How I became a songwriter

Dear Molly,

One of our conversations on Friday made me start thinking about my journey of writing songs, and I thought, "I should write this down so I'll remember it."  So, since you're probably the only other person who's also interested in hearing it, you are the recipient.

I remember distinctly when I first became a songwriter, although I can't remember exactly when it was.  However, based on other events that happened before and after this one, I believe I was either seven or eight.  In other words, my statement the other day that it started before I knew you was most likely false.  I'm sorry.  Anyway, I believe I had just gotten out of the shower.*  Rushing to my room, I grabbed a pencil and started writing furiously as the lyrics appeared in my head.  When I had finished that night, I counted up my songs and discovered that I had written six.  I tucked my notebook into my the case of my NIV Adventure Bible so that I wouldn't miss it if inspiration happened to strike during church the next morning.  Sunday night, I persuaded my best friend to "write a song with me," which consisted of me writing a few lines and then asking her what she thought.  I sent it home with her that evening.

Sadly, as far as I know, none of these precious manuscripts were preserved.  However, I can remember the chorus to my favorite one.  It went something like this:
"You are awesome, Jesus
Awesome, Jesus,
Awesome, Jesus,
Awesome."

Get the point?  :)

The songwriting craze faded out as quickly as the fervor that had driven me to write those first songs had arrived.  In fact, in fourth grade, my friend found the song that I'd written with her input, taught it to her younger cousin, and sang it for me.

"I like it." she told me.

I shrugged.  Since I was no longer consumed with enthusiasm over the fact that I could write songs, I was able to listen objectively.  And, in case you were wondering, I wasn't impressed.

"It's okay, I guess." was all I could say.

Several years passed.  In that time, I never thought I'd go back to writing songs.  I was, however, steadily becoming more and more enamored with writing in other genres.  If you were to shadow me in any of my social interactions, you'd find me critiquing grammar or rephrasing sentences in order to make sure I understood what the other person what saying.  My head was full of characters, plot-lines, and words, and I liked it that way.  If you'd asked me, I would have freely admitted to you that I loved writing.  But writing songs was out of the question:  I didn't consider myself to be a good enough musician.

My second attempt to write songs came when I thought I was going to be in a band with some of my friends.  One of them said, "I can put chords together, but lyrics are really hard.  Do you think you could come up with something?"

"Great!"  I thought.  "If I'm the lyricist, then our songs will always have correct spelling and grammar."

I also had some other thoughts that were not quite so positive.  Thoughts like, "How do you write songs, anyway?" Or, worse yet, "What if I can't write anything worth singing?"  Honestly, these thoughts outnumbered the positive ones by such a large margin that I usually forgot how much I loved correct spelling and grammar.

Although I was terrified, I started writing lyrics again.  Most of them were awkward and faltering attempts, but I was at least trying again.  In the process, I figured something out: songs were good stress relievers.  I already knew that listening to music could change my attitude, but when I was angry or sad or lonely, I found myself searching for my songwriting notebook.  Putting the feelings into words lessened their intensity, and allowed me to look them in the face. I'd think, "In a few months, this song will make me laugh because I'll think it's ridiculous." and I'd start to feel better.

For a while, that was all songwriting was for me- an escape, a coping mechanism, and something so personal that I would have shuddered at the thought of ever showing my songs to anyone.

The story gets fuzzy here, because I'm not sure exactly what prompted me to start sharing what I'd written.   Anyway, at some point I realized that I wasn't going to get any better unless I let someone else see what I'd written.  I do know that I chose to share one with you because:
1)  You write good songs
2)  You are kind, so I figured your opinions wouldn't come across as harsh.
3)  You had been hinting that Allison and I should start writing songs.

Of course, I still wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea of sharing songs that I'd written while I was in a bad mood.  Instead, I decided to write a worship song, and in the process of creating something that wasn't inextricably linked to unhappy memories, I discovered that songwriting was fun.  It still is.

That's the story, and one that will probably keep evolving as I keep writing.  Hope you've enjoyed!

Love,
Julianne


*Why is it that good ideas always come to me in the shower?  It's awkward.

The Beauty in My Lap

Something exciting happened in my life last week.

As those of you who are acquainted with me (which, I believe, is all of you) will know, this is not an uncommon occurrence.  I tend to get excited about lots of things:  guacamole, snow, and standardized tests, just to name a few.  Indeed, the "something" that I'm going to tell you about is one of many things that made me giddy with anticipation recently. So, even though I attended an amazing surprise party, a Bible quiz, and got to hold my friend's baby for the first time (by the way, I think that's the first time I've ever said that.) in the past seven days, I'm not going to elaborate on any of those events.

No, the subject of this post (and possibly the sole reason I haven't been posting) is this beautiful instrument:

Terrible quality, I know.   Also, it's a selfie.   I'm sorry about that, but I thought it was better than nothing.

