UYIHF 2010... (Part One)

What could be better than a day doing what you love most? I'll tell you what! Here's my Facebook status from this morning:

"...had an interesting day yesterday, full of sore feet, fainting people, sex offenders, three Lehi High-ers, a strange note hidden in a tree, a fly that drowned in fry sauce, becoming closer friends with one (okay, more than one) of the most amazing people on the planet, and a TON of singing! Gotta love UYIHF!!"

So yes, that is just the beginning of what my day was like.

Utah Youth In Harmony Festival is a day-long camp for all youth ages ~12-18 or something like that. You spend all day with (in my case) about 100 girls from all over Utah and learn about and perform in Barbershop Quartets. It sounded SO. FUN. and I was SO. EXCITED.

My day went something like this:

(don't worry, it gets more exciting than I'm about to make it sound)

It all started at about 8:30 AM when my carpool (which was very entertaining) and I got to the college where this was being held. We signed in and walked into the very tiny auditorium, which I swear was half the size of our cafeteria. We were welcomed by the Chair of the festival, were given a taste of Barbershop Quartets by an AWESOME women's group called Bounce. Then we jumped right into singing! They split us into boys and girls and started teaching us the songs from about 9 to 11.

It isn't even an hour into it the day, and things are already getting exciting.

We were in the middle of one of our songs when I hear this little "Ohh..." from behind me, and a huge THUNK. I'm talking riser-shaking, teeth-rattling THUNK.

Me and all the girls within 5 feet freak out and turn around just in time to hear and see the cause of the second THUNK. The girl that was standing directly behind me is suddenly on the floor. Strangely, human bodies seem to become twice as dense when they pass out. It's not like a dainty fall to the floor. This was as serious THUNK to her knees then another THUNK forward onto her face. She probably would have broken her nose but she lucked out and just missed the edge of the riser. The director, Tori, hadn't noticed any of this, and didn't stop conducting until we all started yelling at her to stop and that there was a girl on the floor. She didn't move from her spot, but relaxed when she saw a bunch of adults lifting the girl from off the risers. I guess she's seen quite a bit of locked knees in her time as director, because it didn't faze her. When she saw that the girl was awake, she just got us right back into singing for another hour or so until we had like a 15 minute break.... then back to singing for like an hour until lunch!

Here's where the Lehi High-ers come in.

We had to go to another building on campus for lunch, and my friends were slower getting there than I was. I got my sack lunch that they provided and proceeded to look for a table. There was none. They were ALL taken except for one in the corner of the room which looked really disgusting. I grabbed a bunch of napkins and started cleaning while looking around to see if my friends had come yet. They hadn't, so I sat down.

Before long, three guys wander over looking for a place to sit. I was thinking I must have looked pretty lost or lonely or something, or maybe they were just really desperate for a table, because next thing I know I hear one of them saying loudly, "Hey, guys! Let's make a new friend!" They come over to me and ask if they could eat with me.

Oh dear. Ooooooh dear. Having lunch with three guys that are obviously older than me who I have never met in my life? WAY out of my comfort zone.

I was going to say that I was waiting for some of my friends when I opened my mouth and said, "Sure!" Stupid instincts. I was pretty mad at myself for not even hesitating, but it turned out to be a good choice.

Of all the Juniors I could have had lunch with, these were probably the coolest. They introduced themselves with smiles and asked me what my name was, even though we were all wearing name tags. They made me feel really comfortable because they didn't try to make conversation, which really drives me crazy. They would ask me the occasional question like what school I was from and what I was interested in, etc., but there was no we're-cooler-than-you-because-we're-older-and-wiser-so-we're-going-to-ask-you-questions-in-a-condescending-way kind of awkwardness. They just cracked jokes the entire time. And they weren't even dirty, stupid one-liners. These were entire-conversation kind of clean jokes!

My favorite one that they started towards the beginning was when the one sitting next to me said, "Guys, I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to water. I swear I go through like five glasses a day!" Then another would say something like, "Yeah I'm the same way with air. I don't know how I'd live without it."

"You mean like my grandpa?"

"Yeah. Is he dead?"

"No, he's in a better place."

"But doesn't that mean he's dead?"

"No, he just lives in Bermuda."

The conversation would go on like that for a while until they ran out of random things like that to say. All in all, they were pretty darn cool :)

I shall continue the rest of my story in a later post, but for now I just need to get this one posted. Stay tuned for the rest of my exciting adventure!!

Plunging Into History

Imagine yourself on the maiden voyage of the world’s most popular and exciting ocean liner. Everyone has said this ship to be “unsinkable”. People would die to have the opportunity to go. And many do.

