learning country music

Being a five year old girl with an older sister who doesn’t live with you makes you want to be like them. You want to watch the same movies as them and have the same friends as them but in my case I wanted to sing the music the music my sister Brittany, or as I call her; Britt, did. Britt and I were very close when she would stay with us and I think part of that reason is because we shared a room when she would come to visit for the summer or Christmas. We would have to deal with (and learn to like…as our parents would say) sharing dresser space and the space of the room. Britt is three years older than me so I thought it was cool to have my older sister stay with me (until I was around the age of seven) even though she probably thought I was the most annoying person on the planet.

When I was five Brittany came to visit for the summer like she always would and at the time she was involved in doing beauty pageants. Part of doing beauty pageants is coming up with routines to perform at the competitions. I remember sometimes she would perform her talent acts to my parents but I would never pay much attention to them because I was either outside playing or I didn’t want to sit still but one night I was tired and bored so I sat down with my parents to watch her perform a song named “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” by Reba Mcentire.

I always knew that she could sing because she would sing in the shower or make my stuffed strawberry shortcake pillow sing “My Little Sunshine” when I would go to bed at night, but I had never heard her sing with purpose in front of me like she was standing on a stage. She sounded beautiful with a rich voice that seemed to have as much character as the expressions on her face. I was awed by the performance and only wanted to hear more of this thing she called “country music.”  I had always learned the simple nursery rhymes in school and the songs that we sang in church but had never really been interested in other types of music until Britt performed that day.

The next day, I asked Britt when she woke up if she would teach me how to sing like her so she sat me down at the kitchen table with a printed copy of lyrics and taught me the words of the song by having me recite the phrases back to her. After I had the basic idea of what the words were she got our dad’s stereo and got a white CD with the title “Read My Mind” out of our room. At first I listened to the song. The voice on the CD was much different from Brittany’s. It had a lot more rasp and had a deeper southern accent and was amazed to find I loved the sound of it. Brittany taught me the arrangement of the notes and by the end of the night I knew the chorus of the song. Every day that week I worked on the song and listened to it over and over again. By the end of the week I had the song memorized and perfected it as much as a five year old can and I was so proud of myself. I loved the way Reba sang it and I loved how I could add rasp and be powerful with the lyrics.  About a week after that Britt asked me to sing her and my parents the song because she knew I was excited about learning it. After I was done singing my parents’ jaws seem to hit the floor. My mom said I sounded like a mini Brittany and never thought I would be able to sing too. When Brittany left she accidently left the CD at our house and I slowly began to learn the other songs on the CD. I was hooked on country music.

Fast forward three years to the audition section of American Idol season four. I was sitting in the living room with my Disney princess blanket eating a bowl of strawberry ice cream. As I watch the screen a small town girl from Checotah, Oklahoma with an accent that would be noticeable from anywhere. As my eyes became glued to the TV and the rest of my family disappeared she started to sing, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Riatt. It wasn’t a traditional country song but this girl added a recognizable tone to it that had made me an excited eight-year-old girl. I told my parents right then and there that she would win the competition.  They didn’t believe me because there were other good singers but all my faith was in this small town girl. A few months later my prediction came true, Carrie Underwood was standing on stage with a smile on her face and tears of joy running down her cheeks. she was a true inspiration and automatically became my all time favorite country artist. About 6 months after that I was learning all the music off her first CD and trying to perfect every song like I had with the Reba Mcentire album. I listened and knew the songs so well that my mom took me to her concert the following summer. I had told myself I wanted to be like her when I grew up.