It's on loan from friends for as long as I need it, and Allison and I have been enjoying playing with it.  Note the added preposition.  It was purposefully placed in that very spot, because I do not mean that we have been playing it.  It has, however, proven to be a very fun toy.  :)
As you might have guessed from the previous paragraph, I have much to learn.  However, Molly has been very graciously trying to help me figure things out.

Molly's Music Academy, lesson #1:  This is the wrong way to hold a guitar.  Thanks, Molly!  :)

So, that's what's new with me.  :)  What were you excited about in the last week?

The Story of My Stationery

OR,

Imposters, Stalkers, Hampsters, OR WORSE.

(A guest post by Molly, for Molly.)

2-28-2012

Julianne,

Do you like my new stationery?  During our last homeschool group while someone was talking, I began doodling (as normally happens in the aforementioned circumstance).  I drew a nutcracker using the one on our mantle as a model and I drew a butterfly and some random wavy lines.  When I rediscovered the notebook today, I decided it would make pretty stationery.  I made copies and voila! now you know the story behind the paper you are now reading!

Anyway, so excited to see you later today!  Miss you!

BTW- today is National Pancake Day!

See you soon!  YPPAF,

*it should be noted that the original does, indeed, include my full name.  However, due to previously stated concerns, I am not going to publish it here.

Since I'm interrupting anyway, I'm going to explain my abrupt change in backgrounds on the next one...  #8 was much too long to type onto my picture of her stationery, so I took a little creative license.  :)  Don't panic, the regular formatting will return very soon.

I hope you have enjoyed this book.  I also hope that you have learned

1. There's no such thing as a normal stalker
2. A hampster is not necessarily an impostor unless it claims to be a guinea pig.
3. Beware stalkers, impostors, facebook stalkers, hampters, enemy spies...

Flashback Friday- More homeschooling pics. :)

 

 

 

 

I thought I'd squeeze in one more trip down memory lane, before next week hits and I'm face-to-face with the fact that I have to do college-level work now.  :)  It's not bad, but I still have a few more days where I can pretend I'm in high school, and I've been thinking a lot about how much I've enjoyed being homeschooled thus far.  It's been great!  I have lots of family time, cool field trips,  the ability to write a grammatically correct sentence*, and awesome friends.

 

That brings us to the topic of my post today.

 

 

Through the years, we've been part of a wonderful co-op.  Actually, we're still part of it, but it has changed in scope and shrunk in size as we've gotten older.  Don't worry about the shrinking part: no one died, there was no drama, it was merely that life gets busier and sometimes things have to go.  Anyway, I was looking through some old pictures I'd taken when my first digital camera was new, and I found a lot of cute ones.  I couldn't keep them all to myself.  So, like it or not, here are some pictures of my friends when they were smaller...  and very cute.  I mean, almost as cute as they are today.**

 

 

 

 

Looking at these photos makes me so happy...  I'm thankful for the people God has placed in my life, the ones He's given to me as friends, and some of the ones pictured here are especially dear to me.

 

Who are you thankful for?

 

 

 

*Sorry, public schoolers who also have that ability...  I do know that you exist.  Sometime Facebook makes me overly cynical about the human race and their grammar/spelling skills.

 

**  Nice save, think you not?***

 

***There goes the grammar again!  Thanks A Beka!  lol

Assembly line- October 2007

Wow, I seem to be only reminiscing lately on this blog...  All the flashback posts,  pictures of my pen pal that were taken last year, playing a game where you guess things from old posts.

I could apologize for that.  I won't.  Instead, I'm going to run with the theme, because I have some pictures from a field trip our co-op took in 2007 to share with you.

The entire line in action

 We were running an assembly line!  Well, not really.  We made miniature cars, but that's okay, because we were miniature people.

If memory serves me correctly, we did the activity two or three times, in order to let everyone run a station.  However, there are more of the first assembly line (I think it was the first, anyway) because I was participating in the second. Somehow, though, I have this picture of Max:

Thank you, random citizen who grabbed my camera in order that the second assembly line formation would not be forgotten.

Here's how the assembly line worked, using my much more complete collection of pictures from the first team to illustrate:

The person at station one grabs the body of the car, a piece of wood in a square shape.  I know you can't see the sign for it, but station one is the farthest to the left.  Also, you cannot see the face of the person manning it.  There are at least two possible theories for that.  Either 1) he is a secret agent, or 2) I was a bad photographer.  I am not at liberty to say which one is true.

At station two, the car was elongated.  Stations three and four added the front and back ends of the car, which looked identical.  They also have tabs that will hold the wheels in place, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Close-up of number four, because she's adorable.

On a side note, I find the looks of concentration on their faces amusing.  Although, now that I think about it, there might have been a timer going.  Maybe the teams were racing each other?  I can't remember.







Here we have my beautiful sister.  She's got wheels. Literally.  They're in her hands.

Okay, that was lame.  :)  Moving on.

At station six, we had Nick scurrying to put the last two tires on the car, before handing it off...

To station seven, where the window was placed atop the car, and then Molly took them off the line- they're done!

