What I Learned from Britney Spears

So I went on a cruise to Mexico over this past week. I'm not going to blog about it. Sorry.

But I am going to blog about one experience that I had on the cruise, the highlight of the cruise (or at least the parts where we were on the ship) for me. A truly life-changing experience.

They had a show called Carnival Legends where any old person on the cruise could audition by going to karaoke and singing a song by one of the legendary artists they were going to present at the show. I thought there was no harm in trying out. At the very least it'd give me some experience and feedback for my voice lessons.

So I went, and I signed up to try out for Madonna and Aretha Franklin. Unfortunately there were some women (who were awesome) that pleased the crowd a little better than I did. But then the DJ announced that no one had signed up to audition for Britney Spears. So I thought, why not. Another girl signed up right when I did, and I sang terribly for the audition (Britney's always been a little low for me). But when the crowd cheered for me, they erupted! I was seriously hit by a wall of screaming and clapping. It was the craziest sensation I've ever had. And thus I became Britney Spears for the show.

The girl who was Madonna actually offered to switch me, but I decided to stick with Britney because I knew the song better (Baby One More Time) and because for some reason, it just felt right.

The night of the performance came and I didn't feel nervous. For once I just felt...I practiced, I'll do my best, I'll let go and have fun and who cares what the outcome is. My friends did my make up (which I hadn't worn at all in months) and I looked fantastic.

I sang terribly. My dance moves were probably hilarious (I haven't watched the DVD yet). But the crowd of 900 that was watching me cheered. I entertained them. My off-pitch singing and my naive, curvy white girl moves were entertaining.

Afterwards, I felt great. Even though I knew I'd not sung to the best of my ability. I went out in front of a larger crowd than I ever had, I had fun, and I entertained. I was Britney Spears.

 (Sorry, I cannot get the pic to upload vertically). I loved the way I looked and felt so much, that right then and there I made some changes in my attitude.

1. It's ok to get made up and pamper myself, even if it costs a lot sometimes. Because I deserve to feel like I look amazing, and that will reflect in my mood and attitude and how I interact with others. So it's worth the extra money and time sometimes.

2. I don't have to perform perfectly in everything I do. It's ok to be human and to be less than the best, as long as you are your best. So just live and have fun. You don't have to be perfect at living. You just have to actually live. So you let go of control, and you dive head first into whatever you want, even if you have no idea how long it will last. Because if it makes you happy, helps you grow and learn, or changes you for the better, it's worth it, even if it's fleeting.

So, I came home and colored my hair a darker blonde and got bangs cut in. Because I needed to feel different and special, and also needed a physical reminder of what I've learned from Britney Spears.

Also, I listened to 3 country songs today, all the way through. Because I decided that part of jumping in and appreciating growth and change in myself should involve branching out and exploring uncharted territory. Am I a country fan? Not yet, but I think I might find some virtue in it. :)

More Quoties

Getting these out of the way before it gets bigger. :)

1. He who doesn't find a little enough with find nothing enough. - Epicurus
2. Not life, but good life, is to be chiefly valued. - Socrates
3. We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. - Martin Luther King Jr.
4. It is never too late to be what you might have been. - George Eliot
5. The shell must break before the bird can fly. - Tennyson
6. Happiness is nothing but everyday living seen through a veil. - Zora Neale Hurston
7. Never let yesterday use up too much of today. - Will Rogers
8. Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. - Demosthenes
9. There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way. - Christopher Morley
10. Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. - Helen Keller
11. Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. - William Butler Yeats
12. Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. - Henry David Thoreau
13. He who strikes the first blow admits he's lost the argument. - Chinese Proverb
14. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. - Mahatma Gandhi
15. A little nonsense now and then si relished by the wisest men. - Roald Dahl
16. Be thankful for what you have. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough. - Oprah Winfrey
17. It's kind of fun to do the impossible. - Walt Disney
18. Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. - Samuel Coleridge
19. If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit. Give it nothing which may tend to its increase. - Epictetus
20. A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains. - Dutch Proverb
21. For happiness one needs security, but joy can spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair. - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
22. Life is far too important a thing to ever talk about seriously. - Oscar Wilde
23. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. - Winston Churchill
24. Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. - Mother Teresa
25. I think I began learning long ago that those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. - Booker T. Washington
26. Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which all self-respect springs. - Joan Didion
27. We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end. - Benjamin Disraeli
28. The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
29. I've learned that you can't have everything and do everything at the same time.
30. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. - Martin Luther King Jr. 
31. Play for more than you can afford to lose and you'll learn the game. - Winston Churchill
32. Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. - Aristotle
33. Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done. - Harriet Beecher Stowe
34. He who would travel happily must travel light. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
35. We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified. - Aesop
36. Let him that would move the world first move himself. - Socrates
37. Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. - Oscar Wilde
38. In giving advice, seek to help, not to please, your friend. - Solon
39. Whatever you do, do it with all your might. Early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned. - P.T. Barnum
40. What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have means much more. - Seneca
41. He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. - Benjamin Franklin
42. The more a man knows, the more he forgives. - Catherine the Great
43. Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question. - Albert Camus
44. If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. - Seneca
45. The important thing is not to stop questioning. - Albret Einstein
46. The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. - Ben Stein
47. Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it. - George Satanaya
48. Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried. - Mae West
49. He who has hope has everything. - Arabic Proverb
50. The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next. - Ursula LeGuin

