Monday, 28 May 2012

Oh to be as Free as a Butterfly !

As I sit in the library of my school , long after my peers have gone home I begin to ponder my thoughts . I sit here ,trying , hoping to get some study done....but not getting very far at all. Why is it that the things I normally wouldn't bat my eyelids at on a regular run of the mill day , are the very things distracting me most as I approach exam time ?? Typical .... 


 I sit on the floor looking out at the school football pitch - watching the little bursts of sunshine highlight the remaining puddles on the footpath from the earlier rain shower. I hear the birds sing- almost like they are trying to out do each other. I feel the slight breeze from the open window above me caress my fringe , which at this stage of the day is limply hanging over my face. I see a little butterfly dance in front of me . Fluttering its little wings and dancing in the wind and I wonder - what is must be like to be as free as a butterfly ?!? 


My freedom is so close , 3 weeks and I will be done , but I want it now . I see some of my friends finishing up for the summer , wishing I was them , wishing I was finished for the summer! I see my teachers walk to their cars in the evening and drive away , with their sunglasses on , ready for the summer ahead. I can not wait until I am one of them . 


But alas , here I am in the library , daydreaming as only I do best - about what if's , what could be and  what will be soon . But for now....back to my quotes and my Seamus Heaney essay I go .
 Aoife Marie Elizabeth

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Music Washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life ♪

English is one of my favorite subjects at school , along with music . So when my fantastic English teacher 
assigns homework to write an essay about music in your life , I was pretty excited . 
I am the kind of person who works better at night , for some reason , so I finished my essay at about 01:30 a.m. on Saturday night/Sunday morning. 
Music is a massive part of my life, is has been for as long as I can remember and will be for as long as I am on this earth. So I am going to share with you my essay on the magical thing that is music. 


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Writing about music is like dancing about architecture , it seems pointless because no matter how hard I try, conveying the power of music through words is practically impossible. Music is like an extra sense , you can not see or touch it , but you can feel it deep down in the core of your being . Nevertheless I will try my utmost to convey in words how valuable music is , to me and to practically everyone in the world.
     Music is like a drug, a magical thing that can transport you to a utopia within yourself. If a piece of music touches me ,  I feel it , I feel the melody course through my veins. I feel my heart beat that little bit stronger at every stacatto note . I feel the surging tingle across my skin when a piece of music is so powerful that I get goosebumps . I am positive that my body would stop functioning without music. I would not be who I am today without it . Imagine if there was no music in the World, it would be a very dark and scary place. It really doesn't bare thinking about . 
     As a musician and a music student ,music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can still remember the first tune I learnt on the tin-whistle-"Turn On The Sun " . Lets just say that I am no child prodigy and so it took a long time for my sun to light up, but after much squeaking and blaming of the instrument , I got there eventually . Now as a leaving Cert music student things have thankfully progressed on to beautiful Bach and Tschaikowsky piece, studied in much detail, so much that sometimes all the minims and crotchets muddle together . Yet it continues to sound beautiful . 
    I remember a story I read not so long ago that really spoke to me .A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theatre in Boston and the seats average $100. This story touched me and caused me to question a few things : Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it ? If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, how many other things are we missing ? After reading this I vowed to myself to open my eyes and my ears to everything around me .
     As I pen these words I have my happy music playlist playing in the background, for inspiration . The greatest kind of inspiration there is ! Anything from Andrea Bocelli to Taylor Swift has my pen and my foot tapping a gentle rhythm . "Music is a moral law, it gives soul to the universe , wings to the mind , flight to the imagination and charm and gaiety to life and everything ". 

   Music is like nothing else on this earth. It enriches every situation, be it a film, or an add. It is used to glorify God and to spread love. It is a key element in many weddings and funerals. At the tender age of 18 I have half the music planned for my wedding  - Don't judge me on that one please !! 

   Music to me is like a friend, it is there for you in the good times and the bad . It is there to hold you up and wipe away those tears and it is there to excite you and give energy. The nature of music is in itself sublime. I will conclude with words from Billy Joel , who can put it much better then I " I think music in itself is healing , it's an explosive expression of humanity . It's something we are all touched by .No matter what culture we are from, everyone loves music " . 


Aoife Marie Elizabeth ♪

Sunday, 6 May 2012

My little Star.

Good night my angel,
Good night my star,
I often wonder where you are- 
I look above and see you shine,
my darling you are always mine.


You Shine on me high above,
please know that I send all my love-
for I am watching from a far 
The twinkle of my little star.
Aoife Marie Elizabeth ♪

Friday, 4 May 2012

Puppy Dogs and Butterflies

Now before I begin this let me just clarify something .... this will have little or nothing to do with puppies and butterflies! Then why name it that ? Why not ?

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!
Friday is an awesome day - for some reason I always get an energy charge on a Friday evening that I wish I had for the rest of the week...but alas that does not happen so I make the most of it while it does last.
    This week has been hectic to say the least. It has been one of those stressful weeks when everything was annoying me and things were just not going my way !!!With difficult assignments in English such as 'corporal punishment' that would deflate the bubbliest of people, to people being rather rude, it has most certainly been on of "those" weeks.So instead of dwelling on that my best friend and I decided that "Puppy Dogs and Butterflies" would be far more apt ( now you know why that is the title ) .  But everyone has those weeks , I must remember that .I think when one is having a week like this we seem to forget that this happens to everyone - I know I do anyways . I kinda forgot that other people have stressful days and things annoy other people too .... We must not dwell on that ( as much as I would love to rant and rave about this ... I wont not now anyways ) .
To cheer me up I spent yesterday evening playing with my Niece . A sure way to make me feel better after a hard day , and I was right. We explored every inch of her room, as well as every other room. She showed me all of her toys as if I had not seen her or her house for a very long time ( note : it has been less then a week ) . But her excitement was just so uplifted that it instantly made me smile and feel better. We then proceeded to both get into her wardrobe and have a chat ....yep that's right we sat in her wardrobe - as you do !! I felt like I was 5 again , playing hide and seek . My niece is awesome !!!

Our Graduation is fast approaching which is just .... SHOCKING (!!!!) I know I am not graduating from college or anything but this is a big deal. We are graduating from Secondary school, it is the closing of one door and the opening to a big wide world out there waiting for us . This is a big step and this is one step I want to be absolutely amazing for everyone. I would love it if people looked back on our Leaving Cert graduation as one fantastic event full of memories . We are the 1st graduating Class of C.I.I. that is awesome- the 1st ever, that will never happen again, we will always be the 1st !! How cool is that - we are making small town history here people .
 So at the moment nostalgia is flying high among the 6th years . With childhood and past school photos being fawned over.  Memories are being relived ...there are the " Remember when" moments and the "That was so long ago " moments. Right now I am feeling nostalgia for the present - which is a really conflicting emotion. I want to remember all the things that happen in the next few weeks , because in years to come I want  to look back on our last few weeks of secondary school with joy and a big smile on my face .


On a side note I think the dressing of a bed by yourself from top to bottom should become a sport in the Olympics. Not to brag but I think I would probably get Gold ;)
Although it was completely pointless to dress my bed fully just a few hours before I got into it....it had to be done - because I can be a neat freak about things ( only sometimes )
* I need to get a more interesting life * .

Aoife  Marie Elizabeth  ♪