The Proverbial "Knight In Shining Armor"

I was recently scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and saw a quote a friend had posted reading, "I hope my knight rides in wearing dented, beat up, and scratched armor.  Because if its shiny, they obviously didn't fight for me."  I've seen this around before and it's always bothered me a bit.  I mean, sure he fought for me, but if the way he treats his armor - something that should be very precious to him - is any indication of how he will treat me, I want nothing to do with him.  If he will fight for me, but ultimately leave me to rot along with his formerly shiny armor, then what is the point?

Now, I see nothing wrong with the idea of a knight who has fought for me instead of some untried nincompoop who thinks he's All That because of his cool horse and nice shiny armor.  You know, the one who expects all the ladies to waltz into his arms simply because of his status as a knight.  In fact, this second idea would bother me almost more than the first.  Sure, his armor looks nice, but when it comes down to it, he can't do much but look pretty as he struggles not to fall off his horse.

Luckily though, these aren't the only two types of knights out there.  There's a third, one who possesses the better qualities of both former types.  He rides in looking weary, but his armor shines as though it's never been worn.  This knight has fought numerous battles to protect those he is loyal to and cares about, but still makes sure he keeps his armor polished and sword sharpened.  This is the man who will not only fight for me, but care for me.  This is a real Knight in Shining Armor.

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So apparently all my good blogging ideas come late at night... This is fun.  Anyway, just a thought I had regarding this particular idea that your "armor" has to look scrappy to mean you fought, and that if it doesn't, you obviously didn't work for anything.  I firmly believes that this applies to more areas than just relationships, but since the original post took it that way, that's the direction I took it.

Photo Credit: http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Knight+in+shining+armor+one+of+the+best+quotes+i_41c4f0_4416998.jpg 

Life is a Song. Imperfect, but Beautiful

Tonight, I had a piano recital at my college and, being the deep thinker that I am (especially when I'm particularly tired, and it IS the end of the week), I came to an interesting realization while zoning out on my drive home.  With thoughts ranging from my imperfect performance to the impatient drivers I encountered on my way to school, I realized that these two events share a common point.  In thinking about both, I was focusing on the bad things and thinking about the things I could have done better.

I tend to do this a lot in life in general - sometimes as I'm driving innocently down the road, my brain decides to remind me of That One Time when I messed up while taking Drivers Ed or as I'm thinking about a friend I remember That Conversation that I could have handled better, and the list goes on and on.  Instead of thinking of happy memories, such as the time my cousin and I were dragged to the front of a restaurant during open mic night to perform a song we had written, the first time I got to hold my niece, or even the A in a difficult class, I subconsciously choose the bad memories.

During my performance, I made several small mistakes, which I noticed immediately.  To the untrained listener, and even those with training who simply haven't heard the piece, however, it's difficult to hear the mistakes.  Instead, they hear the overall beauty of the piece, the big picture, rather than focusing on a few small mistakes that don't matter that much in the long run.  This is how it works in life, as well.  The people around us aren't paying attention to the mistakes we make (unless they're just rude), or if they are, they don't dwell on them and remind us of them over and over.

As a pianist, and a performer in general, it has taken me quite a while to finally get comfortable with making mistakes.  Not to the point of not caring, but simply to the point of not dwelling on them and basing my entire performance on a few mistakes and not taking any notice of the good things I did.  During my recital, I was able to recognize the mistakes I made, but I was able to recover from them and not let them get me down.  Instead, I focused on the difficult spots I'd been working on for weeks that I had played almost perfectly.

This is how I think it should work in life.  Instead of forcing ourselves to relive our mistakes, we should recognize them, fix them or recover from them, and move on with our lives.  We should focus on the beauty we create and experience, the areas where we have struggled in the past but finally overcome.

Ultimately, I think we have to understand that there are no perfect performers.  Even those who have practiced the hardest and longest and have sold-out shows make mistakes every once in a while.  And that's ok.  If we can accept them and learn from them, it's our mistakes that make life beautiful.

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Whoo!  Two posts in just a few days.  I think I'm avoiding responsibility... Only one more week of classes before finals and the end of my Freshman year of college, then off to Ireland!

Photo Credit: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/120/2/a/playing_piano_by_predragstojanovic-d3f9ud3.jpg

Text added by me

Ireland Bound!

Greetings, friends! I come bearing an exciting update! Apologies for being AWOL on here since last semester (I mean, I only have 5 followers - the rest of my views come from those of you on FB who take the time to read these - so I'm sure no one has actually missed these), but I haven't really had the chance to write much exciting.  Unless, that is, you really want to hear about 60 different kinds of birds, environmental physics, or music theory. However, now that the semester is nearly over and I'm busy procrastinating from working on homework (yes, that's what I'm doing right now) and studying for finals in a few weeks (my school starts late, what can I say. Most of you other college folks are already done), I thought I'd let you know that I'll be updating more frequently in just a bit less than a month!