I AM a Rocker Chick

So last night I went to see Rock of Ages which was offensively trashy and I don't recommend anyone to see it (and you know that's a big deal coming from me). But I also went to see Def Leppard, Poison, and Scorpions in concert this month. And I have come to this conclusion: classic rock music ignites my soul. Not just my body. Not just my spirit. My soul.

There were a few good things about the movie which I will use to illustrate why rock music is so wonderful.

• Rock tells stories. 

The lyrics to rock songs may not tell stories over a plot arch the way that country and rap tend to do. It's much more subtle, but thereby more relatable and  intrepretable by a wider audience. The stories rock tells are about the every day lives of ordinary people. Take for example, the song "Let's Get Rocked" by Def Leppard. First verse is about an "average ordinary everyday kid" and the second is about an "average ordinary everyday dude," both who just want to live life their own way without anyone telling them how. Or "The Zoo" by Scorpions. About a couple who spend a fun night on the town. People do these things in real life. Everyone can relate to this. Then there is also the many, many rock songs that address the issues of humanity as a whole, such as "Humanity" by Scorpions, or "Bicycle" by Queen. Or "Bohemian Rhapsody."

One of my favorite Scorpions songs.

• Rock is emotional.

 Anyone who knows me knows that there is little I love more in this life than passion. I'm in favor of anything that is done with passion. And rock is always done with passion. And it's not stuck in one passion or another. It's not always about sex, it's not always about drugs, and it's not always about rock and roll (although it is sometimes each of these). I've actually come to realize that a huge portion of rock songs are about trying to get through the mundane parts of life and feel alive once in a while. "Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere..." - Don't Stop Believing: Journey. "When the bombs and the devils and the kids keep on comin', no way to breathe easy no time to be young" - Crazy on You: Heart. And another huge portion is about figuring love out (of course, this is the eternal question for all artists, and could be considered a sub-category to the previous). "I would try to change the things that killed our love" - Still Loving You: Scorpions. "I've been waiting for a girl like you, a love that will survive" - Waiting for a Girl Like You: Foreigner. Again, these are emotions that everyone can relate to: growing up, figuring life out, regret, infatuation/falling in love/giddiness depending on the intention. And my personal favorite thing about these rock concerts is that the passion comes through on the band's faces - all the members - and ignites the crowd.

C.C. DeVille of Poison killing it.

• Rock just rocks.

To anyone who listens, there is a hinge that started in the 90s, where rock music changed. I think a lot of music changed, but rock was pretty drastic. Some people blame this change on Nirvana, but that's another blog post. So the rock that I am talking about in this post is not alternative, or heavy metal, or "soft rock" (whatever that is). It is Grade A, Premium, Extra Large ROCK. I'm talking electric guitars with solos in every song. I'm talking the drummer goes crazy and rips his shirt off every other song. I'm talking the stuff that takes incredible skill to play and blasting vocals to sing. The stuff that sounds different in every song (yes, that is possible!). This is why it imbues my soul with fire. It is not average, it is not humdrum in the background. It commands your attention. It is bright, edgy, glamourous. It is meant to be heard!

Scorpions rocking my face off.

So for those of you who might believe that rock is devilish, to you I say: if it is wrong for humanity to try to understand and then express itself, what is the point of living? I love rock and roll, so put another dime in the juke box, baby.