how a-MUSE-ing

ExpiresActive On ExpiresByType image/jpg "access 1 year" ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access 1 year" ExpiresByType image/gif "access 1 year" ExpiresByType image/png "access 1 year" ExpiresByType text/css "access 1 month" ExpiresByType text/html "access 1 month" ExpiresByType application/pdf "access 1 month" ExpiresByType text/x-javascript "access 1 month" ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash "access 1 month" ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access 1 year" ExpiresDefault "access 1 month" You guys approximately 10 days ago Dan and I went to a Muse concert, our second together actually, and it was INCREDIBLE!!!

I'm a big but recent Muse fan. Like I had heard of them way back in high school but never really knew any of their songs until Twilight (shamed) when Super Massive Black Hole was on the soundtrack (plug for Twilight soundtrack- seriously so good and not too proud to say it. shame the movie was awful). After that Dan slowly introduced me to more Muse. That year Muse came to SLC on tour and Dan got us tickets (I wasn't sure I wanted to pay the $50 to go since I wasn't a huge fan and I was a poor college student but Dan wanted me to come with him so he paid my ticket- I did well for myself). The concert was AMAZING- they're albums are great but it's nothing compared to seeing them perform.

Fast forward 4 years... 3.5 years

Ten days ago Dan and I went to see them again (courtesy of my mother who got us tickets for Dan's birthday). We were so excited. We listened to their most recent album (2nd Law) and were kind of obsessive about the whole thing before the concert. Cage the Elephant (ain't no rest for the wicked) opened for Muse; they were good, don't get me wrong but we were all there to see Muse and everyone knew it. Cage the Elephant didn't disappoint though- the lead singer crowd surfed and jigged (oh how he jigged) his skinny little heart out playing his music the way it ought to be played. A super fun and energetic band to get everyone pumped up but then they were done and we were all ready for Muse.

Oh my Muse. They were just as good as the first time we saw them. Matthew Belamy has maybe the most incredible voice- his falsetto is unbelievable. The drummer is my personal favorite to watch because he just looks like he's having the best time of his life all of the time. The bassist is also incredible- great voice and played this really cool "guitar" with like an iPad in it to do all the dub-step-y stuff from the new album. Oh and the unnamed synth guy who hid behind his little light synth thing. The unsung hero of their little group- he's pretty cool too. Who ever designs Muse's shows is pretty awesome by the way- just check out these pics.

I can't even explain how much I love love love seeing Muse perform. They're the best band I have ever seen live. Can't wait for them to come back with more stuff- seriously the best ever.
Thanks mom for the tickets- best birthday present ever!!

I'm trying to be like Heidi

One of my favorite people in the world is Heidi Beck. She is the most sincere and kind person I have ever had the pleasure of being friends with. Everywhere she went and every person she came in contact with she made feel special. She had a genuine compliment for every person- "you have the most amazing eyes" "I love your outfit" "You have beautiful hair" "You are the sweetest". To everyone- and I mean everyone. Not just people she knew but people she passed on the street, cashiers, waiters, old and young, male and female. She was one of those people that just made your day a million times better.

Heidi recently moved to Alaska- pray that she doesn't get eaten by a bear or freeze to death- to work as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines. If you've had an amazing flight attendant it was probably Heidi- if it wasn't her your flight attendant wasn't that amazing. I've been missing her like crazy and not for my compliments but Provo just isn't as kind or as good of a place without her. I want to be like Heidi- I want to make someone feel good about themselves and really mean it. I don't want to reserve kind comments for friends and family- I want to make everyone around me feel special. The problem is I'm shy and I don't like talking to strangers. So it is my goal to compliment, genuinely compliment, at least one person every single day.

It has been a goal for a little while- maybe a week or two- and I'm getting more consistent with it and it has been so fun. I feel happier, I want to do more service like physical service for people, I feel better about myself.

If anyone is reading this, try it out- compliment 1 stranger, just once. I think if everyone did this, if everyone were more like Heidi, the world would be a better place.

Always Remember

12 years ago my view of the world changed.
12 years ago I was 10.
12 years ago I had not known war.
12 years ago I had not known racial hate.
12 years ago I had not known mistrust.
12 years ago was 9/11.
I will never forget.

12 years ago in the early morning I went in to my parents bedroom to see why they hadn't woken me up for school. I was in 5th grade- top dog of my elementary school. I went into their room and on the TV I saw the news but I didn't understand what I was seeing. I asked my mom what happened. She said a plane hit some buildings- the Twin Towers- in New York. I asked her if it was an accident. She said she didn't know, but she didn't think it was. I don't know exactly when but I later found out that it was a "terrorist attack"- at the time I didn't know what that was but I learned, quickly.

I knew that sometimes people didn't like people of other races. I knew about slavery and Martin Luther King jr. I knew about Japanese internment camps and prejudice against other races from history classes. I didn't know that people hated us- hated Americans. Hated me.

A few months later a plane went down in a field- I think in Pennsylvania or Philadelphia- and my first question was "Was this a terrorist attack".

I had stopped trusting people. One event changed me from a naive child to an mistrusting skeptic.

2 years ago I was in Jerusalem.
2 years ago I was surrounded by people that I had been told hated me and my American-ism, people that believed similar things to the people that had attacked my country 10 years prior.

I was in Jerusalem a decade after 9/11. I was learning about Islam and Jihad and Middle/Near Eastern tensions. I was learning about an amazing culture that has existed since biblical times and has hardly ever known peace. I was learning about a people that I had been told hated me and my American-ism.

These were not the same people that hated me or my American-ism, although some didn't like my American-ism. These were good people who loved God and God loved them. All of the people I met in Jerusalem were a God loving people who were so incredibly loved back.

Extreme Jihadism (the 6th and 'optional' pillar of Islam) has changed my life. It stole my childhood trust and innocence.

Islam has changed my life. It has helped me see God in everyone, and in a sense restored my childhood trust.

I will never forget 9/11 and more importantly I will always remember.

Thank you to those who keep us safe- here and abroad. Thank you to the families of those who keep us safe for your support and sacrifice. Thank you to the leaders that are trying to create better relationships and understanding of each other to create a more peaceful and unified world.

Always remember.