To this day I still listen to and love country music. It’s actually the only type of music on my IPod. I love singing with the southern twang and even though I have done musical theatre and sang more technically, something always bring me back to the raspy, heartwarming sound of country because that’s where my voice started and where I am comfortable.  If it wasn’t for my sister singing a Reba song eleven years ago and Carrie Underwood being the first country artist to win idol and go on to inspiring success.  I would not love country music as much as I do today. Country music has made a large impact me because it was the type of music I listened to all through my childhood. My mom listened to oldies, my dad listened to classic rock, and a few years later my sister moved to listening to pop music and punk and my younger sister, Sierra, has always like pop music over all. I’ve tried to like other kinds of music but I always find myself changing the radio to the country station. The dream to record and perform country music still lives today. I work on about 5 different songs a week and sometimes record them on my computer. The dream may stay a dream, but if it weren’t for Reba, Carrie, and most importantly, Britt I would not be as connected to music or be as good of a singer as I am today, and for that I am forever grateful.

learning country music (rough draft)

Being a five year old girl with an older sister who doesn’t live with you makes you want to be like them. You want to watch the same movies as them and have the same friends as them but in my case I wanted to sing the music the music my sister Brittany, or as I call her; Britt, did.

Britt and I were very close when she would stay with us and I think part of that reason is because we shared a room when she would come to visit for the summer or Christmas. We would have to deal with (and learn to like…as our parents would say) sharing dresser space and the space of the room. Britt is three years older than me so I thought it was cool to have my older sister stay with me (until I was around the age of seven) even though she probably thought I was the most annoying person on the planet.

When I was five Brittany came to visit for the summer like she always would and at the time she was involved in doing beauty pageants. Part of doing beauty pageants is coming up with routines to perform at the competitions. I remember sometimes she would perform her talent acts to my parents but I would never pay much attention to them because I was either outside playing or I didn’t want to sit still but one night I was tired and bored so I sat down with my parents to watch her perform a song named “Why Haven’t I Heard From You” by Reba Mcentire.

I always knew that she could sing because she would sing in the shower or make my stuffed strawberry shortcake pillow sing “My Little Sunshine” when I would go to bed at night, but I had never heard her sing with purpose in front of me like she was standing on a stage. She sounded beautiful with a rich voice that seemed to have as much character as the expressions on her face. I was awed by the performance and only wanted to hear more of this thing she called “country music.”  I had always learned the simple nursery rhymes in school and the songs that we sang in church but had never really been interested in other types of music until Britt performed that day. The next day, I asked Britt when she woke up if she would teach me how to sing like her so she sat me down at the kitchen table with a printed copy of lyrics and taught me the words of the song by having me recite the phrases back to her. After I had the basic idea of what the words were she got our dads stereo and got the CD out. At first I listened to the song. The voice on the CD was much different from Brittany’s. It had a lot more rasp and had a deeper southern accent and was amazed to find I loved the sound of it. Brittany taught me the arrangement of the notes and by the end of the night I knew the chorus of the song. Every day that week I worked on the song and listened to it over and over again. By the end of the week I had the song memorized and perfected it as much as a five year old can and I was so proud of myself. I loved the way Reba sang it and I loved how I could add rasp and be powerful with the lyrics.  About a week after that Britt asked me to sing her and my parents the song because she knew I was excited about learning it. After I was done singing my parents’ jaws seem to hit the floor. My mom said I sounded like a mini Brittany and never thought I would be able to sing too. When Brittany left she accidently left the CD at our house and I slowly began to learn the other songs on the CD. I was hooked on country music.

To this day I still listen to and love country music. It’s actually the only type of music on my IPod. I love singing with the southern twang and even though I have done musical theatre and sang more technically, something always bring me back to the raspy, heartwarming sound of country.  If it wasn’t for my sister singing a Reba song eleven years ago I would not love country music as much as I do today and the memory of her teaching me to sing “Why Haven’t I Heard from You”  always comes to mind when I listen to Reba and puts a smile on my face.

main idea of my narrative paper... learning country music

Having a sister who is three years older than you that doesn’t live with you when you’re a five year old girl means that you want to be like them and do the things they do. My older sister Brittany, who lived with her mom in South Carolina, came to visit every summer and every other Christmas. We shared a room when she was here which meant we were very close and also meant I would annoy her to death. Brittany, when she was younger, was in beauty pageants and was really good at them. She won many categories like beauty and talent. I remember seeing my sister… who was from the south… performing a song in the living room to my parents. To me, it was the best performance I had ever seen and left me wanting to sing with a twang that filled people ears with a sweet heartfelt sound. At a young age I knew the simple song that I would learn in school like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and Mary Had a Little Lamb” but had not really paid attention to any certain type of music. She sang “Why Haven’t I Heard from You” by Reba Mcentire and I was hooked on country music.

