Misty Dreams

Happy New Year!

I thought I would begin this post with a look back over 2006, a report about the New Year’s Eve dance, my resolutions for 2007 and an announcement at the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4: "[1]To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: [4] A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."

Review of 2006

2006 was a very… interesting year.  It was the hardest, and perhaps worst, year of my life, but in so many more ways, it was the best year, and 2007 is shaping up to be even better!

In 2006 I…

…gained three of the best friends I’ve ever had outside of my family.

…won the regional debate tournament and then couldn’t go to Nationals.

…moved under the hardest of circumstances.

…learned what it means to truly live.

…danced the year away!

…grew in my faith, my friendships and my life.

…became less of a perfectionist (don’t worry, it’s still there *wink*).

…had the deepest conversations of my life.

…had someone bring me so low I never thought I could get up again, and someone (or rather, someones) else bring me up higher than I ever was before.

…became even more quirky!

…fell in love with Mr. Darcy. *sigh*

…read books I hadn’t before (you MUST all read Paris in the Twentieth Century!).

…grew my hair to the longest it’s ever been.

…fell and stumbled and tripped many times, but I always got back up.

2006 was a bit contradictory for me.  So much bad seemed to happen, but it was all erased.  Yes, it’s still there, the memory of it lives on, but it’s not what stands out in my mind.  I am a perfectionist and a pessimist.  This past year was far from perfect, and it left so many times for pessimism to take control. 

Why don’t I remember that?  What changed? 

You can learn so much from talking to people (and *ah-hem* having them hit you over the head about some things… hard and multiple times… *mutters*).  That is what changed.  Things that I had been told for years suddenly made sense to me.  And I’m so greatful for it.

New Year’s Eve

That was the best night of my life, quite honestly.  It.  Was.  Perfect. 

Even though it didn’t follow the schedule.  Even though I about had two heart-attacks that day (one from finding out my fellow dance instructor and good friend wasn’t coming!  and the other from him showing up at the very last second!).  Even though it snowed (which at any other time would have made me deliriously happy).  Even though… well, it doesn’t matter what the even though is because…

It.  Was.  Perfect.

I will never forget it.  Thanks to everyone who came who made it so wonderful!  I’m looking forward to dancing with you all again soon.  New Year’s Eve 2007, anyone?  I’m thinking sooner would be even better.  I’ll keep you posted on the details.

2007′s Resolutions

I have four resolutions, and one over all theme for 2007.  They are:

1) To Live.  I know this sounds obvious.  Of course I live, but this year, I want to truly thrive.  I’ve taken a significant step towards this already, laying the foundation in the second half of 2006, and I am excited to continue in that path!

2) To Grow.  As a friend, as a Christian, as a daughter, as a sister, as a debater, as a politically minded teenager.  I want to expand my horizons, and reach for the stars.  Attainably, of course. *grin*

3) To Build.  I want to expand my current friendships.  Usually, I resolve to gain more friends.  But I’m just not a "have ten million friends" person.  I like my small, tight group of really close friends and my looser, less rigid group of good friends.  It’s not at all that I mind having many friends, but my personality procures a limited number of really close friends, and that’s how I best operate.  I want to expand those friendships, take them to the next level so to speak.  It’s a very different approach than I’ve ever taken, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the fruits of it.

4) To Love.  This is for both my neighbor and myself.  I am not a very nice person.  I don’t try to be, and I should be.  I would like to learn to disagree and/or not like someone without always speaking ill of them (mostly to myself, but sometimes, regrettably, to others).  And myself.  I am a perfectionist.  I know every flaw, every weakness, every defect of myself.  But I am a child of God.  I was created in His image.  I am beautiful, both inside and outside.  I want to completely accept that, to embrace that and to know it with every bit of my mind and soul.  Again, I’ve already taken steps towards that in the latter part of 2006, and I really want to continue it.

My overall goal for 2007 is to make this The Year of the Dance.  I want to live, to grow, to build and to love.  For me, dancing is the ultimate release.  While dancing, I honestly am in heaven.  I don’t know how else to describe it.  It’s like… the highest high.  I want this year to feel like that.  This year, I will dance.  This year, I want to keep in mind the verse I posted at the beginning.  Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4: "[1]To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: [4] A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."

Announcement

I’m sure you’ve noticed my lack of posting.  I’ve decided this will probably be my last post here.  I will keep this account open if you still want to comment.  I would encourage you to read my studious thoughts, my debate writings, and my cooky randomness.  And please do comment so I know who is reading them!

I pray God’s power and blessings be with you in 2007 and always!  It’s been a great adventure posting here, my first blogging experience.  I tip my hat to all who helped me on this journey, and to all those who will help me in the next leg of my trip.

Want to ring in the new year with a… dip?

Well, dip, spin, or whatever you choose, we would love to have you join us to help dance in 2007!

While not quitting this blog entirely, I am looking to have a far more serious blog.  I hope you'll find my Treaties on Clockwork Silence to be not only enlightening, but entertaining and educational.  I would love to hear from you on it, so PLEASE comment there!

Mari

If you'll take a look here, you'll see the post that inspired this one.  I'll post my thoughts, along with a quick explaination why (in no particular order other than what I typed it in).  I'd love to hear your thoughts, as well as if you agree/disagree with mine.

Mr. Darcy: As I'm sure you know, I absolutely adore Mr. Darcy.  He is by far my favourite literary character of all time.  I think he makes my list because he is so blinded by his pride.  Very influential, huh?  But the best thing is — he was man enough to change.  People in this any day and age can learn from Mr. Darcy.  I feel like now it is a direly needed example… how to overcome pride.

