Hard Work Pays Off (more often than not)

 Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.

This past week at school was incredible. It was transformative, inspirational, heartrending, and eye-opening. It was the culmination of everything I have been striving towards in terms of learning about how to better interact with people.
First and foremost though, none of the experiences I had could have been possible without hard work. My day started at 6 am, and ended sometime around 4:30 pm. Of course there were hours upon hours spent bonding with the people I worked with, so by the time we finished playing games, talking, or sharing stories, it was midnight or later, and we'd have to be up early again to do it all over.It was a lot of work for me as an individual to want to put myself out there every time, and talk to people I didn't know on a deeper level than I'm used to.
I wouldn't change it though. I'd say it was all worth it, and that hard work really payed off there.

As for my friends at home, well, let's just say we'd need more than a week to get things sorted out.

In other news, I start my new job tomorrow: day camp counselor. I can't wait to see what sort of experiences are in store for me.

Mulligan!?

Tomorrow, I am going back to school.
It's only for a week. I'm mostly going to work and meet new people. Two things I'm good at. It's been a month since I've been at school. In that short span of time, I've learned a lot about people, and ways to change how I interact with them, but I've also messed a lot of things up in the process. So I'm hoping to do things over: I want to recreate the night (and a few of the subsequent days) I came home from school, except I'm not going to screw it up this time. One person at a time, I'm going to do my best to fix the friendships I messed up.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.
 Please say you will?

I've got a lot of explaining to do...
 



Goo Goo Dolls - Before It's Too Late by apolinos92








 And lastly, a book that could've prevented all of this conflict. 
I'm so into reading, I'm surprised I haven't read this one...oh wait. I'll bet someday, I could write this book myself.

Cheers, and I'll see you in a week and a day.

5 More Things I've Learned

 Learning doesn't only take place in the classroom. If you live life right, you learn something new everyday. This summer, my school has been the relationships I have with other people and my friends. I considered myself to be a socially capable person, but relationships that have depth and meaning are complex, and are a totally different breed of interaction from small talk made at a party.

Here's what I learned this week: 
1. Difficulties exist to be surmounted.

2. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Whether it's a job, or communicating with other people, cut the middle man.

3. Actions speak louder than words. So many times have I heard this as I went through school, but now more than ever, I see how much attempting counts, even if I fail. It's better than never starting and always wondering what would have happened.

4. Respect: another grade-school hallmark. Respect relationships with other people by being clear with them of your intentions, whatever they may be. Respect yourself by telling others that they need to be honest with you and to consider your feelings.

5. When you have committed a wrong, admit it. Correct it, if you can. Apologize, and mean it. Even if it is not accepted right away, if you truly apologize, you will have done the best you can for the time that it is.

Live from Washington, D.C...Walk the Moon

Hello again! Sorry I haven't posted in a little bit. Things have been less than stellar, but I'm gearing up for another great adventure this Monday: Washington D.C. to see Walk the Moon at the Black Cat (sounds slightly ominous, kind of edgy...I like it!) The tickets are only $10, so I am one happy, music-loving college kid! Walk the Moon is a fantastic group that I found out about this past fall. A friend of a friend goes to school in Cincinnati, where WtM regularly played the smaller venues. She told her friend, who told me and the rest of my friends, and now we're making a trip to go see them! I've played WtM here on the blog before, but they definitely deserve another listen.

P.S. I downloaded An Horse's two albums: "Rearrange Beds" and "Walls" and they are both amazing! I hardly ever download whole albums, but the tracks are all great, and I can't get enough of them.

Enjoy the music! :)

Concert Update 6/14/11: We spent the afternoon in D.C. yesterday, and after exploring some of the museums downtown, we made our way to the Black Cat. The Black Cat is a very small venue compared to the other ones I've been to so far this summer. My friends and I stood right up front, and there was no barrier between us and the stage. Nick, Walk the Moon's lead singer/ keyboardist, and Kevin, WtM's bassist, were so close to us, we were waiting for them to either jump into the crowd or give us high-five's, haha.
One thing I can say for sure: Walk the Moon's energy and sheer passion for what they do was practically tangible last night. I don't think their smiles ever left their faces, and their excitement spread to the crowd, making for one amazing show. After their set, they worked their own merch table, and we got to talk to them. They shook our hands, took a picture with us, and humored our excited chatter. They are a genuinely great group of guys, and I hope they continue on their path to success and never lose their spark. Last night was well worth the 3 hour drive.

Find more songs like Anthem at Myspace Music

The first song I ever heard by Walk the Moon, and the song by them most frequently covered by my brother's band: Anna Sun.

Hello, Weekend

Friday is finally here, and in an hour, I'll be headed out to play backyard baseball with my brother and some friends (although, I wish we were playing soccer!) and wrap up the night with a new board game we recently discovered, called "Quelf." If you have not yet played Quelf, I highly recommend it.

Enjoy the music (and the weekend!) :)

Plans Fall Apart

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.
Sometimes, things fall apart so that better things can fall together. Sometimes, things fall apart so you can realize what you had. Sometimes, things fall apart without a clear rhyme or reason, but if one looks carefully, meaning can be found in the ashes. 

Plans may fall apart, but music can help keep your thoughts together.
Enjoy the mix :)

Live from Philadelphia... Death Cab for Cutie

This Saturday, I will (hopefully) be seeing Death Cab for Cutie perform live at the Trocadero in Philly, as part of their "small venue" tour. My friends said that they want to stand so close to the front that they can "touch Ben Gibbard's beard." We appreciate his musical Godliness.
Also performing with the legendary Death Cab is The Lonely Forest, whom I've played on the blog here before. I hadn't head of The Lonely Forest before I found out they would be performing with Death Cab, but I'm glad I've listened to them. They've got a great sound, with meaningful lyrics. Excellent stuff. 
In other news, Death Cab's new album, "Codes and Keys" came out today. Get it while it's hot, because it is fantastic!
Enjoy the music! :)

--Post Update- 6/5/11
The DCFC concert yesterday was great. My brother, my friend, and I got in line starting at 1:30 pm (doors didn't open until 7!) and we endeavored to be in the front row. When we were in the middle of eating our packed lunches at 2:30-ish in front of the Troc, Nick Harmer, DCFC's bassist, came out & saw us sitting there and came over and talked to us! He shook our hands and everything! It was pretty cool. We also made some new friends while waiting for so long.
In short, we were in the front row, directly in front of the center mic where Ben Gibbard sang. It was definitely a memorable experience. Death Cab even played "Stay Young, Go Dancing"!

















"Stay Young, Go Dancing" (which can be found in a post of the same title here at KSG) is a beautiful song written for Gibbard's wife, Zooey Deschanel. Deschanel, who is also musically gifted, is the "she" of "She and Him" (the "him" is singer M. Ward). All I can say is that Gibbard and Deschanel's children (please tell me there will be children!) will have the voices of angels and will be lyrical geniuses.