This picture reminds me that there was also, apparently, a station 8.5 where the person owning that white sleeve cranked the line, causing it to move much like your average grocery store check-out center.  I don't have a not-blurry picture of him.  I'm sorry, since I'm sure you were hoping for one more picture.

Here's exclusive action from an entirely different crew.  Silent film, anyone?

You also get to see how terrible the lighting was...  Exactly what I was trying to disguise with that nostalgic black and white filter.  :)





We have (finally) reached the end of our tour.  Hope you've enjoyed it!

Art (sort of) and cupcakes (definitely)

     I think it's amazing how art can convey so much about a person.
     Think about, for instance, Leonardo da Vinci's complex background on the Mona Lisa, and then about his personal life and interests.  You can see why he made it that way, can't you?  He was a complex guy.
     What about how art makes the viewer feel?  Think about Monet and all his water lilies.  I love Monet, and I think it's because those beautiful flowers make me feel peaceful and dreamy.
     Art has the amazing power to touch people, and it's not limited to paintings.  It can happen in sculpture, architecture, music, cupcakes...
     Yes, cupcakes.
     The cupcakes below were made for me by some friends to celebrate my graduation.  They say a lot about what I like, and about our common interests.  :)  I planned on sharing pictures of all of them, but when I looked at my snapshots some of them were too blurry.  Oh, well. 
     Art is powerful. 
     It can also be tasty.

clockwise, starting with the largest one :)
Sherlock Holmes, Ikea, Kid Snippets, Veggietales, my bedroom wall, The Princess Bride.

Cupcakes made by Molly and Max and their mom.  :)

Higher than I

So we are starting a band! Julianne, Allison, and Molly. It's called Higher Than I based on the very similar scripture passage (who's reference escapes me at the moment). We will hopefully be recording some soon at Carrying Home Studios (Molly's studio)

Bye for now! Love, higher than I.

Random quotes

Avocados are the love of my life.
~Julianne
I love edamame
~Julianne
Inspiring things are hard to come up with on the spot.
~Allison
I love ikea.
~Julianne
We watched a tv show and did miscellaneous activities.
~Julianne
Isaiah.
~Allison
Hello Seattle.
~Molly
Life with you (Julianne) is a random occurrence
~Allison

Hi everyone!

Molly here again! Gtg - more later

How to (unknowingly) become a stalker

Step 1:  Let your friend use your ipod.  If you wish only to be a nice person, and not an accidental stalker, you may stop here.  The results will probably look something like these...

Step 2:  Laughingly mention to aforesaid friend that you're fine with her hundreds of self-portraits, since she obviously took them, thereby relieving you from any suspicion of being a stalker.
The next photos will be stalker shots:

Yes, my friends, it's as easy as that.  Now, this technique requires a friend and an ipod with a camera.  There are other ways to accomplish this same goal without either, of course, but that's a story for another time.

Hey y'all :)

How are you all doin today? This isn't Julianne - actually this is her friend miss Molly :) you've prob been wonderin when Juliannes ever gonna post on her blog. Well I've been wondering that too so I decided to take matters into my own hands - so here I am :) anyway, talk to y'all later!

Molly <3

Psst... Molly

I am about to be cruel.

However, I will soften the blow by saying this:

WARNING:  If you are brunette, know me in real life, love rainbows and Owl City, and your name is Molly, read further only at your own risk!  You may become regretful that I did not kidnap you before you went to Florida with your family.  ;)


For those of you who are not Molly, here's the background.  I am blessed with some wonderful friends.  Molly is one of them.  Chelsea is another.  They hear about each other a lot, but they have never met.  And, until Molly and I finish that tunnel from her house to Chelsea's yard, it looks like things might stay that way. 

Just kidding about the tunnel, by the way.

Anyway, earlier this month we had the privilege to spend some time with Chelsea and her family in the mountains.  It was beautiful, and I enjoyed the visit so much. 

So, for those of you who, like Molly, have never met Chelsea, allow me to introduce her.
Everyone, the lovely girl on the right is Chelsea.  :)

 Also, Chelsea is very fond of coffee, and introduced us to Sheetz, a gas station that sells amazing coffee drinks that you order on a touch screen.

Actually, I like their frozen cremes, but Allison also loves coffee and is very grateful.

A sign at Sheetz, and also possibly Allison and Chelsea's motto.  :)

My dear coffee fanatics

I've already linked to it once, but Chelsea also has a fabulous blog.   It is definitely worth checking out.

So, Molly, I'm ready to go back.  What do you think about a tunnel?  ;)

Happy Birthday, Molly!

Once upon a time, a conversation happened between two friends.  It went something like this:

"Julianne, you should get a blog!"

"Molly, we have dial-up."

For those of you who are blissfully unaware of the trials of dial-up internet, I'll note that it usually took us fifteen minutes to load one minute of a Youtube.  That definitely had its advantages, (namely, keeping me off the computer) but it also made blogging impossible.

Molly is not easily deterred.

"I know!  You could start a blog as a birthday present to me.  That would be great."

So, Molly, I know that your birthday was months ago, but I hope that you enjoy it anyway.  :)