Elizabeth Bennet: The opposite of Mr. Darcy is true of Elizabeth.  I dearly love her as a character, mostly because I can relate so closely to her.  Her prejudices colour her views as badly as Darcy's pride colours his.  It is also something she learns to overcome.  I think many people can learn a lot from the book and A&E movie version of both characters (as the new movie romanticizes it to a point where this becomes lost).

A majority of Lord of the Rings Characters: By this, I mean I can't think of a single character that's mentioned for more than a few sentences that isn't influential in some way or another.  However, I chose three I personally find to be the most influential.

Faramir: He is a wonderful and complex character, sadly massacred by the movies (sorry… I'm a purist… what can I say?).  He is probably my favourite character in Lord of the Rings because a) he is in my estimate, the “perfect” guy — loyal, humble, sweet, selfless… and on and on; b) I'm a helpless romantic; and c) because of his undying love for others, even when he wasn't loved in return.  To me, this makes him more than just influential, but a man for all ages.  He's almost equal to Mr. Darcy in my book, and he just might replace him someday.  But we'll see.

Frodo Baggins: Frodo is the a great example of resistance to tempation, what finally happens when you cave, and how the most unlikely thing can save you from sin.  Many have compared Frodo as an aspect of Christ, the selfless, sacrifical part (Gandalf as the prophet, and Aragorn as the King).  I think it's a fairly accurate comparision, and he has had such an influence in recent years, it's hard to not put him on a list.

Gollum: This is the best example of the Lutheran belief in “Simul justus et pecador” (I hope google isn't lying, so it may be wrong, but I can't remember what it exactly is), basically meaning “simultaneous sinner and saint”, or “at the same time, both sinner and saint”.  Basically, the doctrine holds that all people are constantly sinner and saint.  Gollum is the perfect embodiment of this doctrine.

Sherlock Holmes: Elementary, my dear readers!  Sherlock Holmes was my beginning into the great realm of mystery, now my second favourite genre (classical Greek is the best). He is insane, and drives me batty, but his logic is impecible, and I think it's helped me significantly in debate and life in general.

Hercule Peroit: I love this guy.  So much nicer than Sherlock.  Although he's not as good in my opinion as Sherlock, I tend to feel more for him because he seems so much more human to me.  And he's a genious, too.

The Professor in The Time Machine: This guy learns such a lesson, and that lesson is don't mess with time unless you mean to truly mess with it!    Seriously, he's what sparked my interest in the fantasy/sci-fi-ish realm (I'm far more into fantasy, but I love Jules Verne and such… the classic sci-fi).

Scarlet O'Hara: I love Scarlet.  She's a total brat.  She is one of the more influential characters in my life because I've read the book!  In the book, she is so much better, and she learns and growns significantly more thans she does in the movie.  I've often been compared to her (no idea why, though… because it's the movie Scarlet), and I've thought at times that may not be a bad thing.  Everyone learns and grows, and she certainly does.

Rhett Butler: Well, frankly my dear, I love Rhett.  He reminds me of Mr. Darcy.  He's the rugged, rough and ready type that seems to appeal to me.  He also knows when enough is enough.  He had a great thing with Scarlet, she refused to see it, and so he had to show her the hard way.  Sometimes as Christians, that's something we have to do.  Do things the hard way.  It's not easy, but sometimes can be the best thing possible.

Odysseus: Odysseus is cunning and wise, brave and bold.  There's not much not to love.  And his wife is cool too.  He has a strength of character that many lack, and I find him to be influential mostly (for me) on my logical and analytical skills.

Paris: I know.  Putting a wimp played by Orlando Bloom on here.  But there is a purpose, I promise!  Besides being all of that, he does learn a few lessons.  But his influence isn't necessarily good.  He's one of the first “girly men” written about, and sadly, there are too many of them today.

Achilles: Sigh.  I love Achilles, too.  He is another Darcy-esque character.  He has a lot to learn to overcome his pride, and he is willing to end his life as a warrior for love (sigh…).  He is jolted back into war for honour.  How much better can you get? 

The Phantom of the Opera: Who can't love him?  He's this gosh-awful person that you want to hate, but you can't seem to.  You have to feel sorry for him.  I mean… on the rooftop… and his crying… :tear:

Psyche (from Til We Have Faces): I haven't actually read the book.  :gasps:  It's on my list.  But I am beyond familiar with the story through my Ancient Greek Mythologies studies!  Her patience is insane.  End of story.

Mr. Rochester: Another Phantom.  You want to hate him, you do for a while, then you can't help but fall in love with him.  He's the “we've all got skeletons (or crazied wives) in their closet” type.  And his ability to adapt to his disability.  He's a love/hate guy, to be sure.

And there are so many more… but I'll stop now, unless I come up with something dazzling, then I'll edit it in. 

Mari

What defines “cultured music”?  What makes a singer or song cultured?

For me, the most obvious things would be classical, jazz, swing, big band and so on.  Singers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Josh Groban and Michael Buble are pure classic and pure culture.

A friend and I were recently talking.  He says culture is American, so rap is cultured music.  Obviously, I disagree.

Now, this is not to say I don't listen to other music.  Basically, if it's not CCM or rap, I'll listen to it (although I'm not very keen on hard rock and hip-hop).  But that doesn't mean it's cultured.

So what do you all think cultured means?

As a whole, I think cultured means above the average.  Aristocratic, I suppose.  Is that snobbish?  Or accurate?

Well, that's my little rant for now.  I'll have a political one very shortly (probably right after the election).

Mari