I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you.

Day Fourteen: Someone you want to switch lives with for one day and why.

I would switch lives with Joy Williams, of the Civil Wars. For many, many reasons. First of all, she has an incredible singing voice that I would love to have, just for a day. She is also a phenomenal songwriter. And she has beautiful dresses. Those three things alone would be reason enough for me to want to switch lives with her.

To make the situation even sweeter, she tours all over the world with the Civil Wars, so she gets to see all sorts of amazing places and meet all sorts of amazing people. She also gets to sing her ridiculously awesome music in front of venues full of fans singing the songs she wrote. That's something that I have always wanted to experience—I want to know how it feels to have thousands upon thousands of people know and love my music.

And the icing on the cake is that Joy Williams sings with one John Paul White, whom I love. I love his voice. I love how he makes playing insane rhythms on the guitar look as easy as breathing. I love how he and Joy lean close when they sing. I love how seamlessly their voices blend. I love how you can't tell who has the harmony and who has the melody. Honest to goodness, I love every little thing about the Civil Wars, and being a part of that duo for a single day would be beyond my wildest dreams. So yeah, I would absolutely switch lives with Joy Williams for a day. It would be amazing.

PS: Thanks goes to Cora for giving me the idea of switching lives with Joy Williams. Cora knows me so well.

Being Thankful: Day Eight

Tonight was the ward talent show/Thanksgiving dinner. I like talent shows, and I'm one of those people who always signs up to do something. (No, I'm not trying to show off, I just like having an excuse to sing something that's not a church song.) For this talent show, I figured out "Come Home" by OneRepublic on the piano and sang it. It was the first time that I had ever figured a song out just by chords and not by reading the music. I must say that I was pretty proud of myself because it sounded all right. People seemed to like it, even though I messed up.

So today, I'm thankful for my talents. I'm thankful that I have a visible talent that I can share and that people enjoy hearing. I'm not terribly confident in many things, but I am confident in my singing voice, and I'm very thankful for that. I love singing, and I love that I'm good at it. It's nice when something you love doing coincides with something you're good at.

And now, at the risk of seeming presumptuous, I'm going to post the video of me singing at the talent show tonight. Enjoy.

An Excuse to Be Loud and Obnoxious

That's really all karaoke is. The music blares, and the audience sings over the people who kind of suck. But there aren't many places where you can sing at the top of your lungs without people looking at you like you're crazy. And tonight I needed some time to be obnoxious. To let loose. To have some fun without worrying about how what I said affected someone else or whether or not so-and-so is interested in me.

I tore it up with "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree," my all-time favorite karaoke song. Why is it my favorite? Because I'm good at it. (Nope, that's not very humble, but this is one of the only situations in which you'll hear me sound so confident, so I'm taking it.) I love any song that gives me an excuse to put some gravel in my voice.

Ahh, karaoke, my dear friend. I forgot just how much fun you are.

Courage

I was really brave today. I called the Orem Hale Centre Theatre and made an appointment to audition for "110 in the Shade" on March 23rd. I'm already freaking out about it, and it's still a week and a half away!

But there are some specific reasons I'm auditioning:

1. I haven't been in a show since high school, and I've wanted to be in one again for a long, long time. Being in a musical is just so much fun. I love it.
2. I want the opportunity to meet new people and break out of myself a little bit. I've kept mostly to myself the past few months, and I don't spend a lot of time with people other than my roommates. I want to change things up a bit and prove to myself that I'm not a wuss.
3. This is the biggest reason I'm auditioning for this specific show: Audra McDonald and Will Swenson are playing the lead roles for the first two weeks of the show. In case you don't know who those people are, I will enlighten you. Audra McDonald is a three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway actress, and Will Swenson is a Tony Award-nominated Broadway actor (who also happens to be the same guy who was in "The Singles' Ward" and "The RM"). When else am I going to have an opportunity to perform on stage with actors of that caliber? Never, that's when. If I don't at least try, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I really will. 

That, my friends, is Audra McDonald. And she's amazing. Hence the three Tony Awards. And hence the coolness of the opportunity to perform with her.

Someone To Perform With

"So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin,
you're waiting for someone to perform with.
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do,
the movement you need is on your shoulder."
     - Hey Jude, the Beatles

Today at work, we were having a music break, which is when everyone in the data team office picks a song and IMs it to Karly so she can play it on her nice speakers. (And no, I didn't choose "Hey Jude" . . . I chose "This Too Shall Pass"—see post below.) Karly chose a cool song, and when we asked her who it was by, she said it was her fiancé, which is so cool.

All that I could think of at that point was how much I want to marry someone who is musically inclined. I'm not saying that if a guy isn't musically talented, I'm going to write him off. But there's really nothing more attractive than a guy who can play an instrument and sing. Chances are that even if I don't think a guy is really attractive to begin with, as soon as he picks up a guitar or sits down at a piano and busts out some good vocals, I'm going to be much more interested. That's just the way it is.

Besides the attraction factor, performing is something that I love to do. I love singing in sacrament meeting or in talent shows or just singing at the top of my lungs in my car. Music is incredibly important to me, and I want to be able to really share that with my future husband. I look at my parents, who perform together all the time, and I want that.

Sure, this may sound picky. But I'm as single as I can get right now, so I'm allowed to fantasize about what I want when I'm finally no longer single, right?

Thanks Day Twenty-Two

Today I'm thankful for my singing voice. I love to sing, and I'm so thankful that I can do it well. Christmas is coming up, which is when I'm especially thankful for my singing abilitiies because Christmas music is amazing. I'm also thankful that I have the opportunity to share my abilities with others. There's nothing quite like knowing that you have helped touch someone's heart through your talents.