common classificaitons of food

To classify foods nowadays one common way is the food pyramid. In the food pyramid we have created different groups. These groups are grains, veggies, fruits, dairy, proteins, and fat. The USDA says “Each group has specific essential nutrients most easily obtained from foods in that group. Being aware of the classification of food groups is the first step to planning a healthy diet. “The food pyramid helps us plan a menu and make sure we are eating what we need be healthy. Another way we classify food is what the labels say on the box. Things like fat free, whole grain and low carb are a few of these labels. We classify these as healthier processed foods. Also our grocery stores classify foods by section and amount of nutrition. Healthier, not as processed items like veggies, fruit, meat, and dairy products will be on the perimeter of the store. While more processed items like bread, crackers, and caned items will be in the aisles.

Works cited

Live strong- classification of food groups- http://www.livestrong.com/article/299591-classification-of-food-groups/

Malcolm X vs. Benjamin Franklin

When reading about Malcolm X and Benjamin Franklin I noticed some similarities and differences about their education. The main similarity was that they were both learning grammar and how to read. Another similarity is that people helped both of them. Benjamin’s family and friends helped him and Malcolm X got help from the people who worked in the library at the jail by letting him check out more books than the amount permitted. A difference was that Malcolm had started off as a self-teacher and then people helped him, whereas Benjamin was put into a grammar school at a young age and always had people to help him. Another difference is how they learned. Benjamin learned from years of class while Malcolm learned from writing down words from a dictionary on a tablet and slowly learning how to read his own writing and slowly being able to read other books. Another difference was that Benjamin was given an education by his father because his father wanted him to go into the church. where Malcolm sat I a jail cell reading because he had the desire to learn and be able to speak in front of people and sound educated.

education in america

With unmotivated students and abused school budgets I think that the education in America is not where it should be.

            Students in America seem to not care as much as they should about their education. In high school you see students sleep, text, and not pay attention in class.

Students come to class without homework on time and some are ok with the lowest possible grade that will get them to pass the class. They think school is a joke and that what they are suppose to learn, for example; algebra, will not help them later in life. One problem about the students is that they are obsessed with their cell phones. It has gotten so bad that I know of people that will call other people in the middle of class when we are suppose to be working on an assignment. They text in class constantly and the teachers have gotten to the point where they don’t care because they feel students are not going to listen to them no matter what the rule is. The truth is most students don’t care what the rule is because they know they can get away with it. Students also don’t get enough sleep. They will stay up until two in the morning and will get up at six for school. They go to school unable to pay attention and they sometime will fall asleep in class. This means that they are not learning and will not be able to succeed in the class easily. It seems like students set themselves up to not  be ready for college and to go into a good career. Students dropout because they make regretful decisions and have to or they just don’t like school. Also, a lot of students have to stay in high school for an extra year because they don’t pass their classes and are pushed behind of their peers.  This is all because they are not motivated.

            Lately, because of the economy school budgets are being cut around the country. Schools can’t afford new supplies like textbooks or cant get enough for all students. Then sometimes the school says they don’t have enough money for stuff but are able to buy things that the school could have a cheaper version of. At my high school they said that they only had enough money to buy class sets of the new math text books which meant that we wouldn’t get a text book and we would have to get our homework from an online book  that sometimes didn’t work and was unreliable for the forst few weeks of school but somehow paid for 32 apple Mac computers for the web design class, a DJ to play at lunch for homecoming week, and flat screen TVs to show a slide show of pictures in the commons area. I don’t know how they separate the budget but from a student’s point of view it seems like they don’t have their priorities straight for what we as student actually need in the classroom.

            Because of students who are not motivated in school and poor budget choices the educational system in America is not up to standards but it is something that can be fixed. if you are a student you can make sure you get enough sleep, turn off the cell phone, and try to pay attention in class. If you’re a parent, teacher, principal, or a school board member you can take part in what we spend school money on by going to school board meetings and letting them know what you think money should be spent on. Then, maybe we could make a change in the educational system in America.