Sunday, September 28, 2008

Here's a random in-class writing assignment I had the privilege of massacring last Wednesday. :)

The crimson of the leaf hails to the red of the curb. Together they battle Washington’s gray, a merry attack on monochrome.

Joining the war are the clouds. They spatter the battlefield—and passers-by—with the artillery of the sky.

As the scarlet partners stand their ground, students run for cover from the determined wet; disregarding the colorful allies. The leaf is trampled and torn, the curb losing hope. Neither can see the end of the battle. The clouds rumble forward like a herd of elephants, blasting at their earthbound foes.

Suddenly the tables turn as a new ally comes forth. It is the grass, and the trees and the green bursting forward to assist. They are unperturbed by the weariness of the leaf, by the despair of the curb. Rather than lose hope at the clouds, they simply burst forth in a blaze of verdure as the rain pours forth.

Now it is the clouds’ turn to surrender. The rain stops, and the blue sky peers out.


*sigh* English teacher liked it, I'm not sure what I think of it. :P Too eloquent, perhaps?

Oh, and I find out if my children's book wins this Wednesday, if any of you are wondering. Here's to God's providence! *raises apple juice*

My teachers are the nicest Un-Christians I've ever met. There's an amazing book called The Violin Maker (John Marchese), which anyone who ever thought about music, even once, should read. Our pastor is teaching a wonderful series called "Scared Spitless", and it's been so refreshing and...freeing? to explore God's grand compassion and provision for us.

I am absolutely freaked out about my book, and God still continues to be good.

God is good.

Life is good.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Dearest Friends, Romans, and Countrymen...

I am entering my first quarter as a student of Whatcom Community College, and am sadly not really looking forward to it...

If it enters your mind anytime this week, your prayers would be so muchly appreciated! (For my sanity and discretion amongst the varied and twisted worldviews, and for the professors and students who may be portraying them. Goodness, Truth and Beauty for the win! :D)

I love and miss you all dearly; please don't die from schoolwork overload! :) I hope all ye Torrey-ers are enjoying Foof!

Love,
Danielle

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Sorry, I'm posting twice today...

But...




You Belong in the Silent Generation



You'd fit in best as a person born between 1925 and 1942.

You are a person of high values and character.

Family, your country, loyalty, and hard work all important to you.

You are willing to do what's right, even when it's difficult.



YES!! I've always wanted to live during that time period...:)

Oh, the violins!

Or the violence...or whatever. :)

My sister is soon to be taking violin lessons, so we have rented out a lovely little violin named Monique.

So...beautiful...

My ultimate goal is to play the cello, so I have been fiddling around (har har) with Monique to see how she feels. Since she's a rather nice violin, it's fairly easy to get a good tone (on open strings, anyways), and it's glorious to hear the potential for beautiful music. Stringed instruments seem to be among the most human-sounding of the musical world, when played well.

And I just taught myself the D Major scale, which makes me way prouder than necessary. :D Now I need to learn Country Road, for those of you who have seen Whisper of the Heart and know how awesome Seiji is. :)

College starts September 22nd! Now we get to learn the principles of evolution...hurrah...If you could remember to lift up a prayer for both boldness and love; I am afraid of strengthening the bad name people have given Christianity.

May Christ be with you always, dear friends.

Friday, September 5, 2008

*Drowns in Talent*

So, the realization just hit (feeling somewhat like being shoved in a freezer after basking in the sunlight; in honor of Gabriel and his lovely simile...:), that I have no talent of great import in the world and that, wherever I go, there will always be more talent and more grace and more amazingness in other people.

:D

Isn't that wonderful?! Think about how exciting the world is, now that I do not need to be the best person in it. There are so many wonderful things to do; so many masterful artists to learn from and so many ridiculously talented people to appreciate.

*smacks self into agreement*

Ah, Perfectionism!

It's like trying to write a good stories while reading the Bible or Jane Eyre or T.S. Eliot or Harry Potter or Chicken Jane, and wondering, "Why on earth write a good story when there are such GREAT stories?" and it feels so utterly hopeless that you edit your pages into oblivion. Or like learning a piece by some nondescript composer that nobody knows about, when your brilliant friends are struggling through divine classics that are close-if-not-actually-at the virtuosic level...

Or trying to draw. At all. Without even looking at Rembrandt, or Degas, or Monet...(aw, I love Monet!). Cause if you look at Monet, when you're trying to draw, it's basically the equivalent of being shoved into an iceberg after living in California.

*sigh*

What is the point of this post? That's a very, very good question. Maybe it's...

The more you learn, the more you grow, and (oddly enough) the more humble you become. At least, that's how it should be, I think. I fail more often than not in remembering and applying this.

Plus, if we were all the best, we wouldn't have any motivation to learn, would we? (Well, none of us could ever be the best, since God has handily taken that position. Heck, he made that position! He IS that position!)

Anyways. I've been learning about the woes of pride and perfectionism, and about the grace of God and the necessity of humility.

In other news, I ate Milton's wheat toast with cream cheese and marionberry jam for breakfast, and I miss you guys. :D