On April 14, 1912, the bridge of the R.M.S. Titanic was phoned that an iceberg was straight ahead. The officer tried to avoid it by turning, but it wasn’t fast enough. The ocean liner rammed into the iceberg, shearing the side of the boat off and filling the watertight compartments. The ship plunged into the freezing ocean. 1522 people were killed on the sinking boat, while lifeboats saved 705. No one would see the Titanic for 73 years, until a French-American expedition was successful. On June 28, 1985, Robert Ballard and his team used the most advanced equipment: side-scan sonar, underwater video cameras, and robotic submersibles. Ballard saw the ship just as the captain was about to abort the mission. They sent down Jason Jr., a robotic submersible, to get a closer look. One of the things they found was that the Titanic split into two major halves, not in one piece like many believed. Five years after their discovery was made, Hollywood made a billion dollar movie, and a Broadway musical was made as well.

The story of the Titanic has always fascinated me, and this article condensed the story nicely. I think that we need to use this story as an example for future inventions and preparations. Slacking off in even the smallest things like preparing lifeboats affected thousands of people’s lives. We need to use this event in history as an example for ourselves.

The trial run for the Titanic only lasted a few short hours because the engineers and crew felt so confident that they didn’t feel it needed a longer test. They never had safety drills, so no one knew what to do when the time came for them to use them. They didn’t even have enough boats for everyone, and many people died because there just wasn’t room for them, or they didn’t even think it was serious.

We need to learn from this gruesome story that you can never be too prepared. We need to be more careful with our safety and drills. We need to take things like fire or earthquake drills more seriously. What if the school really was burning, and no one knew where to go or what to do? Many people could get hurt. Anything can happen! Expect the unexpected!

Literary Analysis/Comma Essay

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a classic novel about the French Revolution. During the chosen passage, the Defarges, a dedicated revolutionist couple, are discussing change and how it requires time. Change doesn’t happen in an instant; multiple events have to take place beforehand to bring about change.

‘It is a long time,’ repeated his wife; ‘and when is it not a long time? Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule.’

‘It does not take a long time to strike a man with Lightning,’ said Defarge.

‘How long,’ demanded madame, composedly, ‘does it take to make and store the lightning? Tell me.’

Defarge raised his head thoughtfully, as if there were something in that too.

‘It does not take a long time,’ said madame, ‘for an earthquake to swallow a town. Eh well! Tell me how long it takes to prepare the earthquake?’

‘A long time, I suppose,’ said Defarge.

‘But when it is ready, it takes place, and grinds to pieces everything before it. In the meantime, it is always preparing, thought it is not seen or heard. That is your consolation. Keep it.’

She tied a knot with flashing eyes, as if it throttled a foe.

‘I tell thee,’ said madame, extending her right hand, for emphasis, ‘that although it is a long time on the road, it is on the road and coming. I tell thee it never retreats, and never stops. I tell thee it is always advancing. Look around and consider the lives of all the world that we know, consider the faces of all the world that we know, consider the rage and discontent to which the Jacquerie addresses itself with more and more of certainty every hour. Can such things last? Bah! I mock you.’ (A Tale of Two Cites, page 181)

I think Madame Defarge is indirectly talking about the Revolution taking place. The way she was saying that it takes a long time to prepare an earthquake is longer than the earthquake itself made me think about how similar that is to a revolution. It takes years of disagreement and discord to start the idea of change, and then even longer for change to actually happen. This passage is important because it sets a feel for what the Revolution is like; there’s a lot of tension, anger, confusion, and frustration.

I think the comparison to the lightning and earthquakes was really smart. They take ages to build up, and, whether you’re ready or not, they strike! Natural forces have to come together to bring about physical change, much like a revolution takes preparation before any changes can happen. It gives a strong comparison, one that you can picture easily and makes a lot of sense.

Madame Defarge and her husband are almost debating about how timing affects everything. Madame Defarge obviously feels very strongly about her side; she uses really strong words like retribution and vengeance, ‘grinds to pieces’, ‘rage and discontent’, and there are descriptions of her, like her flashing eyes. She’s a passionate and bloodthirsty revolutionist, and it comes out clearly in this passage. It helps you get a feel for what she and other revolutionists are like.

What is going on between Madame and Monsieur Defarge mirrors what has to take place in society during a revolution, except on a smaller scale; there are clashes, debates, and expressed opinions. This passage really expresses that well. Madame Defarge’s points were very good, however fervently they were given, and they show exactly how a revolution works. A cultural revolution won’t happen overnight or with a single battle or event. It’s the result of many chains of events over a long period of time. She says that you need to be patient and believe that it will come.

I think this passage was very important to the flow of the book. Without it, it would have been very difficult to get the same feel for the angst and eagerness felt behind the revolutionists’ actions. It really helps portray how change, or the Revolution, takes time. Time is required and necessary in everything.