Music Speaks to the Heart

Yup, you get a second helping today...and now I'm all caught up. :)

Day 3: Tell us how your blog got its name.

I don't know about you, but I tend to have a soundtrack to my life. Well, to the different phases of life. 

The Judds will always take me back to being little and helping Mom clean, riding in the car with Pops, or when I was rocking with my momma in the rocking chair because I couldn't sleep.

Outkast's "Hey Ya" is definitely sophomore year of college when we were brave enough to be leaders, crazy enough to dance like there was no tomorrow in front of many colleagues and professors, making our own fun when necessary, and comfortable enough to just be ourselves together.

Bon Jovi's "Halfway There" takes me back to the laughter and carefree feelings in car rides between Lincoln and Seward in the Tank, karaoke at CIT, a roadtrip to Denver, and an Alaskan wedding reception (accompanied by the most epic air guitar solo in the history of air guitar solos). 

"Savior Please" by Josh Wilson got me through the nerve-wracking night before my first official day as a kindergarten teacher with a class of 24 kindergarteners. 

"Here Come Those Eyes" by Chris Rice puts me back at the end of an aisle with my mom and dad at my sides, tripping over my dress on the way to meet my husband-to-be, laughing for joy and thanksgiving, proud to share this all with family and friends.

"What Does the Fox Say?" was the anthem of the entire first semester of this last year of school...until it was replaced by "Everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie and then "Let It Go" from Frozen. All 3 songs went from annoying to endearing pretty fast.

I was a junior in college preparing to go to a new college 9 hours away from home. Being a homebody by nature, I was terrified of living so far away. I listened to "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks to gear up for the adventures awaiting. It wasn't the voices or the music that got me: the lyrics defined the beginning of a new chapter. 

A young girl's dream no longer hollow

It takes the shape of a place out west

But what it holds for her she hasn't yet guessed

She needs wide open spaces

Room to make a big mistake

She needs new faces

She knows the high stakes

She knows the high stakes

Yes, I'd journey somewhere new. 

I'd be on my own with my family so far away. 

I would make my own choices.

I would make some mistakes. 

I'd grow to be wiser and stronger with each step. 

It would be tough, but it would be great. 

This blog became a place where I could share the moments that shaped me. I could wonder, marvel, hurt, explore, and just be here. 

We need to have adventures in life, and we need to embrace the good and the bad that come with our journey. It's risky to go out and try new things, but if we don't then we won't grow. The world is full of wonders, but we have to be willing to step out into the big, scary world to find them. 

I'm not done making messes yet. 

I'm not done growing yet. 

I'm not staying in my comfort zone.

I'm still venturing into all kinds of wide open spaces.

No Explanation Needed...But Given Anyways

I've never explained the title of my blog. It's on the extensive list of things I've been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to yet.

Kudos to The Challenge for already making me step it up.

I started this thing 3 years ago as I prepared for a semester at CUNE so I could document the whole experience. To gear myself up, I thought about all of the independence I'd be gaining as I learned to stand on my own without my family being so close by (a new and terrifying thought...most of my family lives within an hour of one another back home). I'd have to learn to fend for myself.

I find theme songs for each phase of my life. While preparing to come out here, I geared up by listening to "Wide Open Spaces" by the Dixie Chicks...the lyrics just clicked (not a fan of their voices, though).

A young girl's dreams no longer hollow

It takes the shape of a place out west

But what it holds for her she hasn't yet guessed

She needs wide open spaces

Room to make a big mistake

She needs new faces

She knows the high stakes

I didn't know what Nebraska held for me, but I knew I'd walk away changed. I'd walk away a stronger person. Little did I know that I'd stay here for 2 and a half years and would struggle with the idea of leaving. No way did I anticipate learning as many life lessons here as I have.

Sometimes we just need to go out and do something on our own. We need to make our own mistakes and messes so we can learn to fix them and grow from them. It isn't always easy -- we definitely end up stepping on some toes in the midst of finding our own paths. We just have to make ourselves forget about that, though, and find ourselves however we need to.

This blog is a collection of my messes and what I've walked away from them with. It's about the chances I'm taking and the paths I'm exploring. It's my story of how I step on some toes, but how I need to explore because there's so much out there to experience.

I have a lot of growing left to do.

~"If these are life lessons, she'll take this test." ["Wide Open Spaces" again]~