Hakuna Matata...

Not many people know this about me, but I love to sing (even though I am horrible at it). I often find myself singing a song I heard on the radio, making up words to a tune I know, or I am often referred to as Lavora (my grandma) because I will just start humming while walking down the cereal isle. When I was younger my parents bought tickets to see Phantom of the Opera when it came to Salt Lake City; ever since then I have loved Broadway. As a family we have tried to see as many shows as we can together; we have been blessed to see Phantom, Les Mis (2 or 3 times), Miss Saigon, Joseph & Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Cats, and several others. It has been something we have always enjoyed doing together.

In 2008 we had heard Wicked was coming to town (Kacee & I both love the music to this show), however we were in Florida on a family vacation and were unable to obtain tickets. So, Kacee started to search to see what was coming next; one day she announced that The Lion King would be coming in 2010...quickly everyone in my family said "Oh that is a definite see!" Well, Kari and I had forgotten all about it because we knew we couldn't afford to attend the show.

Every Christmas my parents do family gifts amongst our individual gifts. On Christmas 2009 instead of a package to open, my dad handed each of us an envelope. When we opened it we saw tickets to...




We were so excited! Well, the day finally arrived this last weekend (Sept. 5, 2010) when we actually got to see the show. And I was NOT disappointed! It was incredible, all of the actor/actresses were so graceful, their voices were perfect, and the music was wonderful! My favorite part of the show was defiantly the voices of each person--they blew me away; but I also loved the cheetah (pictured below) she was the most graceful. I was very impressed at how humans could act out the mannerisms of animals!



I am so glad I got to enjoy this with my family and look forward to the next Broadway show we can attend!


Thanks for reading!!!

Exposing myself....

There is a show on MTV that I really enjoy, it is called "If You Really Knew Me". The show takes place within various high schools. It focuses on youth subculture and different cliques within schools. Students from each clique participate in Challenge Day, which is a program designed to breakdown stereotypes and unite students in schools. At Challenge Day, students from all walks of life gather together in one room. Then each student is assigned to a group where they must reveal something personal about themselves. It is at this point where each student begins their dialog with the words "if you really knew me..." The goal of Challenge Day is to demonstrate to students the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth, and full expression.

As I was watching this show the other day, I thought about myself and it provoked some words that I quickly wrote down on the newspaper sitting next to me. Here is a poem I wrote titled Masquerade.

Everyday is like Halloween,
I wake up and put on a different mask.
Some days, I am Bo-Bo the Clown
laughing away my tears.
Other days, I am a biker chick--
my tough exterior hiding the fear I have within.
I once was an heiress to some grand fortune
just to be accepted into a group.
At times I feel like Perfect Penny
too afraid to show people I am human.
But, being all of these people is exhausting
I am ready to remove the mask and
for the first time be myself!


Thanks for reading!!!