Farewell DF

Today I wanted to take the time to do something that I don't normally do: Thank a specific person for something they have done for not only me, but for countless others. This person's name is David Fullmer and he has been and is one of the best influences I have had in my life and today he moved to California to be the new marching band director at Fresno State University.

I first met this man when I was in 7th grade at our end of the year concert at Centennial. This concert was also going to be Ms. Henderson's last one, so it was a special night for us. When the 8th grade band was about to play "Flight of the Thunderbird", Dr. Fullmer was invited to come up and play the trumpet solo. It was one of the most amazing songs I had heard in my life at the time and I fell in love with it, but what caught my eye was how much Ms. Henderson admired Dr. Fullmer and cried because she would be leaving.

On April 16, 2012, an announcement was made over the intercom that said "All band students have a meeting today at lunch in the band room" I thought "Wait, so no band council today?" As soon as 6th period ended, I rushed over to the band room and saw Kim Davidson and her daughter and Hilary and Jasmine Fullmer standing there. I immediately started thinking of reasons why they would be there, but shunned out the thoughts of him leaving, cause there's no way he could! Well as soon as the band room started to fill, he came out of his office and quieted us down. He started talking about the next day's concert and why it was important. "It's the Senior's last one on the Timpview stage" "It's the last one for the concert band" he nodded and agreed to other reasons why it was important and then said "Yes, yes. All wonderful reasons why, but do you know why else it will be special?" we all got quiet and stared at him as we feared the worst. "Tomorrow will also be my last concert at Timpview." at that moment I broke into tears along with many others and then listened to the rest of what he had to say. "I've accepted a job at Fresno State University as the new marching band director" and then he continued to talk about how hard the decision was and how he didn't think he'd be able to love those Fresno kids more than us. At the end of lunch, he told us "now everyone stand up, find a friend and give them a hug because we all need that right now." and we all stood up and hugged and cried together. I could not believe he was really going. A couple of my friends didn't want to go to class after receiving that news (and I didn't have a class) so we decided to take a walk and reminisce on memories outside. We walked through the marching field at Edgemont, went to the swing set and finally decided that we needed some ice cream to feel better.

The next day, I had the privilege of going with our band president to buy flowers for the concert and it indeed was a very special concert. The whole band knew this was his last concert and we were unified in every group and gave our best.

Some of the things that he's taught me over the years:
-There is nothing more wonderful than a grateful teenager
-It's NEVER too late to be the way you wish you could have been
-Hotel staff can learn to like having a big group of teenagers visit their hotel if they are always in stealth mode
-Always check your pockets before you jump off a boat deck and plunge into the ocean
- History is important and needs to be retold
-Music is a language that can communicate with every emotion there is
-You should never be rotten to your mother
-Don't trust Bao Ha with your cell phone
-High Yield, Low Maintenance
And many other things


Besides these things, Dr. Fullmer was also able to provide me with feelings that can't be written down on paper. Things that can only be felt from the moment that they were first experienced, but are never forgotten.
-The feeling you get when you've given your best for the last Marching Band competition and are walking off the field
-Seeing Pearl Harbor for the very first time after preparing for a year to go
-Playing "America the Beautiful" in the Punchbowl Cemetery
-Singing Eternal Father Strong to Save in the shrine of the USS Arizona Memorial
-Playing "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" for the last time on the Timpview stage
-Breaking the name game all time record to a time that will never be achieved again: 0:01.22
And many other things as well.

This man will never know exactly how much he changed not only my life, but hundreds of other students among the years. It's rare to find a person like that in your life, but if you find one, let them teach you. Let them help you become a better person and mold you into an adult.

Fresno doesn't know how lucky they are to be getting him, but we do. One of my favorite quotes from the Sandlot is "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Dr. Fullmer is a Timpview legend and will always be remembered.

Thank you for your lessons DF, they helped us all and will continue to help us in our lives.
All I can say now is: Go Bulldogs!

Change

So I've been slacking off a bit and I apologize. I've been thinking about what to write about in here for a while and I finally got it.

There's a word that has always had a bitter sweet meaning to me. What's the word?

Change.

Change can be good, but it can also be bad, or sad.

I've had to deal with a lot of change and it's been from both aspects of it. But what's really changed me as a person has been change in friendships.

Friends in my life are something that I put at the top of my list of things that I value. I love my friends with all my heart. But sometimes I love them too much to notice that something's not right. With one friend I had, I was too forgiving. Too blind to see that every time I forgave them for something was just another chance for them to hurt me again. It wasn't till the point that I was left in tears crying to another friend who was trying to help me through this that I realized what I had to do. I had to change my friendship with them to a non existent one for the better. Was it hard? Oh yes. Imagine the awkwardness of having to be in the same room as them knowing that they are staring at you. Imagine being on the same sports team as that person and having the same leadership position as them so you are forced to talk to them. Imagine sitting right in front of that person in a class and knowing that they're staring at the back of your head. Can you imagine all that? Yeah, I had to go through that as part of my process of change and it was hard, so hard. But was it worth it? Definitely, because a lot of good things came out of it. I was able to get a new best friend and see what a true friendship is, I got to spend more time with what I love doing and with a group of people that I love a lot, and I was able to change the person that I am into an even better one.

