaking of artsy things, I am considering minoring in Humanities or even switching my major to Humanites with an art history emphasis. I LOVED my American Humanities class during the summer and would love to learn about more art, literature, and music and how it shaped history. I still have lots of research and prayer to do before I make a decision, but we will see where the Lord wants me :]

My roommate situation is getting better. We have been socializing a lot more and having tons of fun together. In fact, it is difficult to get things done because we just want to play all the time! Not all of them like to obey the rules like I do, and sometimes bad things pop up on the TV or iTunes playlist, but I have been able to go into my room or another place to get away from it. I am going to go to the Conflict Resolution Center on campus to get some advice to prevent conflicts from arising. If any of you have advice for me, I would love to hear it!

One last quote before I go:
"There is power which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the Book [of Mormon.] You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the straight and narrow path."
-Ezra Taft Benson

This is gonna be a good year. :]