As part of the Greenville College Choir, I have the amazing opportunity to travel to Ireland and tour there for 10 days right after finals week. In order to fulfill a "Cross Cultural Credit" requirement, I will be writing blog posts for a group blog and I figure I may as well post them here while I'm at it and keep you lot up to date on what all I get to do while I'm over there!  So be looking for more of these posts starting around May 25 - hopefully there will be pictures involved :)

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Photo Credit: http://www.tenontours.com/assets/travel-to-ireland8.jpg

Edited by myself

Of Lullabies and Love Songs

On Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at a quarter after seven, the Greenville College Blackroom was filled with fog, loud music, and excited college students, just waiting for the show to begin.  When the first band, LED, took the stage, the audience crowded close to the stage, not wanting to miss a single word, despite the speakers blasting throughout the room.  As they began playing through their set, I casually noted that each of the four songs they played seemed to be a sort of love song.  Being a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, however, I thought nothing of it at first, simply enjoying their sound and getting lost in the music.  Once the second band, Nick Bifano and the Innocents, started playing, I noticed that while their style was very different from LED, the topic was much the same.  Again, we heard a set consisting of songs mostly about love.

In a society so focused on being in a relationship, I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that so many songs being written and sold are of the romantic variety.  They tend to be some of the easier ones to write as many people have experience with relationships, both good and bad, and they are easy to sell because everyone can relate to what they are talking about.  Even those like myself who have never had a “significant other” can find connections between the lyrics and other types of relationships, or, if nothing else, the longing for a relationship like the song speaks of. 

Perhaps it is the vast array of styles these songs can take on.  There are softer melodies, mournful tunes, angry choruses, and so on.  There is almost no limit to the form a love song can take, so long as it tells the right kind of story.  In a way, these songs have become the “lullaby” for our generation.  Those who listen to music when going to bed listen to these crooning melodies to fall asleep.  Also, the lyrics of many of these songs are known by thousands of young people all around the world, much like lullabies were to our parents.  (This is not to say that the only music our parents listened to were lullabies, nor that the only music any of us listen to are love songs.)

Even so, there are a multitude of other topics that songs could be written about, so why is it that love songs tend to be so popular among our society?

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Photo Credit: http://bestquotesaboutlife.org/wp-content/uploads/life-quotes-music-is-what-feelings-sound-like.jpg

Feed the Hungry

Box after box of Macaroni and Cheese, countless crates of Beef Stew, and enough cans of applesauce to cover most of the floor.  The mind most likely makes the assumption that I am at some sort of supermarket, perhaps Sam’s or Walmart, however, I am actually volunteering at the Food Pantry.  On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, as part of Global Impact Week, I had the opportunity to help the Greenville Food Pantry move to a new location.  This involved moving heavy boxes, sorting Jell-O, stacking canned goods, and much more.

When I arrived, I expected to find a group of students already hard at work, however even though six other students had signed up to help, the only other person from Greenville College to show up was Christy Dashiell, the Director of World Outreach and Missions.  As we restocked the shelves, I was reminded of the Food Pantry in my hometown.  Like this one, most donations come from major food corporations, but only after those running the Food Pantry have requested them.  The only exception tends to be when the Boy Scouts or some other organization holds a canned food drive to benefit the Food Pantry.  These do not happen anywhere near frequently enough, however, to provide enough supplies to go to everyone who is in need, so supplies often have to be carefully rationed or people have to be turned away.  Also, since most people host “food drives,” many Food Pantries are lacking in other supplies essential to every day life, such as soap, paper towels, and similar items.  All too often, even if we do take the time to volunteer or donate items, we don’t look past the surface to find out what is truly needed or take the time to really invest in the people we are helping.

Why is this so often the case?  Why are the plenty of volunteers for other things, but not for helping those we quietly label “undesirable”?  With all of the blessings we have been given, we should be able to at least spare some our time, even if we don’t have the money to be able to donate.  If one takes into consideration Matthew 25:40-45, we should be jumping at the opportunity to help these types of people.

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” (New International Version, emphasis added)

Why do we tend to ignore these types of people and their problems as well as many of the organizations that give them assistance, instead of helping them?  How can you reach out and make a difference in the lives of people like them?

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Bible Passage taken from Biblegateway.com, New International Version

Photo Credit: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-feed-the-hungry-2.png