Change isn't easy friends, but it's possible.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Well, I don't have much to say, so I've decided to put pictures of motivational sayings that I've found over time. Enjoy.

Stuck in the Slumps...

"I'm sorry to say so
But, sadly, it's true
That bang-ups
And hang-ups
Can happen to you

You can get all hung up
In a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a lurch

You'll come down from the lurch
With an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then
That you'll be in a slump

And when you're in a slump,
You're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
Is not easily done."

Words that are true indeed Dr. Seuss. Being in a slump, does things to you. It messes with your head and emotions and makes you feel like a person that you are not. But sometimes people are put in slumps, but not voluntarily. I'm sorry to say that there are people out there who enjoy and work at putting people in the slumps for pure fun. I know. I've dealt with a couple.

But those people don't get what they're actually doing to a person when they do all that mean stuff. They don't realize all the damage they're causing. What's a solution for it? Ignore them, as much as it may hurt you on the inside. This of course isn't an easy task. I'm still learning to cope with it.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me? False. Words can hurt. Sometimes they can hurt as much as knives can, but you've gotta try to keep your head up.

Don't give up in the slump, know why? Cause I'm there too. I'm trying to take my own advice, but it's easier said than done.

For Those Maybe in Need of Some Comfort

As I'm typing this, it is almost 2am. I couldn't sleep because I had something on my mind. So what do I do? Blog about it.

There's a quote that I was taught once upon a time in band that goes a little something like this:

"Sometimes life throws a curve ball at you out of nowhere. This is normal. It's life. Life happens and it happens to everyone. The only thing that is different is that for every person, there is a different reaction. The way that you react to sudden situations make you the person that you are."

I love this quote because it's true. Life happens to everyone, but everyone takes a different approach to the situation at hand.

Next to life happening, you will also be put through trials to test your strength in every way. And now I have yet another quote from Da Fatha. He told us this at the end of a rehearsal that we had been struggling through.

"It's hard, I know this is hard and I want to tell you with all my heart that this will be the hardest thing that you will ever do. But that's just a big old fat lie. I'm sorry to say that this is NOT the hardest thing that you will ever do. There are things out in this big scary world that scare even grown people like me. So what do we do? We face them and do the best we can and stay strong."

Challenges and trials aren't put in our lives to just be a background decoration. They are put there so we can look them in the eye and say "Hey, you're going down. You don't scare me. I'm strong. Bring it on." But no battle is easy if it's fought alone. The solution? Anyone around you that loves you. Friends, family... They love you for who you are and would love to help you. The only thing you need to do is ask.

"Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me! When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long till I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on"

Everyone needs someone to lean on, and I've got good news for you guys.
Need a friend? Call me :) I'll listen to you and try to help you out as best I can. I just don't want anyone trying to face a battle alone.

Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor :)

"Those Small Acts of Kindness..."

"I have a theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go."

-Rachel Joy Scott, First victim of the Columbine High School Shooting

I first heard about this girl my freshman year of high school in a school wide assembly where they introduced a little something called "Rachel's Challenge." To put it simply, it was a way to change the world (or school) for the positive by doing small acts of kindness.

When this assembly was over, everyone was all "I want to do it! I want to change people for the better!" and signed a banner saying that they accepted the challenge. a couple weeks later, Rachel's challenge was forgotten in the minds of many.

At times, I forgot about that challenge, but it wasn't until I was on the opposite side of it that I understood that I needed to continue the challenge even if no one else wanted to follow in my footsteps.

It wasn't easy, but I sure felt a lot better about putting a smile on someone else's face, and before I knew it, they were doing the same for me and they made all the difference.

What I'm trying to say here is, be careful with your words. Some of them can be twisted and changed into something that you never meant to say and can hurt someone deeply. 

Then again, words can be fantastic too! I don't know of many people who frown upon a simple "Hi! How's your day been!" or "Hey, I just want you to know you're a fantastic person and you mean a lot to me"

Those small little words can make someone's life change

Reminiscing on Memories...

I have a confession. I have a box.

Not just any box, but a "memory box"

In this memory box, I like to put things that have at some point in my life meant something to me.

Well, I was looking through my box (actually, I have more than one) and was surprised at how much actual stuff I had in there.

Corsage and Fancy straw from Prom

Lifeguard whistles from Seven Peaks

My Alphabet Book from Kindergarten when I was learning to write

Rubber bands from when I had braces

Script to our 5th grade performance of "A Christmas Carol"

Memorial Day Performance Poppies

Almost every program from every Band concert at Timpview

Graduation Programs from 6th and 12th grade

My First Personal Progress book

Pamphlets, tickets and letters from PHP II

Itinerary's from Band Tours...

EVERY single copy of the Thunderbolt from the years I was at Timpview

Tickets from many movie outings, one of which from my first date

And MANY Other things 

What I learned from all these things in my box is that the things that you do, make you what you are. 

For me, I'm a Music playing-lifeguarding-newspaper reading- band trip goer-brace face- graduate AND I'm a Mormon :)

So, make your memories while you're young so you have crazy stories to tell your kids and theirs in the future when you're old and wrinkly.